I have been admitted by both IE IMBA and ESADE MBA. As both were the schools which Ive always wanted to go, now it is really hard to make a decision.

I have seen the same discussion from the previous board but it was a bit old so I wanted to ask this again.

My priority and objectives were as follows.
1. Student diversity of not only nationalities but also backgrounds
2. Entrepreneurship (IE is famous for this but ESADE also focuses..)
3. Spanish (I would like to be the level of being able to have conversation with native speakers. It does not have to be business level. I am just a beginner now.)
4. Internship (Planning to change my sector from industry to consultant)
5. Ranking (Both are 5th in FT European ranking...so it is difficult again)
6. I am opened to any locations after MBA if I am satisfied with the job offer.

By the way, I am asian with 7 years working experience from marketing and strategy in industry. If you can give me any advice from other aspects, it would be appreciated too.

I can't comment on the background diversity at IE but I know that ESADE tends to recruit people with varied backgrounds - from marketing to operations and consulting. I'd assume that IE's class profile would also be fairly diverse.

Yes, I think that IE might have the edge for entrepreneurship, in terms of curriculum. Also in terms of location, though, its full-time MBA is delivered in Madrid, vs. Esade's which is Barcelona. Madrid is probably more conducive to launching a business/networking with other entrepreneurs/VCs/etc.

I'm pretty sure that both schools will offer Spanish language classes... Maybe somebody else could add more insight in this respect.

But I would think that if you're looking at careers in consulting, IE most likely has the edge. The school has consistent placements in the field, plus decent relationships with AT Kearney and Arthur D. Little.

Thank you, Xinflux.
That's good to know that ESADE has diversity of varied backgrounds, which will help me to broaden my perspective. I understand IE has more placement in consulting...
What do you think about FT ranking or other rankings?
In European ranking, they both are ranked as No.5...but there is a gap in FT world ranking.

The FT world ranking is a rankings of full-time MBAs so, if you are selecting a full-time MBA, that is a better guide. The European ranking integrates all the rankings: MSc, MBA, EMBA and exec ed.

Yes, if you're looking at the MBA programs, look at the Global ranking, rather than the European business school ranking.

IE comes out higher in Businessweek's non-US MBA program ranking, as well as the MBA ranking from the Economist. Those rankings looks at a slightly different set of metrics, so it's good to take a look and compare/contrast between all of them.

Thank you very much, Duncan and Maury. Now I understand how the rankings work.
What do you think which would be better in terms of studying Spanish, Internship and networking? My concern is that the length of the IE MBA(11months) is a bit shorter. Your advice would be much appreciated.

For your goals, it seems to me that both schools are good choices. ESADE has some big advantages: its executive language centre is probably the best of any business school worldwide; the longer format gives you more time for networking and language learning; the Sant Sugat campus is an amazing resource for start-ups; and the pool of international talent in Barcelona is impressive. However, IE has a real elan as a for-profit school with a dynamic alumni network and a strong school spirit.

If it comes to entrepreneurship clearly ESADE is the better choice: http://www.eban.org/eban-2015-awards-winners/#.V1BD7nlf2Uk

I definitely would not say it's clearly the better choice. Madrid is actually a much better place for startups than Barcelona, so IE's location gives it an edge in that sense.

I think it would be interesting to compare the degrees rather than just the cities.