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11 Jul 2021, 18:39
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I am starting my MBA journey this fall and have a bit of a dilemma.
A bit of background, I have been working in construction for the past 3 years as a project engineer and looking to make a career switch and get into sustainability and consulting. I applied to both IESE and Johnson in the later rounds of admission, got into IESE, and was waitlisted for Johnson. I have recently been interviewed and offered a spot at Johnson, without a scholarship. Also, I have made a 10k euro deposit at IESE.
IESE
Pros
-the school advertises the fact that a lot of their student body is looking to make the triple jump
- the rigorous academic program and case focus (I am thinking this will help coming from a non-traditional background)
- opportunity to study and work internationally
- employment reports show MBB firms have a strong presence on campus.
- offered 20k scholarship
Cons
- employment figures in North America are rather low. Considering how the shape European economy, it might be better to look at returning to the US
Johnson
Pros
- great community and fantastic brand name
- offers immersion for those looking to get into sustainable enterprise
- MBB recruits on campus
- great alumni network
Cons
- fast-paced program, I believe they dedicate one semester to working on the core classes before selecting an immersion program
- no scholarship offered
Please share some of your thoughts!
A bit of background, I have been working in construction for the past 3 years as a project engineer and looking to make a career switch and get into sustainability and consulting. I applied to both IESE and Johnson in the later rounds of admission, got into IESE, and was waitlisted for Johnson. I have recently been interviewed and offered a spot at Johnson, without a scholarship. Also, I have made a 10k euro deposit at IESE.
IESE
Pros
-the school advertises the fact that a lot of their student body is looking to make the triple jump
- the rigorous academic program and case focus (I am thinking this will help coming from a non-traditional background)
- opportunity to study and work internationally
- employment reports show MBB firms have a strong presence on campus.
- offered 20k scholarship
Cons
- employment figures in North America are rather low. Considering how the shape European economy, it might be better to look at returning to the US
Johnson
Pros
- great community and fantastic brand name
- offers immersion for those looking to get into sustainable enterprise
- MBB recruits on campus
- great alumni network
Cons
- fast-paced program, I believe they dedicate one semester to working on the core classes before selecting an immersion program
- no scholarship offered
Please share some of your thoughts!
HqLife
BSchool Moderator
Joined: 04 Sep 2019
Last visit: 09 Aug 2025
Posts: 340
Given Kudos: 24
Location: United States (MD)
Concentration: Strategy, General Management
Schools: HBS '27 (D) MIT '27 (WA) Stanford '27 (D) Columbia '27 (D) Tuck '27 (A$$) Yale '27 (M$$) Darden '27 (A) Fuqua '27 (WL) Johnson '27 (A$$) Ross '27 (A$$) Booth '27 (WA) Wharton '27 (D) Kellog '27 (S)
GMAT Focus 1: 615 Q80 V80 DI81 
GMAT Focus 2: 675 Q90 V83 DI77
GPA: 3.16
Products:
Schools: HBS '27 (D) MIT '27 (WA) Stanford '27 (D) Columbia '27 (D) Tuck '27 (A$$) Yale '27 (M$$) Darden '27 (A) Fuqua '27 (WL) Johnson '27 (A$$) Ross '27 (A$$) Booth '27 (WA) Wharton '27 (D) Kellog '27 (S)
GMAT Focus 2: 675 Q90 V83 DI77
Posts: 340
12 Jul 2021, 10:40
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This decision comes down to where you want to live.
MBB is possible with both IESE and Johnson.
IESE - MBB in Europe and Middle East.
Johnson - MBB in North America.
If you want to come back to North America directly after college, it will be hard to do so with IESE. INSEAD in most cases struggles to make a name for itself in North America, I would assume the same/worse for IESE.
If cost is a factor, you need to create a detailed breakdown of your cost (Tuition + Living expenses) for both and evaluate.
Going off of Johnson's website - $102k for first year. Assuming the same for 2-years, you are looking at around ~204k
IESE - 89K EUROS for Tuition, and 30k for Living (Assuming 20-months). = 119k EUR - 20k scholarship -> 99K -> 1.19 rate -> 118k USD.
