Coolmayank: I did realise it was a general reference, but thought it was a good opportunity for me as well, to show off my not-so-recent knowledge about the moolah raking industry.

Btw, the 'moolah raking' status may have to take a break for a few years. But I'm sure the PE industry will bounce back and re-gain that label.

Sure! In the interim, moolah raking is taking the flavor of working at a certain bank holding company, uploading software that has the the potential to manipulate commodity and stock markets to a foreign server, and then signing a job offer for 3x your previous base salary.

Downside is said bank holding company could get all of DC after you...

Coolmayank: I did realise it was a general reference, but thought it was a good opportunity for me as well, to show off my not-so-recent knowledge about the moolah raking industry.

Btw, the 'moolah raking' status may have to take a break for a few years. But I'm sure the PE industry will bounce back and re-gain that label.

In preparation, you could open your Swiss account and be ready for the deluge.

Coolmayank: Apax partners were not recruiting for their European offices. In fact, when they came over to meet the class, they specifically asked us not to bother applying. However, they were looking for people with transaction experience for their India office. So if you are keen on coming back, you might want to tap into your PE club and find out the latest dope.
Carlyle in the US might be a better option, though. With their deeper pockets and the bigger names on their roles.

MBAGOGOGO: Have fun at LBS. The classmates could be a bit on the boisterous side (guilty of generalising), but if you are the type-A variety, you'll fit in fine. Good luck.

Apax was just a general reference ...showing off my recently gained knowledge about a moolah raking industry called Private Equity.

And I am sure Carlyle has a lottsa PE veterans joining H/S waiting outside offices.

Nd I am definitely nt interested in Nariman Point atleast for the next few years i.e. till I skip the middle management levels.

Coolmayank: Apax partners were not recruiting for their European offices. In fact, when they came over to meet the class, they specifically asked us not to bother applying. However, they were looking for people with transaction experience for their India office. So if you are keen on coming back, you might want to tap into your PE club and find out the latest dope.
Carlyle in the US might be a better option, though. With their deeper pockets and the bigger names on their roles.

MBAGOGOGO: Have fun at LBS. The classmates could be a bit on the boisterous side (guilty of generalising), but if you are the type-A variety, you'll fit in fine. Good luck.

Hahaha....

I sounded low....gosh! Thanks for the reminder coolmayank! And thanks for the well-wishes....
:cheerio:

I am just being cynical about the current green shoots sprouting....

I see the economy contracting, albeit at a slower pace, probably til the end of this year or 1Q10. There could be possible upswing possibly only at the end of 2010, and even then the recovery will be slow.

This will be of a concern at the time you graduate. The recent Business Week article cited some studies suggest those that those launching careers an economic downturn may face years -- or a lifetime -- of lower earnings.

It's a grim economy for new grads - MSN Money

Hi Nothing,

I made my decision based largely on personal choices as each school does have its own merits and advantages.

My partner prefers to be in London hence I have decided on London Business School as my choice even though financially it is the toughest. Will have to take on a significant level of debt.

Secondly, as my post-career direction will most likely in either consulting or PE/VC, being based in London will hopefully be useful for networking.

Hopefully things will pan and the economy will improve.

Hey cheer up...I dont expect an LBS admit to sound low.

Things will rock and roll mate!! all the best.

Apax Partners is waiting for you...besties in life and beyond.

Wrt Europe INSEAD is only Global/Pan European top school for consulting .. LBS also is good bet although LBS is traditionally good for Finance placements considering London.. But neverthelese.. all top consulting firms come for UK recruitment... Other schools are more or less regional schools.. Firms come for thier local offices... like RSM. HEC.. IESE. SDA for respective. amsterdam, paris.. milan, barcelona offices... So it all comes to down tio where you want to head to post MBA... if ur not sure.. stick to GLobal Schools like INSEAD/LBS else you can narrow it down based on your personal preferences..

