Hello everyone,
My name is Gaurav Dutta from India. I am a first year MBA student at IPADE Business school in Mexico City. This forum helped me a lot in my admission process so I am writing today to play my part as well.

Anyone who is interested in this program or has any queries, please feel free to write to me here or at [email protected]; I will be more than happy to help.

Thanks and Regards,
Gaurav Dutta

It's unusual to see Indians applying and studying at IPADE. Do you have any data points on career outcomes of Indians (or Internationals) who graduated before you?

Dear Ayon, there has been a surge in recent years in the number of Indians studying in IPADE. I know 3 Indians who have already passed out from the program and 3 including me are studying (I am the only Indian in the first year). Indeed I have some real data points for these 3 Indian students that I know. 3 Indian students are already placed in Mexican industry. Out of 3, one is placed in automobile industry; the other is placed in the one of the big 4 consulting companies and the 3rd one is already working with some angel investors.
IPADE has a very good reputation here and everyone knows about it and that indeed helps create a good channel between students and companies. There are 2 other Indian students who are currently in 2nd year and they did really good in their summer internships having received internship opportunities from big companies in Mexico itself. Overall, as I mentioned above that the school has a great reputation here and it is indeed helping students a lot. In addition, I will soon share the overall statistics on the career outcomes of the other internationals.
Hope this helps.

-Cheers!

[Edited by Gaurav Dutta on Dec 27, 2016]

Thanks for the insight. It would also be good to know, from your perspective, how important Spanish language skills are for non-Mexicans getting placed in the country.

Thanks for writing mba hipster. The program is completely in English language for the complete duration and all the professors and students interact in English so it won't be a problem in the school. However,I would recommend learning the language of the place as it will certainly help outside the school in day-to-day life.
A good news is that IPADE gives Spanish language classes to its international students for the complete duration of the program.
I have myself interacted with some companies here and interestingly, they showed more inclination towards candidates who could speak better English but having Spanish language skills will definitely add to your profile. In between, I am also taking Spanish language classes being given by IPADE.
Hope this helps!

Hi Gaurav,

I am planning to apply to IPADE. Could you please tell me about your background?
I am what many would call, a non traditional mba applicant which is a rarity in India. I worked for Make A Difference(MAD) ngo for the last 2 years of my bachelor degree in Engineering(computer science), facilitated the visit of michelle obama to our center. I was a part of the public relations team.

After my undergraduate degree, I applied and got selected for Gandhi fellowship, funded by UNESCO. In that, I experienced first hand leadership and field work experience towards rural development and making village schools, a better place to study by working with the headmasters. I was paid a stipend of 15k for the duration of the fellowship, which was of two years.

After that, I volunteered for a prominant NGO in vietnam called "Coins for change", where I taught english to poor kids and single mothers, for a mere stipend of 200$ per month for the duration of one year.

Currently, I have an option to join Atlas Corps for their program in Bogota, Colombia or go straight towards MBA.

Extra curriculars include : Winner of regional level football tournament and athletics, lead singer, guitarist and founder of a local band which performed in bars and charity events, Distinction in Business English Certificate(BEC) exam, conducted by Cambridge university, long serving member of my catholic school church choir and performed at several national conventions.

Am I the right candidate for applying to IPADE mba or any other in the world for that matter?
Will my work experience count for most bschools?
Also, I have a valid GRE score but I don't think IPADE acceps GRE in lieu of GMAT. Could you please confirm that for me?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

P.S : I know spanish language on an intermediate level. Also, I am in the the starting stages of learning Danish(Considering CBS and Aarhus too). Learning new languages comes natural to me.

Thank you.

[Edited by Shubham Bhadouria on Jan 08, 2017]

Dear Shubham,
Thanks a lot for writing up here. I think you have a really interesting profile and I am pretty sure that you are, indeed, a right candidate for applying to the MBA in IPADE or rather in any other B-school. Ultimately, it all comes down to your motivation and career goals i.e. why do you want to do an MBA right now and where do you want to see yourself after completing the MBA program?
To answer your questions:
1. You are a right candidate for any B-school but may be some schools in Europe may ask for more experience.
2. Your work-experience will be too good for IPADE. I cannot comment on other schools as every school has their own criteria but I think you would be good candidate in most of them.
3. How much you scored in GRE? Can you please share your scores? IPADE do accept GRE scores.

As per my background: I have done my bachelors in technology (Computer Science) and have a work experience of 10+ years. I quit my job and traveled to China and Russia and then applied to IPADE.

And it's good to know that you are at intermediate level in Spanish. It is always nice to know the language of the land.

We can talk on Skype as well (in addition to here) if its fine with you, incase you need any other information. My Skype-id: duttada18

Hope this helps!

-Cheers!!

[Edited by Gaurav Dutta on Jan 09, 2017]

Hi Gaurav,

My GRE score is 322(v: 160 q: 162), but I don't know how that ranks in comparison to GMAT.
Should I give GMAT too?

Hi Shubham,
You can easily convert your GRE score into GMAT by using the conversion table by ETS. For example: http://www.qsleap.com/articles/gre-to-gmat-score-conversion/

Your equivalent GMAT score is 660 which is a good score to get admission and a good scholarship. No, you don't have to give GMAT as IPADE accepts students with just GRE scores as well.

Hi Gaurav,

Thank you for clearing that up.
I was worried because GRE wasn't listed in the admission requirements page for IPADE MBA. Only GMAT and IPADE test were there when I last checked.
Are you sure about GRE?

Yes, I am very sure Shubham :)

Dear Shubham, kindly message me if you need any other information. The admissions are on so if you are interested then let me know.

Best Regards,
Gaurav Dutta

Hi Gaurav,

I am thinking about working for one more year before applying. I want to get the proper exposure of South America in this Colombia program with Atlas Corps. It will help me shape my decision better.

Thank you for your support.
Please keep me updated about your job search and success story :)