SDA Bocconi 2008 Admits

[post2ashish]

Originally Posted by pumpupthejam

hey ,

im a bangalore girl witha 660 on the gmat and 3 years of workex. have an interview with the adcom on 5th . hope i get through!!

but im only concerned about it being a 1 year course and whether it is a great bet for career switchers .esp since most of us come in with typical IT services backgrounds !
and since there is no internship too .

Hey,

ATB for your interview results. I guess you should receive your decision very soon.

Regd your concern about switching careers, even with a 2 yr program it would be equally difficult to switch careers. Don't assume that just because you have an MBA (be it 1 yr or 2 yr), you can get into any company you desire. Every company wants to capitalize on your past experience.
At the same time, don't assume that a 1 yr program cannot help you switch careers. It is a lot dependent on your personal skills & job situation (deamnd & supply) in the market.

Most likely you will have 3 situations post MBA (lets assume you want to enter into investment banking)
1. Join any investment bank as a fresher & slowly move into the role you desire.
2. Join an investment bank as an IT/Technology strategist
3. Join an IT company (yahoo, ebay) as a finance advisor. Work for 2 years & then join an investment banking firm in the desired role


One of the reasons why I feel a 1 yr program is better is that time to market is quite less. Why to spend 2 years & 45 lakhs to do an MBA from a 25th ranking US univ when I can do it in 1 Yr for 25 Lakhs from one of the top 10 college in Europe. I know that SDA's education quality is good & what matters is how i utilised that knowledge.

[post2ashish]

Originally Posted by piermarcor

Today I had a chat with the friend of mine who did the MBA at SDA last year, in order to gather some additional info useful for people interested in Bocconi.
He said that most of the italian people are able to find a job rather quickly in Italy. Similarly, the students who target London were able to get jobs easily enough. Non-Italian students interested in remaining in Italy had to struggle the most.
Last year, 2 students were Indians. 1 went back to India after the MBA, and the other went to London, and is currently working at Exxon.
Around 10% of the class found a job in London.
In general, recruiting firms were: Lehman Brothers, Merril Lynch, DB, Fiat, Tata, Fincantieri, Ferretti Yacths, Johnson & Johnson, Nokia, Mediobanca, Banca IMI, Unicredit and others.

I hope this helps.

Good luck everybody!!

Hey buddy,

Good info.. Thanks

I heard that due to subprime meltdown students are finding it hard to get internship. Can you fid out how is the internship situation this year... ??

[pumpupthejam]

hey ashish

i guess you have a valid point here.But its scary to think that post -mba you have to come back to india and look for jobs again! thats what the guy from italy is saying yea, about 2 guys coming back ?
i find it hard to believe that of the close to 60 companies recruiting for close to say 200 students , people arent able to find jobs! but are indians not able to get work because of the language problem or because of the IT background deal. im curious .

[pumpupthejam]

oh and there were internships for the earlier 14-16 month batches i guess .not anymore yea?

[piermarcor]

Actually, only 1 went back to India, the other is in London.

About internships, this year will surely be tougher, however I think we are currently at the bottom of the cycle, and from here it can only get better... a friend of mine is doing an MSc in London and he is currently looking for internships. Barcap initially offered him an internship, where he would be paid according to the hours of work done (this tells how bad the situation is) with no prospects of hiring, and even that is currently frozen. Credit Suisse is offering some internships too, and my friend is trying to get in, but there is a strong competition, and again students were told that the possibilities of a hire at the end are very slim. Still, he is in contact with a headhunter, and this guy is not pessimistic on his chance to find a god job, in London or Milan, and actually already mentioned him a few opportunities.

So you see, it can only get better

[skarra]

Hey,

ATB for your interview..You seem to be really apprehensive about your Post MBA career..I am essentially frm the same background as you are (IT/3yrs Exp)..but, as Ashish has mentioned..your Post MBA career is completely dependant on you as an individual..don't get affected by the statistics n all..language is going to be a barrier in any euorpean school..but, if you can develop a good network and you are clear about your goals..finding a job should not be tough..there is absolutely no question abt the quality of education in SDA n with the small class size..u get more opportunities to learn..

Good luck,
Sandeep..

