Hi IT Con
Prima facie your profile looks very interesting. Yes you guessed it right, being in the IT pool makes your category ultra competitive and hence the differentiation element is very necessary. You need to dig into your past and bring out elements that will differentiate you in the pool. CSR & the school elements are good. Experience in Europe is definitely a plus.
One element that IMD looks at is academic excellence and demonstrated career progression. You have not provided sufficient data on this for me to make a educated comment.
I will not be very worried about your GMAT score. But it is definitely not a clincher. The class has a range of 600 - 760 GMAT, however GMAT is just one of the element that is look upon. Indians typically have high GMAT scores.
All the best
Regards
SJ.
Hi LK
You are right. IMD focuses on diversity in the class composition. This diversity comes in the form of nationality, industry, gender and experiences. IMD ensures that no nationality represents more than 10% of the class size. Yes there are about 4/5 Indians in a class.
Admission decisions are the prerogative of the admission committee and are kept confidential, hence I am not qualified to answer your specific query. I will not worry about that aspect so early in the admission cycle. I personally got thru on the 2nd last deadline. Empirically speaking your chances are better at the beginning of the admission cycle.
All the best in your endeavor.
Regards
SJ
Hi Rick
The admission committee reviews your application and reverts within 4 weeks in either situation. You may want to contact them directly in case you dont hear from them in 4 weeks.
As for your question on the competition this year, I am of the belief that competition to get into institutes of global repute is pretty high irrespective of the current situation. I would not unduly worry about it.
All the best.
Regards
SJ.
Hi SJ
Thank you for your response. IMD is my preferred choice but i have also applied to INSEAD and HEC since i am looking at industry rather than consulting/Finance. I have been told that HEC has a strong brand in France and good reputation with industry recruiters plus have a very good marketing/strategy program (my core interest) thats why i have applied to HEC instead of say SAID, Judge or other colleges in Europe. Is my understanding correct?
Regards
LK
Hello SJ,
I have also applied for April deadline. Can you let us know, generally by when the Adcom starts sending the invites. Adcom did mention that within 4-6 weeks they shall revert to us.
How was the admission response in the current economic scenario for Feb & Apr deadlines.
Thanks SJ,
I reposted my query, we crossed the replies.
Hey SJ,
Thank you for your time and insights. I am planning to apply to B-Schools for the 2010 FY. Am planning to be quite selective and am not very sure about IMD. I am not sure if my background is a good fit and secondly my focus area is more of consulting. Could you please comment on my background and provide me with insights.
I will turn 29 at the time of matriculation and should have around 6 yrs of work ex. 4 of these 6 Years are in the US in the field of consulting (a US based consulting firm publicly listed). All the consulting is to State Governments as clients (so heavy focus on US public sector). The other 2 years WE was in India in Marketing/Sales for a FMCG product.
My academic background is Bachelor in Commerce and the Master's in Accountancy from Indiana University, Kelley School of Business. Acad's other than being in good schools is nothing more to boast about.
I have also successfully cleared the CPA exams (Certified Public Accountant) in my first attempt.
I have not yet given the GMAT, but based on my scores in the mock Kaplan tests, I should be around the 750 mark.
Interests include playing Golf and travelling.
How does my profile look in the pool of applicants. My background is in pretty hardcore accounting, however my work is in ERP implementations and Operational Consulting, though my focus area within this is on Accounting modules.
What are the possible opportunities exists for someone (graduating from IMD) trying to get into more of management consulting role post MBA?
With most banks backing out as far as loans to international students is concerned, how does IMD fare in this regard?
Would highly appreciate your respose.
Thanks,
Hi Lion King,
You are right in choosing IMD as your first choice if your priority is Industry. INSEAD is a great school for consulting. In the end the choice however is personal, it depends on what you want from the program and the experience. INSEAD and IMD attract almost opposite priorities and therein lies the greatness of the two of them. HEC is a very good school and enjoys a good equity in the French speaking part of Europe.
Regards
SJ.
