Dear JohnyL,

You wrote: It is a little bit astonishing/irritating how committed a person with only two postings in this forum is to a school at which he or she is neither enrolled nor employed. ;-)))

My answer: Posting on forums is not my full-time job. I do not write just for the sake of satisfying my ego. I write only when I feel compelled to do so as I felt after reading this discussion. I think that answers your suspicion about writing me only two posts. I think, unfortunately, you have serious problems with ESMT. If someone wants to pursue an advice from current ESMT students or alumni, you say how one can trust the current students or alumni from ESMT as they will speak only positive things about school. Now, you wonder how someone who is neither enrolled nor employed by ESMT could write something positive about ESMT. Exactly this sentence tells a lot about you and your biased approach towards EMST. If I would have written bad about ESMT, you would have been happy and completely agreed with my point of view. But, now you WONDER because this is not what you want to read. Start to read the truth and respect others opinion.

You wrote: I do not know at which other German schools you did apply applied but at those which have visited or talked to I didn't have the impression that they just "recycled" their Diplom. I also could not find what you call a university culture there.

My answer: Then you have not visited top German schools buddy. I?m here not talking about my impressions rather about my experiences. Impressions are virtual and experiences are real. Please research first about what MBA is all about. I don?t care if you already have an MBA? Having an MBA does not mean you know what an MBA is, like, having success does not mean you did everything in the right manner. There is a great difference between Diplom and an MBA and I know that you know about it but playing simply low. It would be great if you could tell me about how not to refurbish Diplom to an MBA. Regarding university culture, you?ll understand the difference if you have ever visited a real MBA school and not a refurbished (Diplom) MBA school.

You wrote: And to be honest, I do not care that much about the application form, but more about the selection process and who gets admitted. All in all, I did not have the impression that the smartest German brains teach and study at ESMT. This is my personal opinion and believe me, I really had a close look on nearly all accredited schools in Germany

My answer: Probably, you did not read my post with full concentration. Application form is the very first interaction from applicant?s side to business school. It seems to me that you have not really applied to any top business schools and that is why ignoring the importance of application form. You cannot connect how significant is application form and essays in the selection process. When you say that you do not have the impression (again not experience) that the smartest German brains teach and study at ESMT, I completely agree with you. And, this proves that you understand ZERO about an MBA. Because an MBA must not be about the smartest brains in German rather smartest brains in world. Regarding ESMT, I talked about the smart people from the world like professors from Harvard, INSEAS, IMD etc. Therefore, you are right that ESMT does not have smart people from German, actually it has smart people from around the world.

if i may say so, although i find both posts interesting, and the opinions expressed legitimate, i find some statements problematic.

there is no true or false in such matters, everybody is entitled to his own opinion, as long as he/she tries to explain them (which you both did!).

and now for my one two cents: there was nothing wrong about the diplom system - it was actually considered quite good, and some schools have had this kind of programs running successfully for years! - it just changed now because of the Bologna process, and some are still criticizing this move! the diplom program also had its pluses - first of all the time aspect - one may argue that the fact it took longer helped people to get deeper into the material, and not be stressed out to finish it quick. the new bachelor/master tend to lead the students only to concentrate on the notes and that leads to a more shallow learning experience.
i actually think that a "refurbished" diplom program can enjoy the best of both worlds - the newer, moderner American style MBA teaching, with the older established know how and experience of the old diplom programs. synthesis is always the best way forward!

Andy.

Thank you very much, Andy, for this very interesting comment. I agree with you in many points. As far as I can overview it, Germany has many excellent business researchers although they are not as well known as the guys from Harvard, Wharton, LBS or LSE. By the way, I had the impression that the MBA teaching style at the top business schools in Germany absolutely meets the international standard and combines a theoretical foundation with practical orientation.

My guess is that ontheway stressed that point so much because the size and the reputation of the faculty is one of the weakest points of ESMT. The traditional schools like Mannheim, WHU and Goethe/Frankfurt have a clear advantage in that respect. Mannheim and Frankfurt are closely linked to the respective universities with large and renowned faculties. WHU is a well-established private university. I have the impression that they do what you mentioned as "to take the best from worlds".

Best,
JL

true, now that i think about it - faculty from duke, insead, harvard, IMD etc is REALLY something one should be ashamed about....

I don't want to get this discussion to get too personal. But one last sentence from my side: Read the report of the Wissenschaftsrat and you know what I am talking about!

is that a promise?

Following on from what everyone has said ESMT has been doing really well since it started and now features in the FT for its Executive Education programs. If you're looking to go to the b-school they have several generous scholarships and specialized scholarships for female applicants.

Obviously they offer a lot of scholarships which is not always a good sign. Seems to me as if they were desperately looking for (female) students.

The ESMT MBA is an upcoming MBA program founded by private companies in Germany.

It currently has a very high placement record as the German economy is doing really well.

Tuition and Living costs in Germany are also not very high.

Best Of Luck to you

ESMT is quite good, and is well up in the rankings too. It was basically started by around 20 different companies, and they have a great Career Services as well. Here, they put quite a bit of emphasis on one-to-one counselling to help students prepare for interviews so they can land their perfect job!