anyone's thought of the accommodation?? i will be attending the pre-courses... but havent still started looking out for places to stay...

nampram1: dude... i know that u are attending the pre-courses... have you found out some options... do lemme know...

regrds
vipin

ankit...

i am coming from b'bay... but unfortunately right now... i am so caught up with the loan and visa documentation... that i have not yet started thinking about the travel plans and accomodation... have you thought of something??
btw... anyone else from bombay?
regards
vipin

sdabocconi_09..

thanks a lot for the detailed explanation of the loan process from Italian banks... I had some doubts about the letter of reference that we need to provide. As your explained in one of your previous posts, a letter from the current employer would do. I was just wondering as to what exactly should be the content of that letter of introduction..It would be great if you could elaborate on that..
regards
vipin

sdabocconi_09...

thanks a ton for the details about work permit issues and health insurance... just a question about disbursement of loans taken from Italian banks. Loans from all of the Indian banks are disbursed directly to the institution.. is it the same with the Italian ones or is the amount credited to our account? I was banking on utilizing this credit to manage a major chunk of my living expenses (primarily because i have not found any bank willing to fund even a small part of the living expenses)

Thanks guys...
I have finally managed to pull together the finances for paying the first installment and plan to do the wire transfer tomorrow.

Loans:
I guess 20L from Indian banks and the rest from Italian ones (Banca Popolare di Milano i guess). Last weekend i visited some banks. Some of the better deals are
PNB-15L (negotiable) @ 10.5%
SBI-20L @ 10.75 %
I am more inclined towards SBI. Let us know if anyone's found a better deal..

Visa:
thelifedivine-thanks for the link dude... just browsed and downloaded the application form and the checklist. No sure how to proceed further...

Nampram1- I do plan to join the precourses.. but at the moment...not sure where the additional 2500 euros are gonna come from!! are you planning to join the precourse?

Galtz...

I got my admit from Bocconi about 10 days back. and thanks for the updates on the current Tier1 Visa scenario... it does seem quite discouraging. One look at the UK immigration site suggests that students from top non-UK programs no longer get much of a weightage (unlike the previous HSMP program)

As NOTHING1954 pointed out... it would be great if you could provide some information about the recruitment status of Indians in the MBA33 batch...

Hi mbagogogo...

Thanks a lot for your detailed feedback! Clearly, i dont back myself to learn enough Italian or Spanish in an already intense program. So.. as you said... London is the place to go. and whatever little research i have done also seems to suggest that i will be better off with Bocconi..

thanks again...

Guys...

I too have an admit for the Sep-09 intake! Would appreciate your insights on the following fronts:
1. Loans: No schols from Bocconi! The AdCom suggested me to apply for loans from Indian banks as the procedure with Italian banks takes about 1-2 months.
Problems with Indian banks: High interest rates, cap of 20 lacs etc.. etc..
Moreover, most of the loans cover only the tuition fees and dont seem to be cover the living expenses? How to finance this major chunk of expenses??
I am keen to understand how the others are managing their finances.. (especially the ones without schols.)

2. Visa: Whats the process and how long does it generally take?

3. Italian Work-permit issues: How tough is it to get an Italian work permit after the course? Are there many restrictions or is it fairly relaxed?

4. Finally... health insurance... which are the institutions that are generally preferred??

sdabocconi_09, Nampram1, materhorn, thelifedivine: your suggestions would do a world of good...

Hello Guys..

I have been researching the two schools since the last few days, but
have been unable to make up my mind: which one's better for a career in
strategic consulting? Some objective facts that favor SDA:

Top recruiting firms: (Source: Business Week 2008 )
IE
L'Oreal:9
Indra: 12
Grupo Mensor: 11
Johnson & Johnson: 10
Accenture:8
Everis: 8
Daemon Quest: 5
Cap Gemini: 3

Bocconi:
Boston Consulting Group: 6
Johnson & Johnson: 4
Bain & Company: 3
Booz Allen Hamilton: 2

Clearly, lack of top consulting firms at IE is a major concern. The only reasoning i can think of is that consulting firms looking to recruit in Spain/LatAm tend to favor IESE.

IESE: (Source: Business Week 2008 )
Boston Consulting Group: 6
McKinsey & Company: 5
Bain & Company: 5
Booz Allen Hamilton: 5
A.T. Kearney: 3

Assumptions:
1. Both SDA & IE are largely regional schools - SDA caters to recruitments mainly in Italy, while IE to those in Spain, LatAm.
2. I have tried to look beyond rankings. All of them place IE way above SDA - but i am not entirely convinced!

With this sort of data, i am clearly inclined towards SDA. Let me know your thoughts on the same.

Regards
A confused soul seeking HELP!