ESADE Business School

hi ghk, well done on your interview, glad to hear you had a good experience! good luck with the wait - i'm rooting for you!


bajargyan - we haven't heard from you in a while! have you decided to accept your offer? I know it was your top choice as well, but have you made a final decision?

andygee - I pm'ed you re this Friday in Barcelona!

@vgeri thank you very much. Yes i definitely enjoyed the experience and yes the wait is killing (due to lack of a better word) me.

@andygee, I have a question for you and i've sent you a PM.

hello guys

first of all ghk..good luck with the decision! and i hope you get a positive response.

Vgeri ..yes i am going to accept ESADE's offer ..will be sending the reservation deposit..by this week.
Andygee..its good to see that you have decided to join ESADE :D ..i look forward to meeting you in Barcelona!!

Hey guys..

I just got an interview call from the other school i had applied to that is IESE today..although it wasn't the top choice.. but it was the next choice after ESADE...Its a good to feeling to be called for interview from another reputed school...but as fate would have it..i just made my reservation deposit for ESADE today.. hours before i got the interview notification..although i will still go for the interview and go through the whole experience.

congrats, bajargyan! both for the IESE invitation, and for making your decision (and parting with €8K! )! that timing must be fate indeed. I can't believe you're still going ahead with interviews though - hardcore

I'm off to Bcn tomorrow morning for the open day - looking forward to it! Will meet up with andygee if all goes well!

Hey guys,

I'm planning on applying to ESADE too. This thread has be really helpful. And congrats vgeri, bajargyan and andygee for your admit!!

I've pretty much got the same feel as you guys to this school. Although I haven't had my interview, I met with the admissions director here in Chicago and I must say I got a very positive vibe of the school. I also attended an online informative session last week, which was quite useful.

This is what I've gathered so far about the school if its of any use to you all.

* As most of you have already said, there's a personal touch and that there's a close bond between students.
* In the class of 2009, about 70% had jobs 3 months after graduation. And about 70% of the 1st year students got internships. Percentage of students having jobs 3 months after gradually is usually 90% but due to the financial crisis, it's less this year, like most schools.
* Scholarships are given out based on merit and usually range between 15% and 40% of the tuition fees. About 30 to 40% of the students get scholarships.
* Good entrepreneurial focus. The school selects the best entrepreneurial idea and rewards the team with a cash prize and an office space in ESADE's new campus which houses ESADE (not MBA) as well as companies (this prize was given out in 2009 but not sure if this applies every year)

I will be submitting my application by the Dec 11th deadline.

Hello cesque

Welcome to the thread..Good luck with your applications to ESADE!!

Thanks bajargyan!

Hi everyone,

Great thread, I've been searching for more information about ESADE (especially prospective students opinions) for a while and the lack of information on other forums left me somewhat disappointed.

I attended an MBA fair recently and had a great conversation with the admissions staff, they really did a great job of conveying the 'feel' of the school and also reassured my belief that an MBA will help me reach my future goals.

I am currently studying for the GMAT and hope to take it in January, although the fact that I have to take a 2 hour flight to the nearest city with a test center makes it quite a bit more of an event.


I have also come to this conclusion after meeting with the admissions staff and alumni and along with the flexibility regarding the length of the program, it is one of the main attractions to this school.



The admissions officer told me that as there are 3 finishing dates for each class (one for the 12, 15 and 18 month students) it is difficult for for them to compile data for each year. Nonetheless, 70% finding jobs 3 months after graduation is quite worrying...financial crisis or not. ESADE is one of the more expensive European MBA programs (I think only IESE and IMD are more expensive) and as someone who wants to change both job function and location the placement situation is a very important factor for me when making the decision on which school to attend.

I had noticed in 2 of the 3 ESADE blogs that I read that the students did not get an internship and if this is a continuing trend I will have to do some more thinking about my application. While not crucial, I feel an internship would give me a good chance to gain some experience that would help with a career change.



Do you know what exactly 'merit' consists of? Is it a combination of GMAT, undergraduate GPA and work experience?
I am studying for the GMAT now and it looks like I will only get one crack at the whip before applying. I wonder if there is much chance of a scholarship with a GMAT score less than 700-720? (Hopefully I can get up that high, got to work on this damned quant section!) With a 20-40% scholarship, ESADE becomes a much sweeter deal!



This is interesting, sounds like a great way to promote entrepreneurship at the school.



Thanks for the information and all the best with your application! Keep us updated with how it all goes.

