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17 Apr 2024, 22:12
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey all, I’m in the midst of making the difficult decision of choosing between the schools I’ve been admitted to, and I'd really appreciate some perspective.
I’m an Indian female with lots of international experience, who has been living in the Middle East for close to 10 years.
I’ve been made offers at IESE (scholarship decision pending but unlikely to be significant), Bocconi (40-50% scholarship) and ESADE (35% scholarship).
I was waitlisted at INSEAD and had plans to reapply but decided against it as I didn’t necessarily want to wait another year and lose the offers that I have in hand.
My post-MBA goal is consulting. However, I’d also be very open to tech as it would give me the chance to leverage my marketing experience of 6 years in the technology sector.
I don’t speak any European languages fluently so the Middle East will be my main target market for recruitment. I’ve also learned that London, Berlin and Amsterdam (and maybe Switzerland) could also be potential target markets in my case.
Pros and cons as I see it:
IESE (#5 rank on FT)
(+) Feeder school for consulting (MBB and tier 2)
(+) Also strong for tech (though last year’s employment report doesn’t reflect this as nearly 50% of the class went into consulting)
(+) Growing Middle East presence
(-) Expensive (105K EUR without scholarship)
(-) Longer format (15-19 months)
(-) Tough to go on exchange to top schools (few spots per school + large class size)
Bocconi (#3 rank on FT)
(+) Strong for consulting (tier 2 mostly; not sure about MBB)
(+) Cheap (45K EUR with the possibility to get more)
(+) Flexible format - can work full-time starting month 10
(+) Very easy to go on exchange to top schools (Wharton, Columbia, etc.)
(-) Not as strong as IESE for consulting or as strong as ESADE for tech
(-) Weaker Middle East presence (but I could be wrong)
ESADE (#17 rank on FT)
(+) Strongest for tech (nearly 40% of 2023 class went into tech, despite being a terrible year for the industry)
(+) Also strong for consulting (25% of 2023 class went to MBB and tier 2)
(+) Growing Middle East presence
(+) Cheap (50K EUR with the possibility to get more)
(+) Flexible format - can work full-time starting month 12
(-) Exchange opportunities are not that attractive (few tier 1 schools)
(-) Tier 2 status / lack of prestige compared to IESE and Bocconi
Closing thoughts:
The way I see it, since none of these schools share the same prestige or international reach as INSEAD, they more or less fall into the same bucket (happy to be proven wrong!) and therefore I feel that I’d be better off choosing Bocconi for its cheap tuition, flexible program and #3 FT rank. Or ESADE for giving me the best of both worlds (tech and consulting). And also, since consulting is extemely competitive by design and if I don’t make the cut or I change my mind through the program duration, I feel that paying 60K more for IESE would be hard to justify.
That said, I am super confused and would love to hear from experts, alumni, students, and anyone else in a similar situation!
I’m an Indian female with lots of international experience, who has been living in the Middle East for close to 10 years.
I’ve been made offers at IESE (scholarship decision pending but unlikely to be significant), Bocconi (40-50% scholarship) and ESADE (35% scholarship).
I was waitlisted at INSEAD and had plans to reapply but decided against it as I didn’t necessarily want to wait another year and lose the offers that I have in hand.
My post-MBA goal is consulting. However, I’d also be very open to tech as it would give me the chance to leverage my marketing experience of 6 years in the technology sector.
I don’t speak any European languages fluently so the Middle East will be my main target market for recruitment. I’ve also learned that London, Berlin and Amsterdam (and maybe Switzerland) could also be potential target markets in my case.
Pros and cons as I see it:
IESE (#5 rank on FT)
(+) Feeder school for consulting (MBB and tier 2)
(+) Also strong for tech (though last year’s employment report doesn’t reflect this as nearly 50% of the class went into consulting)
(+) Growing Middle East presence
(-) Expensive (105K EUR without scholarship)
(-) Longer format (15-19 months)
(-) Tough to go on exchange to top schools (few spots per school + large class size)
Bocconi (#3 rank on FT)
(+) Strong for consulting (tier 2 mostly; not sure about MBB)
(+) Cheap (45K EUR with the possibility to get more)
(+) Flexible format - can work full-time starting month 10
(+) Very easy to go on exchange to top schools (Wharton, Columbia, etc.)
(-) Not as strong as IESE for consulting or as strong as ESADE for tech
(-) Weaker Middle East presence (but I could be wrong)
ESADE (#17 rank on FT)
(+) Strongest for tech (nearly 40% of 2023 class went into tech, despite being a terrible year for the industry)
(+) Also strong for consulting (25% of 2023 class went to MBB and tier 2)
(+) Growing Middle East presence
(+) Cheap (50K EUR with the possibility to get more)
(+) Flexible format - can work full-time starting month 12
(-) Exchange opportunities are not that attractive (few tier 1 schools)
(-) Tier 2 status / lack of prestige compared to IESE and Bocconi
Closing thoughts:
The way I see it, since none of these schools share the same prestige or international reach as INSEAD, they more or less fall into the same bucket (happy to be proven wrong!) and therefore I feel that I’d be better off choosing Bocconi for its cheap tuition, flexible program and #3 FT rank. Or ESADE for giving me the best of both worlds (tech and consulting). And also, since consulting is extemely competitive by design and if I don’t make the cut or I change my mind through the program duration, I feel that paying 60K more for IESE would be hard to justify.
That said, I am super confused and would love to hear from experts, alumni, students, and anyone else in a similar situation!
MBAGuide
Joined: 24 Jul 2019
Last visit: 22 Apr 2026
Posts: 2,359
Given Kudos: 28
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Marketing
Schools: Insead Sept'18 (A$$) ISB '19 (A)
18 Apr 2024, 02:59
Kudos
Bookmarks
achloes
Hi achloes I know we talked about this at length a few days ago, and it pains me how INSEAD could give up such a stellar profile, but I guess it is what it is, and you are better off with those other impressive admits you have.
Because you have extensive experience and networks in the Middle East and plan to live there long-term, you should be able to find good opportunities there with any of the schools you currently have. The difference comes specifically if you plan on getting into more competitive positions like T1 consulting and tech. I am rooting for you to get a response from IESE with a high scholarship amount.
Out of the three schools, I would pick IESE as this school has built significant brand equity with T1 consulting and tech firms over the past three to four years. FT rankings or not, IESE is definitely way ahead of ESADE and Bocconi (which are better known for their Masters programs) in terms of MBA education and opportunities and almost on par with INSEAD if you study the rankings from the last 3 years closely. If there is one school I would highly recommend for consulting after INSEAD in the EU, it would be IESE.
I understand how shelling 60K more than the other offers is not convincing. I think you should evaluate what is the real reason for you wanting to get an MBA at this point? Are you only looking to re-enter the corporate sector, or are you looking to enter the corporate sector with a bang? Are you using your MBA as a means to brush up your management skills, or are you looking to leverage the long-term prestige and extensive alumni network/support that comes with certain schools? Based on your own requirements, you may find that Bocconi and Esade make more sense for you. But also check out where the alumni of these schools work, in what positions? Ideally, you should attend a school that has as many alumni as possible in important management or leadership positions that you want to aspire to in the mid-term.
I also found this article that you might like: Poets&Quants | A New Winner Tops Our 2022-2023 International MBA Ranking (poetsandquants.com)
Best wishes
Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alumna, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer)
Founder, MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/| Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- [email protected]
