Which Business School In Europe for US

Question

Hi,

I will apply for these business schools. I am Italian with 700 GMAT and I would like in the future to go to work in US (CA).

Can you help me in the decision? I saw the ft, economist and forbes rankings, but something is strange about the salary, so I ask help to you.

These are the information I got. Can you confirm those?

IE  - good name for Europe, no campus, yes exchange, yes internship
 IESE  - very good salary, no campus, yes exchange, yes internship
 Judge  - no exchange, no internship, yes campus. Ok for an UK job. Not so strong name for business, but prestigious name in general outside Europe, difficult to learn a third language because you are in UK
 INSEAD  (September) - first one for Asia, one of the best in Europe, yes campus, no internship, yes exchange, three campuses all over the world, only 10 months
 HEC  - maybe the first one in Europe, the first in France, not known in US, yes campus, yes internship

If you would have been accepted in everyone, which one will you choose?

Thanks a lot
Claudio

arkadiyua · Answer

INSEAD hands down - the brand is gaining momentum in the States, and in the major internationals you do not need to explain. Global recognition and network head and shoulders above the others. 
A couple of corrections on INSEAD:
- yes internship (in the middle of the program if you apply for Jan intake, and at the end if Sep intake)
- 12 months if start in Jan

IE is a good school that does poor job in marketing and career services. Rest - would not bother for a globally-recognized school, although good schools, but very regional. Judge may have some of the Oxbridge cachet but still lags behind.

claudiocipolli · Answer

Uhm, ok...

I am not so sure about INSEAD internship. I asked to them and they told me the internship is only for January intake, while September intake will last only 10 months with no internship.

Now, if I look the percentage of alumni who went to North America is more or less the same in every school...

INSEAD - 11%
JUDGE - 9%
IE - 12%
HEC - 14%
IESE - 12%

Now the question becomes..

Is important the exchange? Yes, Judge has the famous brand of Oxbridge, but without exchange. The others have exchange, and I could decide for an US exchange in which I could make US network...

The same about INSEAD, no internship (if I understood well). Isn't it a little bit bad?

I dream Silicon Valley, I can accept work in Canada, Europe or Oceania, but I wouldn't like to work in Asia, South America or Africa...
I thought to the possibility to apply (January deadline) for Stanford and Berkeley, but the problem for those MBA is the cost: more or less total of 200.000$. Have you got some idea about the possibilities of fellowships, scholarships and loans in those schools? (Sincerely actually I don't know the difference between fellowship and scholarship

)

Another thing is that I would like to work like manager, not enterpreneurship or consulting.... So what can you recommend to me?

Thanks

) Another thing is that I would like to work like manager, not enterpreneurship or consulting.... So what can you recommend to me? Thanks

xyeek · Answer

The lack of an internship at INSEAD isn't necessarily bad if you know what you want to do already. Knowing what you wish to do coming out of b-school would help you pick which school to apply to - you say management but what kind? What industry? For instance HEC would be excellent if you wish to work in France and in the fashion/luxury retail industry.

From what I gather though, if you wish to work in the US post-MBA and you aren't already a US citizen or someone with US work exp/network, you're much better off going to a US b-school. This is primarily because a grad from a European business school looking for a job in the US would not only be competing with fellow European b-school grads, but also be competing with grads from the top US schools who have the advantage because the recruiters would already have gone to their school for recruitment events. Mind you, from what I read about non-US citizens getting a work visa in the US, even if you were a top US school grad with a prospective job offer, it's basically a lottery with a low chance of winning unless they do something about the way they process MBA grad visa applicants in the near future, before you graduate.

If cost is a factor, bear in mind when you do your calculations that US schools have a higher chance of you offering a scholarship if you're a really good candidate, whereas the European schools don't have as large a scholarship fund to hand out e.g. at INSEAD the average scholarship you'd get would be around 13,000 euros.

Also how about LBS? Being in London, it has good connections to all the global businesses and is on par with INSEAD as a top b-school. The program can be 15, 18 or 21 months long so you can do both internships and an exchange to the US where you can form US networks if that's where you really want to go. Might also be easier to start in a European office and later ask to be transferred to a US office.

Hope that helps

Good luck!

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