Hey everybody,

Just curious to see if anybody has looked into INCAE MBA program in Costa Rica. I am considering it because 1) it's fairly affordable for a globally-ranked MBA program, and 2) because I think it would be a good way to break into business in Central or South America.

I'm mainly concerned because it's a bilingual program and my Spanish isn't perfect. I've picked up a lot, having lived and worked in California all my life - but I am curious about the level expected, and if anybody has any suggestions to as how I would improve my Spanish.

Also, I'm a bit older, and I've been out of work for a while. I'm wondering if this will be a problem for the MBA program here.

And is it realistic to expect to break into business down there through this MBA program? I've been in retail all my career, but I'm open to new prospects. And living in working in a place like Costa Rica sounds like paradise!

Interesting. The program is double-accredited. But the fact that I'd never heard of it until I just looked it up in this site's directory tells me it might not have much of a reputation outside of the region. I might be wrong though. I often am.

I'd imagine you'll need to formally brush up your Spanish before going down there. Do they have city colleges convenient where you are?

How old are you anyway? Is that you in the picture? ;)

Interesting. The program is double-accredited. But the fact that I'd never heard of it until I just looked it up in this site's directory tells me it might not have much of a reputation outside of the region. I might be wrong though. I often am.

How old are you anyway? Is that you in the picture? ;)

INCAE is a relatively young program. It was founded back in 1964 by Harvard Business School, so it is almost 50 years old.

I am orginally from Minnesota, and after a few succesful stints in companies, I decided to make the jump. INCAE is a very intense school, where most of the professors are extended Ivy League PhDs (Harvard, Wharton, MIT, Yale, Etc).

I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

Full disclosure: I am the worldwide Director of Recruitment and Admissions for INCAE masters programs.

Ryan Frazee

Incae is a very professional, but remote school. It can be compared to Insead (which is in the north of France). Keep in mind that Incae is a brutal program due to its pace and the fact that after the first year a certain percentage of students need to leave the program. Lastly, Incae its facilities and abilities might be less than other programs. For example its IT infrastructure is good for developing countries, but not up to today's western standards. Also, the visiting guests will be local (so you won't meet world-class US entrepreneurs).

That being said, if you do not mind working hard and like a tropical environment, great support and world-class faculty then I would recommend Incae.

Niels
MBA Q&A

Insead is north of France? Would you like to borrow a map?

Thanks for keeping correcting this relatively small error in my previous post, Duncan. Very much appreciated.

Happy to help, mbaqanda. This website is a team sport ;-)

Yeah, Just wondering to what extend the last couple of posts relate to Incae! ;-)

Thanks Niels! Good additions.

How do you know about INCAE?

Incae is a very professional, but remote school. It can be compared to Insead (which is in the north of France). Keep in mind that Incae is a brutal program due to its pace and the fact that after the first year a certain percentage of students need to leave the program. Lastly, Incae its facilities and abilities might be less than other programs. For example its IT infrastructure is good for developing countries, but not up to today's western standards. Also, the visiting guests will be local (so you won't meet world-class US entrepreneurs).

That being said, if you do not mind working hard and like a tropical environment, great support and world-class faculty then I would recommend Incae.

Niels
MBA Q&A

I attended! If you like to know more, I would love to take it offline to avoid direct reactions. So just head over to my page. I will be happy to answer any of your queries in a more private environment.


Niels
MBA Q&A

Hey Niels. What do you mean when you say it can be compared to Insead?

This Niels git is going everywhere and talking shit all the time.

I sincerely believe he is on a secret mission to disturb people.

Also he revealed that he is still jobless after his MBA from a school he believes is comparable to INSEAD. Could it be that he is so bored but I am glad that future employers made the right hiring decision.

Also he surely destroyed all INCAE reputation, sometimes it just needs a very bad one to give totally the wrong impression to the whole barrel