IESE 2012 - Calling All Applicants

Many of the applicants from India take only the success stories and apply to business schools in Spain, UK and France.In 2007, all assumed that housing prices will not fall and in the same way many applicants from India are assuming that they will get jobs in UK and apply to the business schools in Europe and UK. Just like the black swan events, I know many applicants who have completed MBAs in leading business schools in Europe and UK have to return to India with heavy loans and expenses. For a MBA in IESE the total spending by the applicant is around Euro 115,000 not counting the salary foregone. If you consider the salary foregone in India, the total outflow is around Euro 130,000 at the minimum and today's exchange rate works out to Rs 10,000,000 or Rs one crore. With the prevailing interest rate in India this investment alone can fetch Rs 1 Million. I know several caes from INSEAD, LBS, Spain Business Schools, Judge, Said, Kellog etc who have returned to India or Singapore. Had they continued in their previous jobs or done MBA in Singapore or India, they would have been far better off. Schools like IESE, Judge, Said are mostly unknown in India. First they have to market their schools in India before getting a job. This is particularly true for an Indian IT guy, who has worked in software firms. If he/she has worked in a company like Oracle or Google or Microsoft, then he has a better value after MBA than had he worked in INfosys or Wipro or any other lower level IT comapny. It is very difficult for him to make a move to different path unless he gets into banks. So before jumping into the band wagon of MBA in Europe, please do your home work. Ask for all the negative opinion. What you see in blogs are only success stories. Nobody wants to talk about failures. There a talk of double dip recession. First think do you require MBA for carreer advancement. What MBA teaches in one year or two years? If you require MBA please do in India or Singapore or Hongkong. The hole in your pocket will be small. I know MBAs in Canada who are getting about CAD40000 per year. At least in Canada or Australia you get permanent residence after your MBA, but not in Europe, USA, or UK. Now a days the halo effect around MBAs has gone. People will employ you, not because you have an MBA, but because you have a core strength, which is enhanced by MBA. That MBA is from Europe or India is immaterial, in my opinion.

Did you get a mail from IESE which said Admissions Director would like a Personal Interview followed by Assessment Day?

Well, I got an email saying that the admission committee would like a personal interview followed by the assessment day. The email did not say Director.

hey all...i'm considering applying to iese...its infact been a school on my radar for a while - but never given it a serious thought for one reason or the other

i m n indian as well..but unlike the observation above - dont think that many indians look at the school as much...

i was jus looking through their site n came up with the following text on (https://www.iese.edu/en/MBAPrograms/prog ... rocess.asp) -
Decisions on Admission are communicated via email. Admitted candidates must pay a non-refundable commitment fee of 5.000 Euros to hold their position in the program before the indicated commitment fee deadlines. To confirm the intention to join the program a non-refundable reservation fee of 10.000 Euros must be paid before June 30, 2012. Both fees are deductible from the total program cost. If you are admitted when applying to our last deadline in June, both fees must be paid together. Deferrals are not permitted.

Do we have to pay 15,000 euros even before getting in? thats about 10 lakhs (a million rupees!)...i knw tht its deductible frm the tuition cost, but i dont hav those kinda liquid savings to put in at the time of admission...esp with us getting the loan amt only once we get in to school

anyone who can throw some light on this? sucks if i wud havta pull out based on commitment / reservation fees

How about a private student loan from your country of origin for the amount of 15000 euros? What other schools are you applying to? I think most schools have some sort of deposit that you need to put down to confirm a seat in the class (e.g. INSEAD also requires a deposit of 5000 eur to confirm a seat). What are you doing about them? This is not something that is only IESE specific right?

the 15000 amt seems a little on the higher side to me...that insead 5000 euros amt is also amongst the higher ones around...that i cud afford with the savings i have, if i were applying there (which i'm not)...

a few schools tht i m applying to in the US, hav like a $2500-5000 range of deposits

if push comes to shove, i guess i wud havta raise the 15000 euros through a loan...but its jus a hassle tht i knw many indians wud prefer to avoid or rule out IESE at step 1 altogether

Hi, I am new to this site.

I also received a call for an interview with IESE. The wait is killing me already!

Hi ra011y will you attend the assessment day?

Haha. It'll be over before you even realize. Cherish and savor the hours as they slowly pass by.
I don't think I will be attending assessment day.

Hi ra011y,

I will be attending the assessment day. Flight from London quite cheap and at a convenient time. Where are you based?

I also applied to Insead. It's not just the waiting for IESE that is killing me

I am based in the US.

Hey Folks

I have got an interview call from IESE.Will be attending the interview on the 27th of November at Mumbai.Let me know if anyone else is attending an interview at that time

Got an admit today- very excited. Anyone else? I'm trying to figure out how to make a decision, since the deposit is due before I'll hear back from other schools in the US!

I got an invite as well.
Guys, what do you make of the optional but strongly recommended assessment day? My initial reaction is that if I can do without, why bother. But then again, I don't want to miss the opportunity to make a strong impression.

Hi all, I got accepted into the IESE Young Talent Program back in 2010 and have been pre-admitted to the MBA with start date in the fall of 2012.

Pixaar, if possible/reasonable (e.g. considering cost to travel), I would always aim for a personal encounter. Skype is nice and I am sure one can bring his arguments/motivation across, but the personal encounter always adds an additional layer to the whole process. Plus, in case your assessment day is on campus (?), you could combine your stay with a class visit or connecting to current students, which is great! When I had my interview, IESE arranged for lunch with 3 current students from my country, which was great to ask different types of questions. Unfortunately, I could not participate in a class since I had my interview just after lecture period had ended.

Good luck everyone for the interview/assessment day!

Cheers

submitted my app for R4..i.e. the december 5th deadline..keeping my fingers crossed!

Got my admit a few days back.

congrats ..a big load off ur shoulder i guess.. which schools have u applied to ? are u a spanish resident or international cadndiate?