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06 Dec 2018, 17:04
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I was accepted to IESE in Barcelona and The Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario. However, I also did get a reject from INSEAD and I feel quite disappointed with that. INSEAD didn't even grant me an interview. I still am strongly considering to get in round 2 applications with Harvard, Stanford and LBS.
With that said, I have to make a decision soon about if I want to go to Ivey or IESE. IESE consistently ranks higher than Ivey on global rankings. However, there are a few drawbacks. The first drawback is cost. After I convert prices into Canadian dollars, Ivey is $95000 and IESE is $145000. For Ivey, they awarded me a $30000 scholarship! But IESE didn't award me a scholarship and said that my scholarship application is pending and that I have to wait until the end of February to find out. That means that Ivey actually will cost about $65000. Therefore, if I don't get a scholarship to IESE, I'm looking at about $80000 more to complete my MBA.
I am really trying to question if this amount of money is worth the higher ranking and international experience that I can gain from IESE. I am from London, Ontario and I studied my bachelor's degree in London, Ontario. Now I may potentially study my MBA also in London, Ontario. Ivey offers a 5 week study trip to China, India or South America which I've heard is very good. Following that I could finish my last term abroad, thereby getting more international experience. IESE would be living in Barcelona, but also offers me an opportunity in the second year to study abroad. I think I can do a study trip for a week or 2 with IESE as well. So I get a lot more international experience with IESE, plus a bonus of immersing myself more completely in another culture and mastering my Spanish.
Essentially, by staying at Ivey I stay in London, Ontario. I already have my house, my car, my life set up there. This means that I have very little living expenses and no moving expenses. Living in Barcelona will be a significant expenditure on top of the tuition. But by staying in London I stay "comfortable," I don't push myself out of my comfort zone. I believe that there exists more potential to grow when you are out of your comfort zone. This is a point for IESE, but again, is it worth over $80000 in tuition alone?
Another important factor, Ivey's program is about 13 months and starts in March whereas IESE's program is about 19 months and starts in September. Hence I will get my MBA from Ivey just over a year sooner! And at the reduced cost. I can enter the business world that much sooner, therefore less opportunity costs.
What I really want out of an MBA is to develop entrepreneurial skills. I would love to open my own business. Specifically in the growing tech industry. I feel like, in terms of entrepreneurship, IESE is stronger than Ivey, but I don't know exactly how to gauge this. I want to go to a good university because I want my backup plan to be to able to enter the consulting industry, specifically in nuclear energy or operations since I have a strong operational background at a nuclear company. I feel like both schools are good for the consulting aspect, I don't know how to judge which one is superior.
I feel like I am a "Global Citizen" and by accepting Ivey that I am accepting to stay, more or less, in Canada for the rest of my life. But if I accept IESE, I have no idea where the world will take me. It is both exciting and scary at the same time. I am worried that I will choose one over the other and then live in regret.
It's important to mention that IF, hypothetically, Stanford accepted me, I'd pretty much go no matter what. I think that Stanford would be a great place for me to try to develop entrepreneurial skills in the tech industry with an amazing alumni network.
I only have about a week to tell the schools which one I am going to. I never expected for both of these schools to accept me. I really wish that INSEAD at least gave me an interview. I know that choosing INSEAD over these two would have been hands down an easy choice. That rejection hurt. It's even demotivated me to apply to Stanford, Harvard and LBS.
By the way, I have a friend from London, Ontario. He is one year younger than I am. We met at university as he also stayed in London to study Engineering. Both of us ended up employed at the same nuclear plant but he went to the engineering side and I went to the operations side. He always wanted to get his MBA after he got his Professional Engineering certificate. 5 years ago he chose to go to Ivey for his MBA. He was admitted to both Booth and Wharton without a scholarship and Ivey was offering him $50000 scholarship. He said that he chose Ivey mostly based on financials, significantly lower tuition costs, lower living expenses, one year program vs 2 year program, etc. But he also said that for him, he didn't see the "brand value" of a Booth or Wharton MBA adding that much to his resume. He has been very successful. He just signed an agreement to be the youngest vice president for an extremely large engineering firm in Canada. He shared some private details with me and his salary will be hovering around the $400000 range although we didn't get into details about share plans, benefit package, vacations, pension, etc.
He has already told me that Ivey has some really good world class professors and they have produced some very successful entrepreneurs. He added that anywhere that I go to do an MBA will give me the core business skills that I need to succeed. He did say that I need to figure out what's best for me and that I shouldn't just try to rush through to finish my MBA. He believes that if I think IESE is where I belong, that the extra $100000 I'll spend between tuition and living costs is small in the long run for my career.