Hi Nauty,
IMD attracts all the big consultants and they regularly recruit from the school. Typical IMD student has 7 - 10 years experience and most do not choose consulting as a career option. This could mean positioning yourself in a small pool of potential applicants for consulting.
As far as your background goes, it is an interesting one. You have international and varied experience. Accounting is an interesting option for a B-school admission committee. IMD would look specifically on your career progression, team management and leadership skills.
Regards
SJ.
Hi Shibu,
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions! I was hoping to gain some of your insight into the IMD "experience".
I'll just start off with a little background - I've got about 6 years of work experience in the States, primarily in finance. I'm looking at IMD, but a few things seem to concern me that I was hoping you might answer.
What do you like best about your IMD experience? What about the worst?
Why did you choose IMD over perhaps a school with a similar profile - e.g. INSEAD?
As you mentioned, most IMD MBA's come from industry, and return to industry. Is this, for the most part, purely a personal decision? That is, is the MBA focusing on such applicants? Consequently, is it not geared towards those that come from a different industry background and wish to opt for more "traditional" post-MBA careers e.g. consulting or finance? And does the school pursue recruitment in these areas?
How do you find the network at IMD? Have you felt it to be an issue since class sizes are too small?
Last question - how is the day typically divided? There seems to be (from the diaries) a lot of interaction with real businesses and solving their problems. How much of it is like this? How much of it is classroom driven? And of all the teaching methods, which one do you think is what sets apart IMD from a typical program?
I know this was quite a few questions - but thanks in advance!
Hi GM
It is really commendable that you are looking at answers for a mix of objective and subjective questions. Most people focus on the objective part.
Let me try to answer your queries to the best of my abilities. To my best and worst experience, I am not sure I can be very objective here. My opinions will be surely clouded by my decision to be at IMD. What excites me are the quality of peers, faculty and pedagogy. What thrills me are the challenges that these elements put forward. The learning is more of self realization than drilled down. The infrastructure is world class.
You need to understand that INSEAD & IMD are two very different schools with different profile. An IMD aspirant will not evaluate INSEAD and vice versa. IMD is for middle level executives with 8/10 years of experience wanting to enter middle to senior management. The focus is on self development, strategic network and skills/knowledge. INSEAD is for skills/knowledge and diverse networks. Also INSEAD is primarily geared towards finance & consulting where as IMD towards industry.
IMD is not just an MBA school. It is a business & management school that also runs an MBA program. It is place where leaders and managers from businesses all over the world congregate to learn and disseminate. You are constantly in touch with these leaders though cross pollination of program contents. In this aspect the quality of network formed at IMD is one of the best.
The higher average age of participants mean that they are looking for a senior level role on passing out. Most consulting and significant financial firms recruit at the entry level which is not aspirational for a typical IMD participant. However all top consultants and banks do come to IMD. 30% of the MBA class is placed in consulting & banking. We had a top consulting firm presentation last week ... only 1/3 of the class had signed up for the presentation. It is just that these industry harvest less from IMD.
The course program is very intense. Classes start at 8 am and end at 5.30 pm. Group work and next days readings take up another 6 hours. The first 6 months contain theoritical frameworks, the next 4 months practical application & job hunts, last 1 month end cap. The teaching methodology is case based and group discussions.
Hope I have answered your queries.
Regards
SJ.
Hey SJ
Just received an interview invite from IMD 
I am soooo happy! I am really really looking forward to giving my best for the interview. Is it possible that I PM you or call you?
My immediate query is - Should i go for interview to Singapore or Laussane?
Regards
LK
Hi Shibu
Thank you for starting this thread. I am also interested in the IMD MBA program. Currently I have about 3 years of work experience in IT and Consulting. I will be joining the LSE Msc Economics program in September 2009. Will Combining my engineering undergrad and the economics from LSE make me competitive enough for IMD? Should I look at working another 2-3 years after LSE and then applying?
Thank you for your time and suggestions!
Regards
Kushagra
Hi LK
Congratulations!!
