Besides which the course meetings are frequent enough to encourage real bonding, and the personal backgrounds diverse enough to offer a whole new perspective on your chosen topic...
dave
Alain
I graduated from there in 2000.
There were about 4-6 students who were 'sponsored', and some 75 who were not. Most, like myself, had saved up for many years. Some had taken out loans etc...
I doubt the ratio would have changed much in the interim.. the economics of a business degree remain pretty much unchanged.
I doubt the ratio would have changed much in the interim.. the economics of a business degree remain pretty much unchanged.[/QUOTE]
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Are the returns on a business degree unchanged too ?
i.e. using your criteria (Switzerland or France) it would be: INSEAD, HEC Paris, IMD.
Has it benefited me? probably not as I would be where I am now without it.
It is true though that if you really want to get ahead, go to the big schools, the rest like Monaco don't really give you any benefit. It's all much a do about nothing.
There are other courses you can do tailored specifically to a job which last 3-6 months. An MBA is made up of a series of these. It depends what you really want to do.
- The top schools, some of which you already mentioned
- A middle-tier, mostly business schools part of public universities, where teachers are less prestigious but where you must reach a certain level to get a degree.
- A lower tier, where I'd put the schools where even if you must attend courses you feel like buying a degree.
I went to what I would qualify as as middle-tier school, namely Institut d'Administration des Entreprises in Grenoble. They are a serious school that is part of the french university system, and where teaching is done by researchers, full-time teachers and external consultants. You get no brand recognition, but what I would consider as a solid basic business education. The experience can be very different depending on individuals, how you get involved in the courses, not only studying to pass the exam, how you network (or not) with fellow students, and how, once you have your degree, you get to apply what you just learned, and keep your newly acquired skills up to date.
Once again this choice is really personal, and one should really balance the investment (in time & money) required by a given school with the expected benefits before choosing.
I'd only warn you about schools that I put in the lower tier, when I was looking for a business school, I got in touch with a few of those, where most of the focus seemed to be on paying the tuition, where the academic requirements seemed way too low, and as one of the colleagues I asked for advice told me "It would be en embarrassment to put their name on your CV"
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why only the big schools ? Apparently you get an alumni network from there but you get that also from the 'not so big schools', no ?
What is the main advantage of the big schools ?
It's not to say the smaller school progams are bad or anything, they certainly help in your business appreciation.
But don't expect the smaller schools to give you the opportunities big schools give, the name alone talks.
It's basically the big schools or nothing if you really want to make it.
But then it comes down to what you want and as I said before other courses cover the different sections of an MBA and are applicable to their job sectors. They are comparable in content as well.
An MBA is not necessarily the big helper it is portrayed as. It really comes down to your current circumstances and where you want to go.
But don't expect the smaller schools to give you the opportunities big schools give, the name alone talks.
It's basically the big schools or nothing if you really want to make it.
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Thanks. The only question would be: When you say 'if you really want to make it' what does it mean ? Harvard graduates about 900 students a year. How many of these students make it 'big' ?
So would you agree that since the name alone talks, these schools are more or less screening institutions for the 'most driven' ? The reason I ask is, I look at the content of Harvard's MBA and a solid middle tier school and it was the same courses, same format etc. They even ask for the same GMAT score etc. The tuition fees are different, though.
Course content is difficult to guage, it comes down to the lecturer, same as any course at any level.
It's also probably the same as any line of service or goods, you pay for the label.
But it's also true that the really smart people go to the best schools. Also not all 900 will end up as high flyers, it just can't happen.
It's difficult to generalise because there are always exceptions.
It's also true that if you do an MBA and pay for it yourself (not necessary) people will respect you for the time and effort you put into doing it no matter where you go. So to say some schools are a waste of time is probably not true. If the people who go there achieve their goals then it is worth it. Not everyone wants to be boss of a business leader.
I also work with people who think an MBA is an indication of someone who doesn't know what they're doing. They've apparently lost touch with reality.
How is that program in terms of business network especially in Europe and Switzerland? Thank you
Hi Igor
The value of the IMD EMBA is particularly good in Switzerland and Europe. As one of the top European schools, IMD is very well known and respected.
Regarding the age, IMD doesn't actually have an age limit but rather looks at work experience. The requirement for the Exec MBA is a minimum of 10 years.
If you drop me a PM, I'll gladly put you in touch with one of our EMBA Program Advisors.
Good luck
Nats
Does IMD actually helping with job placement of it alumni? Is there a chance to get any type of scholarship and what is needed for that?
Thank you
As I would prefer not to publish my email address on the forum, please send me a message through this site and I will respond to you.
Cheers
Nats