Same wrt Asia.. INSEAD again will prolly lead the pack for its Global position.. Rest others like ciebs. isb.. aim.. hkust.. agsm will cater to their local country offices...
All top consulting firms come down , it depends on where u want to go..
I hope that helps ..

cheers
silentcacophony

Continuing on the topic of trying to land up with an opportunity in consulting, which are the better business schools in Europe or Asia for consulting ? INSEAD is one which comes to my mind. I have experience in business development and planning in the IT sector (five years) and a decent GMAT score of 710.

I agree with Nothing1954. Find the best fit and the best programme for yourself.

At the end of the day, it's all about you and how you fit in.

1 year or 2 years will depend on yourself and how much you can learn.

Some can learn better in 1 year, others in 2 years. Ultimately it's how you position yourself and differentiate yourself from other candidates.

A one year MBA is adequate in terms of providing the basic grounding and general mangement input needed to do a consulting job.
Beyond that, it is matter of your being able to persuade the consulting companies that you bring value and your experience is of value to them.

Obviously people with consulting background will have an edge.
If you are from the IT background, you are going to face considerable competition from your colleagues with the same background.
Get into the best programme possible- this will maximise chances of getting into a consulting job.

Hi..I was reading through all the posts..amazing to get through LBS..INSEAD...congrats mbagogogo...
i know it might be a little off topic on this thread to post my q but if anybody here (as I see there are lot of helpful and brilliant minds here)may answer it will be great...how is 1 yr mba helpful in career switch?
I am from IT background with 4+years of exp and want to switch to consulting...
1. is 1 yr mba a good option..will i have good prospects in getting myself a job with a top firm...
2. will the firm be as interested in me despite my past work ex in a different field as in another candidate who might have worked in the same field as that of the firm

hi mbagogogo,

congratulations and all the best! I feel that you have made the best choice( u have rest of ur life to earn back the money )

regs,
Galtz

Thank you.
I wsh you all the best.

Hi Nothing,

I made my decision based largely on personal choices as each school does have its own merits and advantages.

My partner prefers to be in London hence I have decided on London Business School as my choice even though financially it is the toughest. Will have to take on a significant level of debt.

Secondly, as my post-career direction will most likely in either consulting or PE/VC, being based in London will hopefully be useful for networking.

Hopefully things will pan and the economy will improve.

mbagogo,

Finally what is your choice among the 3 schools?
And what is your reasoning!
if you can elaborate, it may be of help to other PGs in resolving their own dilemmas regarding which admit to accept!

Thanks.

Decisions were made to apply to these schools based on my personal experience and also through my contact with their alumnus.

Ultimately I applied to schools that valued and have a high level of international diversity within its intake.

I will like to continue working internationally and I believe that the MBA is a means to help me further my career as such.

Why LBS, Insead, Bocconi?
I don't know how I could possibly add value to another person's application as I believe that we all have our own unique stories to tell when we apply to a certain school.

The MBA application is not all about statistics, it is all about the complete package. How good you are at conveying yourself as a "real" person in your application is what I believe to be key to the application success.

Just my 2 cents!

coolmayank123: yup....bragging right's all yours! Nothing beats the Harvard alumni internationally.....

I didn't apply to US schools as I wasn't a terribly organised applicant and left my applications to R3 and R4. Thus, I missed most US schools deadline already!

Nobody leaves an LBS or an Insead for a Bocconi... whatever the costs..

Right on, and as Mayank has so signigicantly stated , you should also consider the "drooling factor" All the best x

Ultimately all risks and returns are entirely your own.

I wish you Best of Luck, what ever decision you take.

mbagogogo,

First off - congrats on the admits! That's pretty amazing, and I'm sure a lot of us would love to be in the spot you're in! Nevertheless, curious, given your background, what school are you looking at (INSEAD vs LBS) and why? Any insights you have about either would be a huge help here on the forum - your own or alums you've talked to.

Indeed! All your comments are valid.

Nothing, I am not from any of the Big4 but from a niche consulting firm, however not M/B/B.

