Hello all,

Going through discussions board, I have not come across very bright reviews for an Italian MBA. Most of the posts date back to 2007 or so.

Have things somehow changed in these couple of years? (Looking at Rankings and preferences seems Italy has not progressed much with B-schools)

MIP claims to have performed very well with a consistent upward trend in rankings
MIB was at 40th place in Europe in 2013 (QS Rankings) 2014: Not even at 60th (Could that happen?)

Are these two B-schools good alternatives to Bocconi?

Is it worthy to invest in an MBA in Italy? Any expert to advice?

Cheers

No, these are not alternatives to Bocconi.

If you speak Italian and want to work there, then an MBA from one of those schools is a great idea.

I still have to give GMAT. I have started preparing for it and aim for taking it latest by March. It definitely will make lots of things clear and help me in positioning myself in a Tier.

In any case, SDA Bocconi might not even be a reach B-school for me (3 years work experience in manufacturing industry and average academic performance throughout my Undergrad)

I am considering to start applying after my GMAT. Do you suggest any extra curricular activity that might help? Joining a NGO? Volunteering? (I am Six sigma black belt; Would that help demonstrate my Project management skills? I don't have an extra ordinary professional experience; Just a normal, day to day operations management, project execution etc related stuff)

I am not a native Italian but speak decent language. Do you think, I should prefer an MBA in Italy whatsoever or look for opportunities in German or British B-schools?

Thanks in advance

Read this: Do you need to speak the local language? www.find-mba.com/board/34713

Bocconi has progressed a lot in rankings in the past few years. I can't comment about the mba program but most of the students I have come across in the msc finance programs have multiple offers from bulge brackets in London/Frankfurt.etc. even though proficiency in italian is an added advantage,many of the masters students have only the basic knowledge of the language(about 40 percent start learning italian during the masters). It must also be noted that most of the bocconi students apply to London for jobs and from what I have noticed,the school is really respected for finance/economics as opposed to marketing etc. It is quite easy for Italians to find jobs in Italy after graduating from bocconi so I have based my answer on the experiences of my non European friends(mainly Turkish and Indians) who weren't fluent in italian yet found internships/jobs in London etc . For an mba however,you could look at schools like said,judge,HEC,INSEAD ,iese,lbs which are better ranked than bocconi. From my understanding,pursuing an msc at bocconi is a much safer bet. SDA would be in the same league of Warwick,esade,ie,etc.

Yes, the Bocconi MSc is well-ranked, but if I was looking for a career in London or Frankfurt, I'd do either the MSc at LBS or the one at WHU... Better proximity means easier networking, and plus the salaries will probably be better.