BigRedEnvEng wrote:
Hi all,
First congrats to those who have been admitted and good luck to those who have been invited to interview or waiting to hear from IMD.
I realize that some of you are still waiting with bated breath to hear from IMD, so I apologize to be jumping in here like this, but I'm considering IMD for the January 2012 intake and was hoping to get some advice from you all.
I definitely want to visit a school before I decide whether I want to go there or not, but I'm not sure whether I should visit then apply or apply and then, if selected for an interview, visit. My concern is that all the schools to which I plan to apply are in Europe and I live in the US, so I'm trying to be as efficient as possible with my vacation time and money.
Pros of visiting first:
- If I visit somewhere and don't like it, I can save myself the pain of applying and potential future interview trip costs
- I can get a better feel for the schools and programs, which will help me focus myself to the schools on the applications.
Cons of visiting first
- If I take a trip in November and then have to go back for interview trip(s), it's added expense and more vacation time that I would need to take from work
- Since I can't go before November due to work requirements, I would be traveling during application season (at least for Cambridge/Oxford), which I realize could be very stressful.
I would also appreciate any information about IMD. All I know is what I've read in this forum and on the website. What I've seen on the website I like, but I'm not sure that the industry focus is right for me. I'm looking to go into beyond for profit or social entrepreneurship in the energy / environmental sector.
I would appreciate any insight you all might have. Thanks!!
Hi BigRedEnvEng,
i think the best thing is of course to visit the schools. That gives you a feeling of where you’d be spending a whole year (some people care a lot about the campus and facilities) and i think most importantly, it helps you to get a somehow more deep perception of what the school is all about and the quality of its students if you get to catch a live class.
In my case, i am based in South America so i didn’t do the visiting mainly for economic reasons, it helped though that i only applied to 2 schools: LBS and IMD; but if you have the money i would sure recommend it.
On your question about IMD, the pride of the school and the thing by which most alumni feel it was absolutely worth it is its personal development program. They really excel in that and at the end, apart from the usual functional knowledge in finance, marketing etc, what you get is a personal change and development to become a leader. Haven’t done it yet (2011 class =) ) but did a thorough research plus that’s what i got from my visit and talk with alumni and since you’re looking for things you don’t easily find on the website, there goes my 10 cents. And yes, it is much more focused into industry than other top schools but that doesnt mean you can’t come from other backgrounds (there are consultants, private equity , you name it) or go to other industry (i.e all the major consultant companies recruit there)
Hope that helps and good luck!