To everyone who has been accepted, congratulations!
To all the rest who are now applying, good luck!

I'm going to get back to studying, and procrastinating if the advantages the ESADE MBA has over schools like Cranfield and Vlerick are worth the extra 30-40000 Euro.

Hello pepto and welcome to the thread..In regards to ESADE being discussed on forums on the internet ..it had been a real issue..as not many people discussed it considering its one of the better known schools in europe..and for the same reason this post has been so useful to me..and i hope to all those who are applying/ interested in ESADE!

I would like to address some of the points that u mentioned in yr post, now that i have made my decision to join ESADE..my comments might be taken as biased .. but i would still do my best to give honest opinion...

When addressing jobs for the class of 2009..i think you should compare ESADE with other top schools...where some of the hiring figures have been worse than 70%... when looking to change job function and location you really have to know where you want to go.. I am not sure if you are aware..but ESADE's major strength is its presence among Industry sector companies.. one of the reason it did not have any alumni lose a job during the crunch time between 2008-2009 (i got to know this when i asked about this specifically in my interview).. while its trying to grow into IB..so if you are looking to go for IB or moving to US after your MBA..ESADE may not be for you..

I would like to know which blogs you read as the most current blogs that are regularly updated are written by Morgan and Tobias..both class of 2010 students..so their application for Internship would have been in 2008- early 2009..which if you would agree was the toughest time to find anything anywhere...

In regards to the scholarship i also had some questions and so i asked the financial aid team..and here's what they told me " The ESADE Scholarships Committee take into consideration your grades, interview, career, etc. that means that our Scholarships are only merit based." ...my GMAT is not the strongest out there..so i hope it doesn't weigh too much..but for a heads up..the earlier you apply for scholarship the higher chance you have as they have deadlines for that as well as percentage of the fund from which they would provide scholarship...only admitted students can apply for them...

In terms of the cost of ESADE's MBA..i agree that its on the expensive side...but when i look at the overall fit for me as a school..i can't see anything else coming close to its offering a personalized touch...the friendly and healthy competitive environment..focus on teamwork and CSR ..and ofcourse Barcelona... but those are just my thoughts!.. Now that i am going there

Cranfield is a good school.. but do send your profile for evaluation to them..cos i did and they told me they wont be able to offer a place for the 2010 program.. maybe you might have luck!..what i have heard is that they really emphasis on work experience..usually 4 or more years...

Overall good luck with your application to all the schools..


vgeri...how was your open day experience and what have you decided??

hello guys! nice to see some activity on the thread! i'll get back to some of the comments in a moment, but first my experience from the open day:

The two days in Bcn were great, and I have made a decision:

I am moving to Spain next year and will be attending ESADE!

Here are some of my observations from the open day, and my key reasons for the decision:
- the school was impressive. the building is not the newest out there, but still very good facilities throughout. has a cool rooftop terrace with a cafe and a great view of Bcn, mountains and the sea!
- people were fantastic. the students I met were all extremely friendly and nice, and impressive at the same time. quite a few people from both South and North America. admissions and careers staff were, as I experienced already, extremely friendly as well
- had a sample lecture and the prof was impressive, really funny, and held a great class. kept on calling on people, and there was a good class interaction (these were all applicants & some partners)
- Bcn was great, really cool city, and the weather was awesome (20 degrees C, blue sky, some people were even swimming in the sea when we went to the beach...)

Overall I feel that I will definitely enjoy Esade more than I would LBS, based on my experience with the school, staff, students, and the cities in question (I live in London at the moment). In addition, learning Spanish is a major ambition for me, and my gf and I might consider remaining in Spain after the mba if we like it. For these I am willing to give up the prestige of LBS and probably better career opportunities within the UK market. I also feel that at Esade I will build a smaller, but potentially stronger networks of alumni/friends for the future.

So good luck to all applicants out there, and andygee, bajargyan - we're class mates from next year!

bajargyan - i like your avatar pic

cesque - welcome to the thread, and good luck with your application! people on this thread have been pretty successful so far, so keep up the tradition!

pepto - welcome to the thread. regarding placement of 70% - I understand your concern, and i took a long look at that figure as well myself. however, note that the year before the figure was around 95%, and also for last year's class the 70% grew to around 85% a couple of months later (4-5 after grad). many other people decided to set up their own companies. also you should remember that many graduates try to stay in Spain (around 40% I think) and the job market is worst there in the whole of Europe. This will worsen the figures but might not be a worry for you if you plan to work elsewhere after your MBA. And as bajargyan pointed out finance and consulting were seriously hit last year, and they contribute 30-40% of Esade's placements. anyway, good luck with your GMAT preparations, and with your application after that! let us know if you have any other questions.

hey vgeri..