I think ultimately I have to think about whether the brand name + flexibility of working elsewhere rather than Italy is worth US$100,000.

From what I have gathered from all you guys (big thanks to all!) is that of a "Yes", it is worth more for the brand name + flexibility of not confining myself to working in Italy afterwards...

Between INSEAD and LBS .... are you enrolled for the full year program at INSEAD that gives you time for an internship??

If not then at LBS you will have a mandatory internship (which will mostly be a paid one) ... this will help you in getting a better or multiple job offer(s).

Out of the people who get placed in consulting at INSEAD ... 30% of them go back to there previous employers (M/B/B/) -- refer employment stats for this.

So at INSEAD you will be studying with people who are already from M/B/B and who will go back to M/B/B --- this will help you build a solid network -- if you wish to work in consulting post MBA.

However, the internship at LBS can make up for this.

For a one year MBA -- people are generally (though not always) sure about the target field of work and so they concentrate on that only.

The 2yr MBA (with an internship) will enable you to concentrate in multiple subjects/fields and so you can decide to switch your field if you wish to.

Nothing1954 was spot on ... and you ahve said urself
LBS and INSEAD are true top 2 European schools.. Bocconi is at best Regional Top school...

1.If you want to work in Italy.. Bocconi might be a good bet. but then Branding of Bocconi falls once you come out of Italy . As Nothing pointed out , although in current climate its tuf money when you will look at big picture of a 20-25 long career years coming ahead, this should not be decision breaker . So if Italy and living in Italy is what you want , then bocconi is an option .
2. if comparing LBS vs INSEAD . The only issue with INSEAD that is ofcourse personal to applicants is large size of your peers and shorter MBA format. You will spend many parties/ get togethers and yet you will not have had chance to meet all and possible bonding with many people would not take place as many large /small groups would be formed... Over the years maybe ofcourse the power of Alumni mite be effective thing. but tats again a very personal choice of being comfortable with such a large class size.

3. Personal Choice among those two schools depends on these factors. big city vs small place. Urban campus to rural. Large class to relatively small . Finance hub of London vs consulting haven of INSEAD+close promixity to Business hub of Paris , English vs French Language...and finally post MBA living working in UK vs Living working in Continental Europe on longer term...

If you think on these lines .. maybe then You can some easy time on this dilemma.. Again I will repeat Eitherwise you wont go wrong with both schools ... It will be lifetime of experience.. Have a great time wherever you go..
Final comment.. Think between LBS and INSEAD .For Boconni: will depend on you personal choice of whether u have personal liking for italy , italian langauge or Italian worklife and lifestyle .

and finally hearty congratulations.. many applicants would love in be position you are in . All the best with you decision.. and let us know where you are heading too

I see your point of view: your concerns regarding job opportunities post-MBA are justified and in the event that you have to work in India, the loan can be a really heavy burden on your shoulders.

Well, all indications are (no certainty though) that the global economy is turning albeit slowly and by 2011, it might be doing ok.
Employment opportunties will surely be better than now; whether that means you will get a Dollar/Pound/ Euro job!- there is always a degree of uncertainity, more so if you are a non-EU citizen (I presume, you are an Indian).
Well, you have to make choice of low risk low return vs higher risk and higher return.
Bocconi probably is a good national brand; I am not sure of its brand value outside of Italy, particularly w.r.t non-EU citizen looking for jobs in other European countries.
Just follow the Bocconi thread- there are current students giving their responses- read between the lines what they are saying.
It is difficult to get internships and jobs at present, particularly for the non-locals who don't know Italian- most of the job offers post-MBA will be based in Italy.
Italy I guess as an economy isn't doing very well.
Also, if you are looking for jobs in M/B/B and without knowledge of Italian, you would then have to be posted in places like London.
Your chances of getting a consulting job in M/B/B, if you are from LBS or INSEAD are much better than if you are from Bocconi.
I suggest that you look through the statistics of the post-MBA placements. Don't look at which all companies have recruited; look at what % of students got jobs in consulting (more specifically M/B/B)?
Add the fact that Finance jobs are preferred by many of the grads over consulting and then compute your odds of getting a job which you desire.
I would think odds of your getting such a job which you like, post-MBA, if you do MBA from LBS are way above Bocconi or even INSEAD for that matter.
If you are already working in M/B/B, then it may not be difficult to get a good position in M/B/B, after MBA. But if you are from some other companies like PWC/ KPMG etc, you may still have good chance of getting a good consulting job.
Do you work in one of the big 4 ( I mean PwC/ KPMG etc)?

