@Optimusprimea1 with ESADE you have two types of scholarship..one is a direct one which the school would announce with your admission e-mail.I think this is generally on the basis of a great GMAT score & a wonderful & diverse work profile. The other one would be the indirect ones which you can apply only after you have been selected. Again you can apply to only one scholarship here(generally 10-20% of the tuition fees, for a few of these you might have to write an additional essay)
As far as the rankings are concerned we need to remember that the rankings are based on inputs from the batch which passed out 3 years ago! So 2012 rankings actually reflect the 2009 data! I have spoken to the immediate alums(2010 & 11) n they seem to be very happy! So I think we will see the school jump up again in the next year or two. Also if you filter it on the basis of career progression ESADE ranks 5th in the world & unless you want to start a firm of your own career progression & aims achieved are two very important factors!
Well I don't want to sound biased but I really think we should not be taking rankings that seriously also. I mean in one ranking(I think its businessweek or may be economist) ESADE ranks higher than even London Business School. But honestly the alums themselves think that we would need a few more years to reach there in terms of the aura & prestige(I'm sure we will eventually reach there).
IESE is definitely a great school but at this stage I cannot afford to stay in the school for close to two years.That was main reason I backed out. ESADE gives me a nice flexibility of 12-15-18 months(which I get to decide in the first term).
@Saurajm I did consider Oxford but ESADE was my number one choice for a variety of reasons.Always wanted to study at BCN(romanticism I guess
,studying in Spain gives me a great chance to pick up Spanish(though its predominantly Catalan) & explore South America as a potential market. I hear from students that compared to other schools the camaraderie & bond between fellow students is just awesome(Team work starts with MBA right!
). Also I hear ESADE's career services is very good & that they work closely with the students(A small group of 180 students with different career services officers assigned for specific regions like APCA,India,Europe etc). It is very important to be realistic in these times & I found that their Asian placements last year has been fairly good(in terms of the profile). Also ESADE( being older than SAID Oxford) has a very good alumni network.
@Saurajm I still am not sure what I would do post MBA. I think I mentioned it in one of the other forums. I'm going in with an empty canvas hoping that ESADE would help me paint a beautiful picture. I would want to have a crack at Mgmt Consulting(first few months would tell me if I'm good at it or not). Also I would want to explore renewable energy,environment sector as well as entrepreneurship(social as well as e-Commerce) I have one or two ideas here,don't know how feasible it is though. Also sports management is something that excites me(I'm definitely gonna be joining sports mgmt student body while I'm at ESADE).
I think at the end of the day the beauty of MBA at any top school is how we use the MBA & the school. I felt that ESADE & I fit together hence I chose ESADE.