Posted by - joebus - on 20 December 2011 - 1:13pm

• Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 10 March 2012 - 12:28am

  Hi there,

  your score is good enough even for US Ivey League schools. However, keep in mind that the GMAT score will not bring you into a program - it is a pre-requirement and your overall CV, essay performance, and interviews will be more important.

  Best wishes and good luck
  Thomas

  Reply

• Posted by - jayprakash - on 9 March 2012 - 7:34pm

  Hey..
  Today I gave my gmat (9/3/2012)..scored 710 (quant 50 verbal 35).. After having a decent GMAT score under my belt I feel that I might just get through into better b schools.. I am in a dilemma.. Is this score good enough for say hec paris, lbs or duke?

  Reply

• Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 20 December 2011 - 3:36pm

  "preferences of major consulting firms/ FMCG's interms of Universities and Location"

  I have some knowledge here but it is not sufficient to get an overview. Again......... the most effective is:

  1. Select the country or area
  2. Select the schools that interest you most
  3. check their statistics online - there you see which companies recruit at these schools
  4. contact the schools for further statistics if needed - if the school doesn't have it or does not give you a satisfying answer maybe you delete it from your top list?
  5. Ask the school to get in touch with alumni and ask for the career service of the school
  6. talk to your favorite employers
  7. VISIT the 1, 2, or 3 campuses of your preferences

  Best wishes
  Thomas

  Reply

  • Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 20 December 2011 - 3:49pm

    Another way to identify European Schools that are highly renowned abroad and accordingly may show a lot of internationally recognized companies in their placement statistics may be to look at the Business Week MBA Ranking for International Schools.

    Even if you decide against an MBA - this may give you some idea of which schools have a strong standing outside of Europe.

    Nevertheless, there may be many more schools that meet your preferences - just follow my recommendation above.

    Reply

    • Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 20 December 2011 - 3:53pm

      And a last one... we have some decent business schools on this site that offer a Personal Contact Request Button - you can see theire logos on the right side of this website. Also, the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Ashridge Business School, Melbourne University, and Bocconi offer this through the MIM-Compass. Feel free to use it...

      Reply

• Posted by - joebus - on 20 December 2011 - 3:17pm

  Hi Thomas,

  Thank you for such a detailed and splendid response. I realise I did not write about my preferences earlier, so here we go -

  CAREER PLAN - My aim is to work towards Brand Management , advertising , or strategy. Target industries - Warner bros, fox studios, UTV. Or even Big retail firms.
  Will having to deal in french supress my networking abilities compared to a 100 % english environment ? anybody's guess.

  MIM VS MBA- as much as I would hate to admit it, I am not satisfied in my current work role. the only thing keeping me going is dreams of MBA / Management Education . BUT, I have to weigh taking up an MIM now against the CAREER PROSPECTS of an MIM. Isn't the MBA a much wider known degree globally , specially in US and UK ?

  WHICH MIM - I did a through research of all rankings i could get my hands on. Lets break this section into two groups based on things of high parameters to me personally -

  a) the 2 year sandwich MIM's

  b) the 1 year relatively newer MIM's

  post selecting my target schools in both cateogories, I currently have the following options with me.

  ESCP - group (a) -

  and group (b) - excluding LBS and LSE.

  CEMS is a big name. only problem is, it required a 2 year investment.

  Crux of the problem - help me make a more informed decision between groups (a) and (b).

  EMPLOYER RESEARCH - I am going to be shooting emails to as many as i can. Meanwhile It'l be nice if you from your experience can talk about preferences of major consulting firms/ FMCG's interms of Universities and Location . :)

  Thanks again

  Joebus

  Reply

  • Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 20 December 2011 - 3:32pm

    Hi Joebus,

    "Will having to deal in french supress my networking abilities compared to a 100 % english environment?"
    I didn't understand that. Maybe you can clarify.

    MBA vs MIM
    Please have a look at our MBA - vs MIM article. The MIM is for graduates who want to START a career or young professionals with only little work experience. The MBA in contrast is for professionals with a minimum of 3 years of work experience at the start of the MBA program. The idea is to give your career a new boost.

    • Does this distinction maybe answer your question about what is the best for you already?