I would seriously suggest Lausanne if you have the time, resources and inclination. Its always better to see the place before hand. You will be able to meet a lot of stake holders and preview the facility.
You can PM me for any specific query. Getting in touch on phone is difficult, Its 1 am and we are still working 😃 furiously on the presentation due tomorrow.
Regards
SJ.
Hi Kushagra,
Additional experience and education equips with skills that enable you to function more effectively across broad range of scenarios.
However IMD MBA applicant will have to have proven ability to apply learnings, demonstrated success in career, depth and breadth in experience and knowledge and an overall personality fit. If you feel that your choices will add to the above mentioned it will work.
Regards
SJ.
Hello SJ
Sent you a PM.
Regards
Naveen
Hey Shibu,
Really appreciate your insight for some time I was looking for somebdy who can provide me insight abt IMD...I thnk IMD is under rated school as compared to INSEAD or LBS despite of high ranking especially in public forums like these - the reason being the passing out students alumini are in the middle of carrer keeping highly busy n may be more matured in terms of thr outlook....
I agree regarding ur point abt consulting - even with 5-10 yrs of work exp an HBS or LBS or Insead MBA can get you position of Consultant...I dont thnk consulting co.s offer nethng senior thn tht for fresh MBAs with little or no work exp in consulting so....u will be working with ppl with 0-5 yrs of work exp ( thts avg at HBS, Wharton, Columbia, LBS etc)...so is it gud or bad or neutral completely a personal choice.... 1) PLS correct me if this is not case at IMD
Now my other queries :)
2. Is attending interview in person absolute must thing...coz 2 international travel will definitely cost arnd 1L INR
3. Are there banks in India which provide loan without collateral or co signor for IMD MBA ?
4. What about full time internship n exchange programmes - do thy make sense at IMD
thnks alot
rgds
Hey Shibu
I am an Indian male working in Singapore for last three years. I have total 8 years of experience. I have been majorly linked with manufacturing industry. I have done BE (Mechanical) and ME (Mechanical), both from India. My age is 32.
Currently, I am working with GE Oil & Gas as manufactruing engineer and handling a team of 40 and business of US $ 200 mm.
I appeared for GMAT and got only 660 (Q46 V35).
What do you suggest, is there any chance for me to get in at this score or I should appear again for GMAT and make above 700? Do you have Indian students with this score in your batch?
I heard that for typical Indian applicants, it is required that their score should be above the average score of b school.
I have Indian passport with Permanent Residency of Singapore and Australia.
Please Advice
Regards
Bobby
Hi Nitin,
First I will attempt to answer your specific queries.
- Yes it is absolute must to attend the interview in person. The cost would be in the region of 60k - 70k depending on your choices.
- There are banks that provide Education loans, Most offer 7.5 lacs, it is very difficult to get one without collateral though. IMD offers CHF 65k loan to deserving students. The total expense incl living expenses and transit costs would come to about CHF 120k for controlled living.
- The institute has a 2 month International Consulting Project that the students participate in. These projects are sourced by the institute and are paid for by the clients. This is as good as any profession big 4 consulting experience. This is in the 2nd half of the year post the 2 building blocks.
Now to answer your q's on IMD vis a vis LBS or INSEAD, without sounding cliched .. all of us are different. Recruiters look for different things at these schools. Coming to consultants - they do significant rectmt at IMD. However they are constrained by the student interest. No consulting firm would take you above the consultant position as partner roles are staffed from within. This does mean that IMD grads join along with INSEAD and LBS guys at same roles. However the firms recognize the increased work experience and knowledge they bring and see it demonstrated in actual. IMD grads move ahead fast. Why would a firm not promote talent - they definitely do not want to lose it.
Regards
SJ.
Hi Bobby,
You are in the gray zone :). If you have a good case I am sure you would be accepted. However most Indians are in the 690 - 720 zone. Oil & Gas is a well represented niche in the class.
If you are aiming for the 2011 batch you could rewrite the GMAT and aim for a 700+
Your international experience would be great.
Regards
SJ.