Ultimately, you only have to live with the consequences your choices; all that people like me can do is give our suggestions.

All the best , what ever decision you take.

Hi there,

Thanks for all the great advice.

I am still not sure where I want to work after MBA. Ideally, if the market condition improves, Europe. However if I am able to accurately predict the world's economy, I will not even need to go to do an MBA.....i can be an economic forecaster! :w00t:

Since there are so much uncertainties, I will want to position myself to be best in the position to be flexible.

US$100,000 is rather a lot of money in this current economic climate where sign-on bonuses and big annual bonuses are almost non-existent, hence I have the money consideration.

I have 7+ years international consulting and banking experience throughout Asia. GMAT over 700+, lots of leadership extracurricular activities, quantitative undergrad degree

I am curious. Why do you say Bocconi have problems now? What sort of problems?

I have friends who have told me that Bocconi is a good regional school.

mbagogogo,
My congratulations- you have terrific admits.

Before I give my views, I request you to kindly give some more details regarding your profile and background experience etc- This will also benefit many more PGs in terms of being able to understand what it takes to get into schools like LBS and INSEAD.

To give a better response, it is important to also have an idea of your post-MBA career plans. You have indicated that you want to work in Europe- You need to be clear where in Europe? London? Paris? Milan? Some where else?

Most schools tend to place most of their students locally.
I think 60% of LBS grads get jobs in UK, mostly London.
INSEAD placement is more distributed across Europe, North America and Asia. Even in the case of INSEAD, a substantial % of graduates get jobs in UK (London). But the number of people taking up jobs in UK (London) hassignificantly declined in 2008, I think because of the new HSMP policies. If your admit is from singapore campus, you are morelikely to get jobs in Singapore, Hongkong and SEA.

Bocconi is 2nd category school.

From all that I have learnt over the years, the advice given repeatedly by seniors is, don't compromise for the sake of money and go to a much lower ranked school; in your life time earnings, the additional US$ 100,000 is just a small fraction. You are likely to more than make it up in terms of better opportunities.

While INSEAD saves both on time and money, it is less likely to enable you to get jobs in Finance as compared to LBS. If you want IB/ Finance jobs, surely LBS gives you much greater advantage, in terms of curriculum as well as location- London being a major financial center in Europe.

For consulting jobs, I would guess, LBS and INSEAD are on par- you will gain the necessary general management perspective with in 12 months.
The top consult companies recruit (M/B/B) in large numbers from INSEAD'.
But if you look at the %ages, I think 40+ % of LBS grads get into finance and another 30% get in to consulting. I think about 40% INSEAD grads also get into consulting, but only a small % (about 20%) get into finance from INSEAD, that too mostly people who have prior Finance work experience.

There is also another angle you should look into. The current UK immigration rules have been changed in the last year and they give an automatic right to work for 2-years for grads from UK schools. This is a great + for the non-EU citizens.
On the other hand to get HSMP work permit for non-EU citizen, if you don't study in UK, you have to qualify the points system, and it is not very easy.
Also, the level of unemployment post-MBA seems to be much more with Bocconi and INSEAD grads than with LBS grads.
LBS report for 2008 is out- they still managed to place 91% of grads, within 3 months after garduation.
According to INSEAD's 2008 report, 85% of its MBA grads have jobs 3 months after graduation. INSEAD's placement has traditionally been not as good as LBS, may be because of the large class size of 800/900 students. .