86k in total savings if you attend IESE. 98K in additional cost if you go to Johnson (Since you already paid 10k EUR to IESE).
You can achieve your goal attending both.
Ask yourself - where you want to be after college?
If Johnson - is 98k additional cost justified?
What is your plan B? Which college excels in Plan B? (If IB than Johnson).
MBB is possible with both IESE and Johnson.
IESE - MBB in Europe and Middle East.
Johnson - MBB in North America.
If you want to come back to North America directly after college, it will be hard to do so with IESE. INSEAD in most cases struggles to make a name for itself in North America, I would assume the same/worse for IESE.
If cost is a factor, you need to create a detailed breakdown of your cost (Tuition + Living expenses) for both and evaluate.
Going off of Johnson's website - $102k for first year. Assuming the same for 2-years, you are looking at around ~204k
IESE - 89K EUROS for Tuition, and 30k for Living (Assuming 20-months). = 119k EUR - 20k scholarship -> 99K -> 1.19 rate -> 118k USD.
86k in total savings if you attend IESE. 98K in additional cost if you go to Johnson (Since you already paid 10k EUR to IESE).
You can achieve your goal attending both.
Ask yourself - where you want to be after college?
If Johnson - is 98k additional cost justified?
What is your plan B? Which college excels in Plan B? (If IB than Johnson).
12 Jul 2021, 11:04
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Interesting choice of programs IESE and Johnson! Congrats on getting into both!
I usually encourage people to go to school in the country/content they plan on working and knowing the language of the local school. If you are not fluent in Spanish and Catalan, you probably will have a bit of a harder time recruiting in Barcelona or Madrid and would be looking at London, Netherlands, or maybe Germany though most other locations will want local language skills. This is not something that jumps out at you right away but it is something that will make recruiting through the normal channel trickier (even though the classes are in English).
I see most US people who have gone to school in Europe coming back to the US because they either get better offers in the US or they are frustrated with the European process/culture/want to go home. We are creatures of habit and unless you are familiar and worked in Europe, there will be surprises which after a few years will get annoying and will not meet your expectations.
So I would probably vote for Johnson (at least it does not sound like IESE was such big preference for you). IN terms of the ROI, I put together a chart (though it has its weaknesses) but it is topped by Johnson. One reason for that is people work in New York and high salaries (and also cost of living) https://gmatclub.com/forum/highest-roi- ... 60130.html so while Johnson may be topping the list, it is likely not as high in reality if you have to pay Manhattan rents.
MBB's are very very competitive. We did a panel and someone mentioned that MBB's have a 1-2% intake rate, much lower than business schools even and the competion is much more qualified so I would not bank your entire plan on MBB. As HqLife said - what is your plan B? It is important to have plans and have goals - SUPER important but it is also SUPER helpful to have multiple plans/goals.
I usually encourage people to go to school in the country/content they plan on working and knowing the language of the local school. If you are not fluent in Spanish and Catalan, you probably will have a bit of a harder time recruiting in Barcelona or Madrid and would be looking at London, Netherlands, or maybe Germany though most other locations will want local language skills. This is not something that jumps out at you right away but it is something that will make recruiting through the normal channel trickier (even though the classes are in English).
I see most US people who have gone to school in Europe coming back to the US because they either get better offers in the US or they are frustrated with the European process/culture/want to go home. We are creatures of habit and unless you are familiar and worked in Europe, there will be surprises which after a few years will get annoying and will not meet your expectations.
So I would probably vote for Johnson (at least it does not sound like IESE was such big preference for you). IN terms of the ROI, I put together a chart (though it has its weaknesses) but it is topped by Johnson. One reason for that is people work in New York and high salaries (and also cost of living) https://gmatclub.com/forum/highest-roi- ... 60130.html so while Johnson may be topping the list, it is likely not as high in reality if you have to pay Manhattan rents.
MBB's are very very competitive. We did a panel and someone mentioned that MBB's have a 1-2% intake rate, much lower than business schools even and the competion is much more qualified so I would not bank your entire plan on MBB. As HqLife said - what is your plan B? It is important to have plans and have goals - SUPER important but it is also SUPER helpful to have multiple plans/goals.
