IE Business School 2010

thanks for sharing your profile

Anybody planning (or hoping) to start their MBA at IE in November 2010 should join this Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=app ... 1361317563

I think you have to be logged into Facebook for that link to work. If it doesn't for some reason just search Facebook for a group called "IE MBA November 2010 intake."

You have to be approved by an admin to join, but it will be quick, I promise!

Hi Sally,

Congratulations with your acceptance! I am currently working on my application to IE, so I would like to hear more about your experience. When did you submit your application and how soon did you hear from IE? How was the interview? Did you meet someone in person?

Thanks!
Juvi

I applied at the end of October, got an interview invite in mid-November. Then I interviewed in early December, and received admission notice in mid-December.

So, in all it was about a month and a half from the time I submitted my application.

I did my interview on the phone. However, I previously met two of the admissions staff at an MBA fair. And it was one of them who did my interview. She said usually they try to have a person you haven't met do your interview, but in this case it made sense because of convenience, it seems.

The IE interview is very short and painless... mine only took about half an hour and the interviewer just asked basic questions about why I want an MBA, why now, why at IE, etc. She also wanted to know about short and long term career goals. So, these were all things you have to think about when writing your essays, anyway
Especially IE's application which is really long!

Hi Sally/Everyone,

First of all, congrats on getting in, way to go.

I'm looking for admission myself. I have submitted my application and have my interview on Tuesday the 2nd. I'm also having my interview with the person who gave me the IE test, which as Sally mentioned is rare but in my case it also makes sense as I'm in NorCal and she's in LA.

For those of you wondering my stats;

26/M
3 years experience as IT Business Analyst in an international consulting firm as well as a background in law and accounting
3.6 GPA from a private Liberal Arts school in the west. B.A., International Business.
540 GMAT I guess I'm a weird case though as I scored perfect on the writing and in the top 20% in reading vocab - my math skills as you can guess are atrocious.

I also took the IE admissions test which you either pass or don't (or so was my understanding). I'm not sure if I passed... (Sally maybe you can shed some light on this?) But I'm HOPING I did since it has been graded and they offered me an interview... <fingers crossed>

-Facebook person - I requested an add (sorry I didn't remember your name after I replied!)

Finally, I don't know if any of you have been to Madrid, but I loved there for about 4 months when I was 20 and I absolutely love it. One of favorite (if not favorite) cities I've ever been.

I wish you all good luck in your applications! I will let let you know how my interview goes!

-Morgan

Hi Morgan,

I think that we have met! Did you meet Jean-Marie in San Francisco for an admission test back in November? I took that test also but because I did not submit my application within 45 days, I don't think that it is valid anymore. I am kind of relieved because I had no idea how I did but I took GMAT in December and was in 90 percentile. Are you flying down to LA? If you took the admission test that date, you should remember me because I was the only one female during the test (I think), not the case study though. My name is Egle but I signed by my nickname here. Good luck on your interview and tell us all about it!

Hi Sally,

Congratulations for being admitted to IE. I have also applied to the school and have received a call to schedule a telephonic interview. Although I am currently in France, but I am not able to travel to Spain due to my residence permit issues here and due to this I was particularly concerned about taking the interview on phone. However, your experience was heartening to know.

I have a specific question about IE admissions interview. Although you have given a brief idea of the questions that you were asked, can you please tell me if you were given any problems to solve or any situation to imagine and evaluate your decisions? Also, how much time did they give you to confirm your place in the programme?

I was also wondering if you have already applied for some financial aid for the course.

It will be very helpful to know your responses to these queries.

A BIG thanks!
-Anurag

Hi Anurag,

On the interview, don't worry. At least for me, it was very straightforward with no gimmicks. You're just asked to elaborate on your experience and motivations for wanting to do an MBA at IE.

There is no deadline for confirming your place in the program. It is simply first-come, first-serve. I'm told you should enroll by March, or else you risk the class filling up. If you end up being too late, you have the option to enroll in a later class. The next one would be April 2011. Your admission is good for up to three admission cycles, so the lastest you could enroll would be November 2011 if you're admitted now, as I understand it.

As for financial aid, you should go to the Facebook page. There has been much discussion about this topic there. Personally, I am in the process of applying for scholarships, but have not yet applied for a loan and am not sure which route I will go.

Anyway, good luck! Hopefully I will see you in November

Sally.

Thanks for the reply Sally. So what I understand from your answer is that once you are accepted, you can decide which session to join (from the next three sessions) and then pay the 10,100 Euros to reserve your place in that batch. It is not like other schools where we have to pay the place reservation fees within 15 days or one month after getting the admission decision. Am I right in understanding this?

I too hope to you see you in November

Best Regards,
Anurag

Yep, that's correct!

Hi sally or anyone else,

When you completed your application, did you include a letter from your employer? I found this on the application:

"Certificate of current work (company letter stating your current position, start date within the company and type of contract)."

What does this mean? Thanks!

That's strange. I certainly didn't provide that, since I didn't tell my employer I was applying for an MBA. Where does it ask for that on the application? I don't remember that.

An online application under "Required Documents" has:

"The following documents can either be uploaded through the online application or sent via post to IE Admissions Department or to your closest IE international office:

* Two letters of recommendation signed by professors, entrepreneurs, freelance professionals or persons holding a management position.
* Organizational chart indicating the current position held by the candidate.
* Photocopies of diplomas or certificates accrediting language skills, courses, other exams, seminars, or other programs undertaken by the candidate.
* Certificate of current work (company letter stating your current position, start date within the company and type of contract).
* Photocopy of passport or ID card."

They must have added that recently! Maybe they've had problems with people lying about their employment.

If it's not a problem for you, I'd just ask your HR department for such a letter (I had to get one once in order to get a loan. It was just a letter that said "Sally has been working here since xxxxxxxxx and is in good standing" or something like that).

If it's something you don't feel comfortable asking your employer for, I'd contact IE and tell them your situation.

Not a problem to me. I have been unemployed since last year. Even if I was laid off, I have a good contact with my previous employer. But I can use the same letter for both reasons. What else do they need to know for a loan? How much did I make? Anything else?

The loan I was referring to was actually a house mortgage. And it was kind of an unsual request. Each bank might ask for slightly different things when considering you for a loan. But usually they just want basic income information. Typically they want: Your most recent paystubs, your W2s from the previous year (which show your annual income), as well as your bank statements, retirement account statements, etc.

This particular bank wanted a statement from my employer to give them some kind of assurance that I wasn't going to be laid off any time soon, because of the economic conditions. It was a strange request, because the letter was really kind of meaningless. Of course, my employer wasn't going to promise that, so they just wrote some vague language.

Anwyay, that's different than what you need for IE. Sounds like they just want a basic letter that confirms your employment claims. Since you're not working currently, you might not even need the letter. You might want to ask them about it! Or you can just go ahead and get the letter from your former employer, send it in and see what happens! I'm sure it would be fine; and it might be good because it would be a chance to prove that you departed with the company on good terms and left because of economic conditions, not because of job performance. Anyway, good luck!

Please! do share your experience at IE and also about application process as we others will be applying to IE in near future.
May be links to informative material about IE would be a nice idea like kryzck shared great info related to UC-Berkeley Haas school of business.
It was just my opinion
Thanks
Atif