If your future choice of location is London, hands down LBS wins, inspite of higher costs, whether for Finance or Consulting jobs.
If you want to work in other European cities and in consulting, may be then both LBS and INSEAD are on par; INSEAD may even have a slight edge due to lower costs.

In a 30-year career, it is important to go to a palce where you would feel proud to say I am a graduate of so-and-so school and people tend to treat you with respect. It will more than pay for itself in terms of superior opportunities one gets due to better pedigree.
By the time you graduate in 2011, things would have improved much and you are likely to get a good job, particularly if you are from a top school like LBS.

I suggest LBS and INSEAD in that order, inspite of the differences in costs.
Don't even consider Bocconi; they seem to have serious problems regarding placements, particularly now.

Once again, I request you to give more details regarding your background, education, GMAT, experience etc.
Many of us on PG will be interested to know what is it that takes to get into LBS and INSEAD.

Thanks

Advice urgently required.

I am in a BIG dilemma as to which school to choose from.

the money does tip the balance.

LBS
- Great Brand
- Strong in Finance
- Good recognition in Europe and Asia, somewhat in US

Insead
- Some money
- Great brand
- 1 year
- Good recognition in Europe and Asia, somewhat in US
- Strong in consulting

Bocconi
- Free Ride
- Good brand, but not as well recognised outside of Europe
(Not sure about recognition in US and Asia though...can anyone comment?)
- 1 year
- M/B/B recruits there as the faculty is strong in strategic management
- Greater ROI in short-term


I have a background in consulting and banking and wish to go back to either of them after an MBA.

:oops:

Bocconi is a good business school particularly if you can pick on the local language. A lot of Italian companies have set up bases in India. These are the companies which would hire you and at a fairly high position. For a few years you would be working in Italy and then they would send you back to India at a senior managerial position. So, you can look into Bocconi.
Also, are you very particular about a career in finance or consulting?

I am female =P so the drooling factor has to work the other way...

Intention is to work in Europe after school so any of these school does make sense. I think it is a matter of whether I want to take on debt to go back to school, and in this current financial climate whether one can repay the debt after school.

Is the debt going to be servicable by going to a better-ranked school vs. a school with free ride?

Advice urgently required.

I am in a BIG dilemma as to which school to choose from.

the money does tip the balance.

LBS
- Great Brand
- Strong in Finance
- Good recognition in Europe and Asia, somewhat in US

Insead
- Some money
- Great brand
- 1 year
- Good recognition in Europe and Asia, somewhat in US
- Strong in consulting

Bocconi
- Free Ride
- Good brand, but not as well recognised outside of Europe
(Not sure about recognition in US and Asia though...can anyone comment?)
- 1 year
- M/B/B recruits there as the faculty is strong in strategic management
- Greater ROI in short-term

Decisions decisions have to be made.....

I have a background in consulting and banking and wish to go back to either of them after an MBA.

What are your advice my dear friends?:oops:

Great position to be in. I will simply edit your post to reflect my take on the schools mentioned basis my experience (6 months, MBB, London). However, this will be just scathing the surface since I never researched any european schools.

LBS
- Extremely Great Brand (oh my grammar!)
- Very Strong in Finance
- Great recognition in Europe (Professionally and much more important, socially..women drool by the mere name friend) and Asia, good recognition in US...the only issue in the US is that there are too many other jerks like us waiting to chew the baits

Insead (France)
- Some money
- Extremely Great brand
- 1 year
- Great recognition in Europe (all the prefixes and suffixes for LBS apply here as well, but since the average age is much higher, women dont necessrily get the chance to drool) and Asia, Great recognition in US
- Extremely extremely Strong in consulting...on paper, undoubtedly the best school for consulting on the face of mother earth.

Bocconi

--No clue, can't comment.

So, all else equal, if consulting is where u want to be, and INSEAD is offering u money, I will choose INSEAD. But then, the term 'all else equal' is a funny term...nothing is ever equal..so make ur choice...i doubt u will go wrong either ways.