Oxford vs. INSEAD

Question

Folks,

My goal is to possibly switch to MC/GM after MBA. I know that INSEAD is considered as a "consulting" powerhouse. I am currently in the US and would eventually want to move back to US. Would appreciate your comments.

Thank you.

lepium · Answer

I moved your post to the International Schools forum.

Cheers. L.

necromonger · Answer

The title of the post and your question inside don't match. Is your question

Is INSEAD better than (or worse) Oxford?

OR

How easy is it to work in US after INSEAD?

Let me take a shot at both of them

a) Is INSEAD better (or worse) than Oxford?

INSEAD as a business school has been around longer, has a much wider alumni (I'm talking pure business school alumni and not as a university system) and if you care about rankings, is usually ranked above Oxford (well, globally INSEAD is considered among the top 9-10 programs in the world - typically M7 + LBS + INSEAD). But it depends on what your priorities are - like you want to study in UK..


b) How easy is it to work in US after INSEAD?

From what I've read, not very easy. INSEAD has a great reputation in UK/Europe and Asia. Not so much in US though efforts are underway to boost presence in US. At this point, not too easy to get a US job out of INSEAD (part of the problem is visa restrictions and location)

For consulting, INSEAD is considered a great school.

Since your question and ultimate interests are unclear - Hope my notes above are of some help.

Rocky · Answer

I would also assume that you are asking the questions mentioned by necromonger and would give it a shot.

a) Is INSEAD better (or worse) than Oxford? 
Depends on your choice. INSEAD is certainly more reputed, and ranked above Oxford. Also the MBA batch of INSEAD is almost four times greater than Oxford and Oxford is relatively new school. So certainly INSEAD is lot better considering alumni network.
If your choice would be social entrepreneurship/ hi-tech sector I would recommend Oxford. But as your would like to go for MC, I would say INSEAD suits your better.

b) How easy is it to work in US after Oxford? 
Comparatively easy. Oxford has very good connection with many US firms and the firms in Silicon Valley... Also UK and US being allies can help.


But again based on your preferences I would say INSEAD would be best choice for you.

dukes · Answer

Oxford reminds me a little of Yale in the US. Relatively new, promising future due to reputation of parent institution, strengths in some non-traditional MBA careers, but still a little behind the highest tier. 

Getting a job in the US is tough at Insead for some of the mentioned reasons. Why should recruiters treck all the way to Europe if there's no shortage of MBAs in the US and when most grads need to be sponsored? However, if you want to do the leg work, and you want to work for a company with set MBA entry paths you can probably work it, because the Insead name does have cache with employers familiar with top programs. 

I'm guessing this would be possible at Insead as well, but I met a guy at LBS who had made it past the first round interview with McK. At that point he needed to provide them with a wishlist of office locations (3). One of them was US based and that office was interested enough to grant him a second round interview. Not sure how things turned out, but I don't think the door is entirely closed if you want to work stateside in MC.

Othello · Answer

No problem. I posted here cuss more people frequent this particular section of the forum. The posts die down much quicker in the other sections.

Othello · Answer

Thanks necro, rocky and dukes. You guys guessed it right. I was looking for comparison and possibilities post-MBA from both the schools. 

Is Oxford known any better in US than INSEAD?

necromonger · Answer

My honest reply to you is you are making a mistake by thinking only in terms of "which one is better for US" - the answer is neither. If you are set on working in the US, go to a US school. INSEAD has a great reputation and in the firms that matter, even in US, you will get traction - it simply needs lot more work.

Then there are always possibilities of working in a US company outside the US and then transfer to US. Or be persistent in applying to US companies by leveraging INSEAD US alumni (and hopefully this will be better with INSEAD US office). All I'm saying is don't base your decision purely by a vague sense of what gets you to US more easily.

lepium · Answer

I thought so. What I did, actually, was to move the post and keep a copy (so I basically cloned it). 

Cheers. L.

Othello · Answer

Thanks for the honest answer Necromonger. I will not base my decision solely on these schools US traction but it is one of my various data points. Ok, let's say that I need to work in MC in London after my MBA, does Oxford has any advantage over INSEAD in that case? More INSEAD alumns all over the world does help in case we plan to find a job out of Europe.

Othello · Answer

Thanks Lepium.

necromonger · Answer

INSEAD grads qualify under UK HSMP => you can work in London without the need for a work permit. From all my research, INSEAD is "the" school for consulting with every major consulting company hiring - and a good chunk of them are for London.

So the short answer for "is INSEAD good for MC/and for London" answer is absolutely yes.

Othello · Answer

Thanks Necro. I understand what you quoted. My question was more in line with "Will being in Oxford be a little more advantageous than being in Fonty when it comes to a post MBA career in London?"

Rocky · Answer

I would say that Oxford is extremely reputed brand in UK. So when it comes to post MBA career in London or even in UK, Oxford is a big plus. But if you ask would a company prefer Oxford over INSEAD I would say no.... Neither of the school is preferred. So if they have to choose between Oxford person and INSEAD person, they will choose the best person they think is suitable for the job... not the person who is from the school they prefer.

So what I am trying to say is the school will matter for the way they teach you things and the people you meet there. So you will learn a lot about starting a company in Oxford and you will have a bunch of friends who have started their own company. On the other side you will learn many thing about MC in INSEAD and have many friends in McKinsey. 

But once you are out of school and start looking for the job, much depends on yourself.

Do you folks agree???

necromonger · Answer

Thanks Necro. I understand what you quoted. My question was more in line with "Will being in Oxford be a little more advantageous than being in Fonty when it comes to a post MBA career in London?" 

My opinion is that INSEAD probably has a bigger alumni in London than any other major school, including LBS - especially for consulting. The brand combined with a large alumni is a big plus from all I've read and heard. I don't believe it makes any difference you being in Fonty or London - the companies that matter all fly to Fonty and recruit. To get a better feel of all this read up the career report for 2005.

About entrepreneurship etc - INSEAD has a strong program in Singapore + apparently over 40% of INSEAD alumni do their own thing at some point, that's pretty huge. My take is - it is a big school, big brand, lots of alumni - that is a major advantage. How you take advantage of that is perhaps left to you. 
Just curious - are you planning to apply, or have you been admitted to both?

Othello · Answer

I would partially agree with what you have mentioned above. I do believe that some firms would specifically chose to go recruit at one school and completely ignore another (I know that is not the case with SBS and INSEAD as most major companies recruit there). I do agree that lot depends on the individual himself but any help to get the foot in the door via the school recruitment is an added bonus, more so for the European schools.

Rocky · Answer

As far as recruitment directly through school is concerned Oxford recruitment office is taking a lot of effort in providing right contacts and getting right companies for you. Last year 34% of the class got job offers through school's initiative. And that is a good number considering the ways Europian schools operate.
But as necro said, INSEAD definitely has large number of alumni placed at key positions in reputed firm. So if you are able to build your network through these alumni, it would be a plus and could significantly help.

mikki0000 · Answer

Wanted to add a point here: If you join the January program for INSEAD and choose to go to the Wharton exchange option during the Sep-Dec periods, you can avail of the Wharton career services. That should give you a leg up at least as far as interviews and opening doors are concerned. At the highest level firms, its more impt tht you fit the profile they are looking for, and speak the language, than visas etc.

MG

MBAbot · Answer

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Oxford vs. INSEAD

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