    As for the MIM schools...
    again, there are many more renowned schols with only 1-year program Please use our filter options and select "max 1 year" under "Program length". I really can not help you out more here - it depends on your preferences starting from the country or area. What about St Gallen, what about Richard Ivy in Canada, what about IE in Madrid, HEC in Paris and so many more... Nail down your preferences, search for 1 year programs, and decide which one suits you most.

    Employers
    If you know the function or industry you want to work in you can confront the schools of your shortlist with them asking if they have connections to companies within that industry or if their graduates found a job there. As for the employers, you can also call them first and then send an email.

    As for the decision between 1 and 2
    There is no answer to this question except YOUR answer.

    • Money: If you don't want to invest in a 2-year program go for a 1-year program.
    • Academic background: If you don't have a first academic degree in business or economics maybe a 2-year program makes more sense (but again, it's not a must); if you do have a business or economics degree be sure to choose programs that require this pre-experience. By this you may avoid redundancies in the curriculum of your Master and Bachelor (use our Search filter "entry requirements" for that).
    • Career Options: Ask the schools to bring you in touch with several alumni of the program, interview them and explicitly ask them about the school's career service.

    Best wishes
    Thomas

    Reply

• Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 20 December 2011 - 2:00pm

  Hi Joebus,

  thank you for your question. The answers eventually depend on your preferences, however.

  • Clearly the ESCP-EAP has a great reputation - not only with respect to the Master in Management but in general as a Business School.
  • Clearly, receiving a 50% scholarship is something great.

  But again, it depends on what you prefer and which other options you have.

  Do languages play a role in career plan?
  Well, it depends on WHICH CAREER you are interested in. If you want to work in a multilingual international environment you have to speak several languages. Then it's a MUST HAVE. If you want to work in an international environment where English is sufficient you may not need it but it may give you an advantage over competitors such as applicants for the same position - so it's more a MAY HAVE.

  In the long run...does a three year education payoff more than an MBA?
  Again, this depends on many factors that are impossible to anticipate now. The more effecive approach to this question would be:

  • Are you happy in your situation right NOW: Do you find a position that is satisfying for you NOW? If yes, then why doing a Master now? Why not starting your career now and considering an MBA later on if you think you need it THEN?
  • If you need an education NOW, for instance because you do not find a position that satisfies you - then the question is not between MIM and MBA but between MIM and MIM. This leads us to the question:

  Which Master in Management (MIM)?
  Here you have several options. As for the top schools (your third question), c'mon... of course there are more top schools in this world than ESCP-EAP and LBS or LSE. Have you really investigated in the topic of Masters and Business Schools already? If not do so. I am provoking you here on purpose because your private investigation is important. Check the FT Business School ranking, check the FT Master in Management Ranking, think about the countries that you want to study in and check which are the best schools there. For instance, have you ever heard of CEMS? And so on... just to give you some inspirations...

  Now let's consider you have decided for your preferred countries and put 3, 5, or 8 schools on your list - then you may compare ESCP-EAP with these other schools. Questions could be:

  • How much do I need to pay for each Master (direct costs + opportunity costs - scholarships): For example, how much is the tuition fee + the living expenses for the total study time minus the money that I would earn in the same time (opportunity costs) minus the scholarship?
  • But also: What are my career perspectives afterwards? You can get an idea of that by asking the school about statistics from their graduates - e.g. How much time did it take until they found a job? How high was their salary after graduating?
  • Which other benefits do I get in each program? The third year at ESCP-EAP for instance provides you with (a) earnings and (b) network - how valuable is this for you? Which partner companies are involved and are they attractive for you?

  Let me summarize:
  The first question (MIM vs. MBA) is: What do you need NOW:

  • if you need a postgraduate eductaion now you go for an MIM
  • if not, you go for a job and consider an MBA later on (if needed)

  If you need an MIM now, then the second question is: Which MIM?
  Here you reflect your preferences and options. Starting from the country, going to the schools of your interest, and ending up in the Master programs contrasting TOTAL input and TOTAL output (also including some gut feeling elements such as "Do you feel comfortable at that campus? Do you like the people and the area, can you imagine to study here some years?".

  Finally, an alternative approach could be that you ask three of your potential future employers - firms that you potentially would like to work in the future. Where do you recruit from?

  I hope these thoughts are helpful for you.

  Best wishes
  Thomas

  Reply