I haven't been to the IESE campus so I don't exactly know how my fit would be there but I have a good feeling about it. I did go to spend a day at the Ivey campus since it is so close and I felt like it may not be the best fit for me. I personally know some alumni from Ivey though and I get along with them well. I did feel like the environment may be a bit more of an all for one than a team though.
Thanks a lot!
With that said, I have to make a decision soon about if I want to go to Ivey or IESE. IESE consistently ranks higher than Ivey on global rankings. However, there are a few drawbacks. The first drawback is cost. After I convert prices into Canadian dollars, Ivey is $95000 and IESE is $145000. For Ivey, they awarded me a $30000 scholarship! But IESE didn't award me a scholarship and said that my scholarship application is pending and that I have to wait until the end of February to find out. That means that Ivey actually will cost about $65000. Therefore, if I don't get a scholarship to IESE, I'm looking at about $80000 more to complete my MBA.
I am really trying to question if this amount of money is worth the higher ranking and international experience that I can gain from IESE. I am from London, Ontario and I studied my bachelor's degree in London, Ontario. Now I may potentially study my MBA also in London, Ontario. Ivey offers a 5 week study trip to China, India or South America which I've heard is very good. Following that I could finish my last term abroad, thereby getting more international experience. IESE would be living in Barcelona, but also offers me an opportunity in the second year to study abroad. I think I can do a study trip for a week or 2 with IESE as well. So I get a lot more international experience with IESE, plus a bonus of immersing myself more completely in another culture and mastering my Spanish.
Essentially, by staying at Ivey I stay in London, Ontario. I already have my house, my car, my life set up there. This means that I have very little living expenses and no moving expenses. Living in Barcelona will be a significant expenditure on top of the tuition. But by staying in London I stay "comfortable," I don't push myself out of my comfort zone. I believe that there exists more potential to grow when you are out of your comfort zone. This is a point for IESE, but again, is it worth over $80000 in tuition alone?
Another important factor, Ivey's program is about 13 months and starts in March whereas IESE's program is about 19 months and starts in September. Hence I will get my MBA from Ivey just over a year sooner! And at the reduced cost. I can enter the business world that much sooner, therefore less opportunity costs.
What I really want out of an MBA is to develop entrepreneurial skills. I would love to open my own business. Specifically in the growing tech industry. I feel like, in terms of entrepreneurship, IESE is stronger than Ivey, but I don't know exactly how to gauge this. I want to go to a good university because I want my backup plan to be to able to enter the consulting industry, specifically in nuclear energy or operations since I have a strong operational background at a nuclear company. I feel like both schools are good for the consulting aspect, I don't know how to judge which one is superior.
I feel like I am a "Global Citizen" and by accepting Ivey that I am accepting to stay, more or less, in Canada for the rest of my life. But if I accept IESE, I have no idea where the world will take me. It is both exciting and scary at the same time. I am worried that I will choose one over the other and then live in regret.
It's important to mention that IF, hypothetically, Stanford accepted me, I'd pretty much go no matter what. I think that Stanford would be a great place for me to try to develop entrepreneurial skills in the tech industry with an amazing alumni network.
I only have about a week to tell the schools which one I am going to. I never expected for both of these schools to accept me. I really wish that INSEAD at least gave me an interview. I know that choosing INSEAD over these two would have been hands down an easy choice. That rejection hurt. It's even demotivated me to apply to Stanford, Harvard and LBS.
By the way, I have a friend from London, Ontario. He is one year younger than I am. We met at university as he also stayed in London to study Engineering. Both of us ended up employed at the same nuclear plant but he went to the engineering side and I went to the operations side. He always wanted to get his MBA after he got his Professional Engineering certificate. 5 years ago he chose to go to Ivey for his MBA. He was admitted to both Booth and Wharton without a scholarship and Ivey was offering him $50000 scholarship. He said that he chose Ivey mostly based on financials, significantly lower tuition costs, lower living expenses, one year program vs 2 year program, etc. But he also said that for him, he didn't see the "brand value" of a Booth or Wharton MBA adding that much to his resume. He has been very successful. He just signed an agreement to be the youngest vice president for an extremely large engineering firm in Canada. He shared some private details with me and his salary will be hovering around the $400000 range although we didn't get into details about share plans, benefit package, vacations, pension, etc.
He has already told me that Ivey has some really good world class professors and they have produced some very successful entrepreneurs. He added that anywhere that I go to do an MBA will give me the core business skills that I need to succeed. He did say that I need to figure out what's best for me and that I shouldn't just try to rush through to finish my MBA. He believes that if I think IESE is where I belong, that the extra $100000 I'll spend between tuition and living costs is small in the long run for my career.
