Forum: General Forum (2 Comments)

IE vs CASS Help !

  • Posted by - njoy.prakash@gmail.com - on 4 April 2012 - 12:34pm

    Hi,

    I got admit from CASS B School for MSc Management and also from IE B School for MSc International Management.

    An just so confused as which one to get into ?

    IE has international reputation but Spain has already too many problems. On the otherhand, the new visa regulations in UK isnt that much suitable for International Students...

    Can you please give me some advise on this.

    Regards

    • Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 4 April 2012 - 4:52pm

      Hi there,

      First of all, congratulations for your acceptance at two renowned business schools: Cass Business School in the UK and IE Business School in Spain. This is really great and wherever you finally will study – you have an exciting year ahead.

      Now, I understand that you are insecure which one to choose. The task now is to find the best fit between your preferences and the respective program. Have you reflected your preferences already? Without having done this it will be difficult to screen the programs in a structured approach. Here are some suggestions:

      In which country or geographic area do you want to work directly after graduation?

      • If in the UK, I recommend you Cass Business School.
      • If in Spain I recommend you IE Business School.
      • If somewhere else you need to find out which experiences each program administrators have with their graduates.
      • Do graduates find a job in your target country?
      • Does the school have companies from your target country coming on campus?
      • Does the school have exchange relationships with partner business schools in your target country and maybe even allow for a semester (or some weeks) there?

      Which companies are your target employers?

      • Which of the two schools has contacts to these employers (and their competitors)
      • And how do these contacts look like (how strong are they)?
      • What do the companies’ HR departments think of the two schools?

      Where do you think that you learn more?

      • Think about program length, content, and structure of the program (courses, in company projects etc.)
      • The IE for instance has a reputation for entrepreneurship support (“venture lab”) – is this something valuable for you and does Cass have something equally?

      How important is internationality for you?

      • How diverse is the MIM class at the IE and how diverse at Cass?

      How much money do you want to pay?

      • Where do you have less expenses?
      • Where do you likely get a scholarship?

      What experiences does the school have with students from your country?

      • How many students from your country did they have in the past?
      • How easy did they find a job?
      • And where?

      What about your gut feeling?

      • Can you visit the campus and experience how you “feel” here?
      • How well have you been treated by the school administration?
      • Do you feel comfortable?

      These are just some recommendations that you can use as a lens to screen the programs. Your sources of information are:

      • The schools’ websites
      • The program administrators
      • The career offices
      • Current students (ask the school to bring you in touch with)
      • Alumni
      • Your target companies (just contact them or their competitors)

      If you need support I can build a direct contact for you to both schools. For instance, I personally know the Dean of the IE MIM program and I could ask if he would be open to answer your questions. I also have contacts to the admissions office at Cass.

      I hope that this answer helps you for your next steps.

      Best wishes
      Thomas