IESE vs INSEAD

Yes I will have a work permit in US and UK (with the australian passport).

I dont mind starting right away but id like it to be a experience to make a lot of close friends and TRAVEL around europe both professional treks and for recreation.

Again congratulations on getting into 2 great programs.
As to your preference, I agree - may as well get something out of the $100K you will spend on the program... and get some travel/other experience you won't have a chance to have once you go back to work, get married, have mortgage, kids, (end of life in other words ). I highly recommend getting as much of it done pre or during bschool.


On a serious note, a few things to keep in mind and consider:

1. The exchange program is only good if you use for your benefit. It has a potential to set you back since it is during the first part of year 2 and that's when a lot of the recruiting is happening. If you end up going to China for the exchange for example, it may not help you if you are planning to work in the US, but it will work well if you do go to Wharton or Columbia for example, if you are planning to work in the states.

2. The internship in the summer is quite helpful to gain some of the additional work experience to fill in some gaps but as long as you can get some valuable experience.

3. Barcelona is not exactly the conomic center of the world. Neither is Fountenbleu really as EU economy is a bit unclear

4. I feel the INSEAD name is better know worldwide than IESE and carries more potential to stand out in a pile of resumes.

5. INSEAD is a big program but they have done well with placements. See if you can dig out more info on them from adcom or others - esp about their placement in the countries you are interested in working.

6. Good idea is to research Linkedin and check into the companies that you potentially may want to work with (if you dont' have that list, you need to come up with one since if you enroll in INSEAD you will have to start targeting them right away). Anyway, check people who work for those companies and see if you can find any with IESE or INSEAD degrees. That may give you an idea about recruiting and alum network

7. Neither will be the wrong decision frankly but depending on goals and plans down the road it may work out better with one or the other. Ultimately it is recommended to study at the region you plan to work in but INSEAD may be a bit of a break from that rule since most folks work outside of France.

Good luck!
BB

Thanks BB. To point no.6....INSEAD coming from a cohort of 1000 every year (as oppose to 250 from IESE) does mean they will have a ton load more people going to jobs that I want (Google, Facebook, MBB etc)...but that doesnt mean anything if they are not friendly to current/incoming INSEAD students talking to them. Im sure a lot of people may be in my shoes and they need to send Linkedin invites to get people to network with them and I understand that it could get annoying.

At the moment Im 70:30, INSEAD:IESE. Brandname, short/direct program that focuses on industries I want to get to being the main factors.

But with the exchange comment - I agree and hence why I would want to be exchanged to a US school - but I cant use that as a positive (after some research). IESE exchange is given on a merit basis on how you perform during the semester. Which, in my opinion, is a big gamble if i dont get exchange as it was a selling point. INSEAD exchange is a bidding system - Wharton and Kellogg only in the USA...(with a possible Yale Management program as well), but they seem to send a fair amount of students on those exchanges.

Makes sense for the exchange programs - those are the two most common systems and my understanding is that usually people get what they want/wish for but that is in a context of schools such as IESE that have many partners as opposed to 2.

Usually, however they will take your other parameters into consideration such as GMAT.

P.S. You correctly pointed out competing with your classmates. It would not be 1,000 for the same job, but perhaps 100 to start with. The best 50 will probably get recruited through on campus and other opportunities in the first 3 months. The other 50 will have to compete for the same spots

Think about your profile and candidacy - basically t he INSEAD MBA is a constant -what else do you have to offer to the employer that someone else may not be able to? Is it certain work experience? Achievements?

P.P.S. The job market in the US really good at the moment and many companies are hiring top MBA's without thinking just to lock down talent (at the same time they are really picky with non top programs). This may be an argument for taking a 1-year program since that kind of a hiring spree won't last forever and you may be able to catch the tail of it at least.

Anyone here from insead that can shed some light on how hard it will be to secure consulting with no background in consulting? (preferably with banking background?)

Considering your objectives, origin and background I wouldn't even think about it. It's a straight pro-INSEAD. Hands down.

When you take a look on INSEAD's homepage you see that the majority does not come from a consulting background. I wouldn't worry at all.

Go for it and good luck!

A quick question. Ive been recently accepted to Duke Fuqua, but would that change my decision as above based on the objectives I want to achieve? Or would you all tend to stick with INSEAD as the best choice despite having Duke in the mix now.

Sorry to get back onto this thread, since I’m really keen to know the final decision and to hear some MBA stories with the choice you made.

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It is definitely possible and kind of a safeguard for many INSEADers: recruiting from consulting firms is super strong, and student are constantly casing themselves. Usually, if you're not interested in consulting, you will do the recruitment cycle because A) it is highly likely you'll get offers and B) it is a great prep for other industries. This is all assuming you don't want to do that, if you do it is kind of the perfect place. Take a look at backgrounds of students when they start, and % of students who go to consulting, roughly I say that that number increases +100%.

On the other topics, and clarifying that I'm biased as an INSEAD grad, don't think that both schools are in the same league. INSEAD is a first tier BS, together with LBS and arguably IMD, with all the particular characteristics that the program has. It will give you a broader reach not only in professional outcomes but in geographic coverage as well, and moving to the US from INSEAD should be easier than in IESE for sure. This doesn't mean that you won't have to work hard for it (after all, if you want to go to the US don't make life harder for yourself and go to a US school), but it's definitely possible, I landed an internship + job offer in VC in the US, so am confident that you can.

Re: exchange, completely get the point, but INSEAD has few but pretty strong exchange programs, which give you access to alumni resources from all the schools where you go to (don't know about IESE though), but they are carefully articulated for you to extract the most value out of it. I'd weigh this in before making a call, as after all, the school has pretty solid relationships with two M7s, which should be what you aim for, if the "MBA experience" is not what you look for in an exchange.

Lastly, you do have time to enjoy Europe. INSEAD's cliché is "you must choose 2 out of the following 3: Sleep, get good grades, or have fun". Almost every INSEAD student leaves sleep out of the equation . On the other hand, if the down time is so important to you, get the better degree, land a job and take 4 months off to travel around Europe as you please. You'll end up your journey faster than you would with a 2 year degree, and live each moment to the fullest.

IESE is an excellent option as well (Barcelona is my favourite city in the world after all), but I would choose (and chose when it was my time) INSEAD hands down.