[pumpupthejam]

hey sandeep ,

thanks a ton man . i really really hope i get through !

[skarra]

Originally Posted by pumpupthejam

hey sandeep ,

thanks a ton man . i really really hope i get through !

Hey..don't worry..it was one of the coolest interviews i had attended..just be yourself and stick to your strengths..you'll certainly sail through..

[post2ashish]

Originally Posted by pumpupthejam

hey ashish

i guess you have a valid point here.But its scary to think that post -mba you have to come back to india and look for jobs again! thats what the guy from italy is saying yea, about 2 guys coming back ?
i find it hard to believe that of the close to 60 companies recruiting for close to say 200 students , people arent able to find jobs! but are indians not able to get work because of the language problem or because of the IT background deal. im curious .

I can understand your apprehensions, which are valid.

Let me answer it from 3 aspects
1. Cost of doing an MBA
With most of the reputed indian MBA colleges hiking fees to the tune of 8-10 Lakhs (IIMA - 11.5 L & ISB - 17 L) & most of the european schools charging 45000 - 65000 EUR, I believe that SDA's fees at 23L (36000 * 63.50) is quite reasonable.
Also consider the fact that post SDA, your average salary would be 65k Eur. In case, you return to india, average salary would be 15L (which is what an avg IIM/ISB grads get). Recently indian companies have started offering competitive pay packages (& good work profiles) which is one of the reasons why students prefer to come back to India than doing some OK job in italy/europe.
Students in US/UK have approx 35-40L loan on their heads & most of the times they are forced to take up a US/UK based job to pay back their loans (i'm not talking of Top 10 universities). The only good thing about US/UK is that it is far easier to get loans, which include both tution & living expenses, than it is in Europe.
In short, I think it would not be too bad in case I have to return to India for a job as i'm quite sure that I can pay back the 20L loan with an indian salary.

2. Job Scenario post MBA
One of the reasons why it takes 3 months to search for a job in Europe is that most of the companies start their recruitment post christmas i.e. in January. So people have to wait for Nov-Dec-Jan to get hired. So 3 month wait period has less to do with the quality of MBA education & more to do with hiring pattern of the companies.
Now assuming that post 1 yr MBA program, it will take me 3 months to search for a job so total duration without a job would be 13+3=16 months. I would be available to recruiters 7 - 8 months before another guy who opted for a 24 month MBA program. So I'll have more time to search for a job (in case i'm in the bottom 20% of the class who cud not find a job in 3 months). Moreover, it is easier to get work visas in europe (provided the company sponsors it) than it is to get in US (where you will have to be lucky enough to win the visa in the H1 lottery). The only issue is learning the local language (Italian) for which you will have approx 4 months before the start of the program (u won't become a master but enuf time to get used to the language).


3. Quality of students
Placements has less to do with the college & more with the quality of students seeking jobs post MBA.
You should also consider the fact that first choice for the brightest indian students is US... next comes UK & finally comes Europe/Australia/Singapore. THis means that on an AVERAGE, a student going to US/UK is better than a student going to any other destiation. Naturally, indian students in US/UK univs will have better jobs than students from other regions...
I was in Rome for 3 months where I worked very closely with Italian people. I'm quite confident that I can get a job easily in europe provided I take placements seriously. The SDA alumni who interviewed me gave me an advise which I would like to share - "Don't assume that an MBA would be a quick solution to all your career issues. Any good MBA program, apart from teaching you business basics, will open up your mind & make you flexible enough that you will see opportunities in whatever challenges life poses at you. And it would be upto you to make best use of those opportunities/challenges".
I looked at SDA's course structure & i believe it is a gr8 program at a good price. Yes, there are some concerns but I believe they can be managed...

Finally, chk the program structure... SDA does have an 10-12 week internship program. I would also suggest you to go through SDA Alumni Magazine (AMSDA) which would give you a broader perspective of strength of SDA Alumni. DO remem, that once you join SDA you won't be an indian student anymore.. you would be part of SDA's global community. Think from this perspective & wish you ATB.

[Neuromancer]

Hi guys,
how is the situation?
Who is admitted and is enrolling?

I think that would be an advantage to contact each other before the MBA. We'll be able to share opinions, tips etc.

Who knows where should be possible to contact others admitted?