LBS MBA vs HEC MBA

Question

Hi Guys,

I am having a difficult choice. I have only applied to 2 schools for an MBA - HEC and LBS. both have offered me a place, which is great news. I was able to get a scholarship for HEC, which makes the choice that much harder.

Now I really wonder what to do. Are the prospects after graduation that much better at LBS to justify the higher cost of the course? My target is to work in strategy consulting or private equity/vc after graduation.

What do you think?

fitzmanon · Answer

If you want to work in Europe I would definitely go with HEC. It's an amazing school with really brilliant people (I am not a former student). HEC and Bocconi are the two best business schools in Europe.

I have always found LBS to be overrated and it seems to benefit a lot from its location in London.

I have always found LBS to be overrated and it seems to benefit a lot from its location in London.

gigio136 · Answer

This is for an MBA - wouldnt have thought of Bocconi as so highly rated..

fitzmanon · Answer

Sorry then - for MBA then I would go with LBS. Why don't you apply to U.S. programs? Not more expensive and very attractive to European employers (I assume you want to work in Europe). I did a summer internship a few summers ago with a mid-tier investment bank in London (as an analyst intern) and pretty much all of the associate interns (doing their MBA) were from U.S. programs (NYU, Dartmouth, Ross if I recall correctly)

Ducksworth · Answer

I would struggle a lot to find a reason to prefer HEC over LBS, unless you have a strong reason (eg spouse-related) to live in France. LBS beats it in terms of the quality of its students, reputation mong recruiters, etc. If you are in doubt, take a closer look at their career reports and figure it out yourself.

Anyway, I am not saying HEC is bad. On the opposite. I actually think it is a great school. It just happens that LBS is on its own league, together with Insead.

mybusiness · Answer

I agree that you should go to LBS. HEC is great and all, but people who are not very familiar with European schools have never heard of it. LBS has a much better known name, and you never know when you need to impress someone who has not researched MBA programs in Europe.

See if you can find out what % of students end up at the firms you are interested in, check out the recruiting pages for both schools at the firms you like, heck, you can even call up the HR departments and ask which one they would prefer.

I am applying to INSEAD, among other schools, and if I am accepted there then I think I will use the last strategy to decide where it ranks in my list. The school I go to is not the goal - it is getting hired. It is a lot harder to compare European schools than it is American ones because of how many rankings and comparisons are done of American schools.

Admissionado · Answer

I agree with pretty much everybody above... Unless you have a burning desire to work in France (which would be totally valid), and want to learn French then LBS has the far better rep. If you speak French or will learn and want to stay in France, then HEC might be the better choice.

LBS MBA vs HEC MBA

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