Thanks for the pic.. i thought now tht i am sure of it..why not show it!

Congrats on your decision and i hope to see you in barcelona... if only i was in europe ..i would have visited BCN.. but from Thailand it a big ask.. For the moment i am having a bad experience with IESE..they seem to be inflexible on how the interview should be conducted..they insist on Video conferencing (additional cost that i am not happy to give)... I have asked them if we could do it on Skype or Phone.. but they have rejected such idea...

so i think i might have to drop it off the interview call..and tell them i won't be taking part... but anyways.. i am excited to be part of the ESADE full time MBA!!!

Guys i was thinking if we should make a Facebook group for ESADE MBA class of 2012... wht do you think??

Hi guys and thanks for the welcome to the thread.It seems like everyone is really friendly here...a good sign of what to expect at ESADE I hope

bajargyan- thanks for all of the positive feedback, you have helped me to remember all the reasons that I was interested in ESADE in the first place. I sometimes find myself worrying a lot about the financial commitment needed for an MBA, especially in this economic environment and it is easy to start second guessing yourself...until you meet someone like yourself who flips everything back to positive again

A bit more information on my profile- I am originally from Europe but now live in Asia. I work at a small company in the consumer goods industry and I am looking to utilize an MBA to move back to Europe and either consulting or a larger company with more room for growth in a similar industry. With 6 1/2 years work experience I am a little older than the average age for ESADE but I hope that my rather international background will help with my application. Good idea about sending my profile over to Cranfield, I have also heard that they value strong managerial experience and I should look into this a bit more.

You are correct that I have been reading Morgan and Tobias' blogs, but also a blog by Matt Brattin who graduated this year. It seems that Tobias is on the 12 month program with no option to do an internship, and Morgan and Matt were unable to secure one. I understand that the fact that Spain is one of the European countries worst hit by the crash, and that with 40% of graduates staying there there will be some negative affects in the placement stats but it is hard to compare to other European schools because most of them don't have detailed career reports available.

Have you applied for any scholarships yet? Do you have to accept the position before getting a decision about funding?
I would like to know a little more about the scholarship application process if you have any information. Are there further essays or interviews involved?

vgeri- glad to hear that you enjoyed Barcelona. I was last there in summer 2001 and I had a blast. It was 25 degrees today where I live and I think the warm climate that Barca enjoys is definitely another positive that ESADE has going for it! I would find it a shock to the system if I moved to colder northern Europe next year!

Thanks for the extra information regarding placements. Outside of Spain, I suppose the UK would be the most likely place I would end up post MBA (despite the weather) and although the economy is better than Spain, it does not look too bright for the near future. Until last week I was also considering the middle east for a few years...but the problems in Dubai make that a little less appealing

Wherever I end up, I am sure that an MBA from ESADE will drastically improve my chances of reaching my future goals!
Now all I have to do is finish my application and GMAT and get accepted!

vgeri, Thank you for the warm welcome! As Pepto said, everyone on here seems very friendly, which is great! I'll keep you guys posted on how things progress. Hopefully, I'll keep up the tradition Congrats on your decision! It's great that the you and andygee have decided based on a personal fit rather than rankings and reputation. By the way, did you get to talk to the current students? What did they say about the program and the school in general?

Pepto, Thanks! I'll keep you all updated. I think bajargyan and vgeri have answered your questions in detail. One point that I want to add is that, the 70% does not include people who started their own companies. So if you take them into consideration, the number goes up. Also looking at what vgeri posted, that it rose to 85% 4-5 months after graduation, it seems pretty encouraging taking into consideration how things were this year.

that's a good idea - but check first that there isn't already one? i havent had time to check it yet, but I recall reading somewhere on the Esade admits welcome site that there is a Facebook group?

Pepto - yes, you have to accept the offer before you can apply for scholarships. the application deadlines for shcolarship 'rounds' are 15Jan, 5Feb, 16April, 28May and 2Jul. the budget available decreases in each of these rounds.
yes there are three additional essays involved: why do you consider yourself a superior candidate for the specific scholarship; how will you contribute to your field/function as a scholar; and how will you contribute to the Esade community as an alum.