I haven't been to the IESE campus so I don't exactly know how my fit would be there but I have a good feeling about it. I did go to spend a day at the Ivey campus since it is so close and I felt like it may not be the best fit for me. I personally know some alumni from Ivey though and I get along with them well. I did feel like the environment may be a bit more of an all for one than a team though.
Thanks a lot!
09 Dec 2018, 17:51
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations on your admits!
Life can go in many directions and there is just no way to estimate or tell. However, there are some things that help narrow this down - If you are thinking about being an entrepreneur, you need to have the least debt possible. You can't start your own venture if you have 100-200K of debt on your shoulders. Just not possible unless it is something that takes off immediately and people throw money at you.
I would not count on the 400K either though. Your friend likely could have gotten that job with an MBA from the McMasters University or from Katz. I doubt that Ivey contributed to the hiring decision. I have known many many people from the top 20 schools and all had to work very hard to get good job, and they are getting half of that at best. Others, had to work very very hard to get a better job/position.
I know Ivey is boring and it would be more fun to head over to Barcelona - can't go wrong there. I would go if you are really tired of your life and want a complete change of scenery. Otherwise, as you have noted, it is somewhat inefficient and financially irresponsible.
So since your network in Ontario and your home is there too and you are getting more money, I think Ivey is a likely winner.
P.S. If you did not get a scholarship from IESE and ding from INSEAD, I would change my strategy up for R2 (get a consultant to help you or a close friend to see how you can get more umph from your profile), if you are looking at higher ranked schools. I would suggest looking at some piers of Ivey to see if you can get more scholarship money at least as leverage, and also higher rated schools you would attend irrespective of scholarships.
Life can go in many directions and there is just no way to estimate or tell. However, there are some things that help narrow this down - If you are thinking about being an entrepreneur, you need to have the least debt possible. You can't start your own venture if you have 100-200K of debt on your shoulders. Just not possible unless it is something that takes off immediately and people throw money at you.
I would not count on the 400K either though. Your friend likely could have gotten that job with an MBA from the McMasters University or from Katz. I doubt that Ivey contributed to the hiring decision. I have known many many people from the top 20 schools and all had to work very hard to get good job, and they are getting half of that at best. Others, had to work very very hard to get a better job/position.
I know Ivey is boring and it would be more fun to head over to Barcelona - can't go wrong there. I would go if you are really tired of your life and want a complete change of scenery. Otherwise, as you have noted, it is somewhat inefficient and financially irresponsible.
So since your network in Ontario and your home is there too and you are getting more money, I think Ivey is a likely winner.
P.S. If you did not get a scholarship from IESE and ding from INSEAD, I would change my strategy up for R2 (get a consultant to help you or a close friend to see how you can get more umph from your profile), if you are looking at higher ranked schools. I would suggest looking at some piers of Ivey to see if you can get more scholarship money at least as leverage, and also higher rated schools you would attend irrespective of scholarships.
10 Dec 2018, 10:19
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bb
I greatly appreciate the response! I am leaning towards Ivey for the cost. I agree that an entrepreneur should have a minimum amount of debt load. I believe Harvard and Stanford are schools that I would attend, if admitted, even without a scholarship. I think networking during the MBA is super important. I still want to apply to LBS as well. All of these will be round 2 applications and what is an unfortunate possibility is that one of these schools admit me that I really want after I start Ivey. See, Ivey starts March 8th! IF I get an interview with the other schools then I likely won't be informed of admittance until the end of March. I would have significantly invested in Ivey financially. I still don't know what the terms are if I drop out of Ivey.... This could be very prohibitive.
I'm bored with London, but I think that I will be so busy with the MBA program that it won't really matter and also result in fewer distractions...
I really want to get into the technology field. I see AI becoming a super big thing in the business world and I want to pioneer some of its applications. I feel like going to Stanford, with its location, would be perfect for that. An area that I see Ivey specifically being beneficial actually is with breaking into the marijuana industry in Canada. A confession is that I have never used marijuana, but I don't discriminate and if I can enter this relatively new industry and profit, I'm definitely in!
I feel like a big failure with my application for INSEAD was the video interview questions. Even though I prepared I think I got caught off guard by a couple of questions and didn't have a good answer.
As you said, I definitely can't judge my friend's success on possible success for myself. I'll PM you more about that actually.
If money wasn't a concern at all, I would be leaning towards IESE. Better ranking, better known internationally. Even though I don't like the idea of graduating a year later than Ivey, maybe I could benefit drastically from the extra time in school. I did see though that IESE teaches its core business courses in a year and Ivey teaches its core business courses in just 5 months. Comparing the core course offerings from both schools, it appears to be essentially the same thing.
I am going to rethink my strategy for my next few applications. It worked well enough for Ivey to grant me a large scholarship, and enough for IESE to at least admit me.
