Hey.
I am chilien, living in canada, montreal (my french is not so good thought), and i want to do an mba in europe - which country should i go for??

Hey,
If you want to go the easy way: Spain. You'll feel at home because of the language, and you'll have the choice between several good MBA programs. Many Chilians there as well,and Latin Americans in general...

But if you want to experience life in a different cultural setting, there are MBAs in English in every country in Europe. Watch out though: England and Scandinavia are quite expensive in terms of living cost.
Suerte!
kata

Thanks kata, I would prefer to do an MBA in a non Latin country. What you say about living costs in England and Scandinavia is a pity, these were the first ones on my list.

I've seen there is a lot about other countries in this discussion board, I willhave a look.
Pablo

Hey Pablo,
But you know that it can be hard for a Latin American to live in these Northern countries anyways, do you? Only three months of summer (which we would not even call summer) and then a long long dark and cold winter, be prepared ;)

Better have a look at oher countries - France? Italy? Slovenia is a good place I heard as well,
kata

hello kata,
as i live in canada i am not so afraid of cold dark winters ;)
thanks for your ideas - i'm not tempted by italy, france nor spain. but slovenia sounds interesting, i would not have thought about that!
cheers,
pablo

Chili, Slovenia seems a very interesting place to live right now BUT... unfortunately it is difficult to fin an internationally reputed MBA. I've done some research about Balkan MBA programs, there is almost nothing really interesting.
There are 2 or 3 Slovenian MBAs

I have noticed that that funny situation you have in Europe; there are only some countries where you have the choice between several MBAs which employers all over the world will recognize, means accredited by the important accreditation organizations and appearing in the international rankings, that's France, Spain, UK, Holland. Then in some other countries you'll find only one, Scandinavian countries, Hungary, Switzerland and funny enough: Germany. - and all the others are white spots on the MBA map! Interesting... Be careful guys when you chose!

Many MBA programs will work with you to ensure you can afford the tuition and living expenses. The MBA is a long term investment. Not to be callous, but given the variety financing options available I would rank many other factors including professors, curriculum and global focus above cost.

Full Disclosure: I am participating in the FIND MBA board as an excercise to provide an illustration for a segment I am teaching of the course "What the CEO wants you to know" at BMI www.barcelonami.org One of the readings for the segment is www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.04/wired40_ceo.html? Click on POST MBA for more biographical info.

Financing should not be the first criteria, I perfectly agree. Chosing a cheap MBA can make it almost useless experience, if afterwards you don't find a job, because emplyers have never heard of the bschool.

But I would be very happy if you could let us know more about the variety of financing options, please! For me, as for many other students, unfortunately finance is a decisive factor, weighing far too much, because we don't have the means (I'm from India). I will appreciate your comments!

Certainly pricing is not the only factor in the quality of a school.

I recommend that you contact the business schools you are interested in attending to find out about financing options. Most programs have a specialist on hand as very few MBA students pay for it on their own, in cash. One exception was a friend of mine who previously ran Cisco in South Africa. He never visited the Financial Aid office. Everyone else did.

Full Disclosure: I am participating in the FIND MBA board as an excercise to provide an illustration for a segment I am teaching of the course "What the CEO wants you to know" at BMI www.barcelonami.org One of the readings for the segment is www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.04/wired40_ceo.html? Click on Post MBA for more biographical info.

Hey.
I am chilien, living in canada, montreal (my french is not so good thought), and i want to do an mba in europe - which country should i go for??

Well, it all depends of what you intend to with it afterwards. And you'll definitely find European MBAs worthwhile doing - some of the European MBAs are very competitive compared to Asian ones, don't you agree?

Well, it all depends of what you intend to with it afterwards. And you'll definitely find European MBAs worthwhile doing - some of the European MBAs are very competitive compared to Asian ones, don't you agree?

It's funny, you have this idea about Asia being the place to be, and I really would find it thrilling to live in Europe instead of Mumbai...
BTW, most people I know would immediately move outside of Asia, first of all to the States of course, but to Europe too.

But there are some very popular places in Asia, such as Singapore etc.

Europe was hot 2 centuries ago, Asia is and continue to be the place to be involved with for the forecoming future.

I was just on another post about Swiss MBAs and noticed your post here. Its worth remembering that the Swiss (although not EU) economy (esp. around Zurich) is really good at the moment and banks are recruiting lots of MBAs. A nice way into the market could be at one of the top 2 - IMD and St. Gallen.

And I can't believe you left IMD off your list of the best in Europe. It is easily better than Esade or Iese. Will see about St. Gallen when they actually get ranked, but FT put IMD at no.1...

I don't know who left IMD out of the list (which list?), you are right, IMD is one of the best in Europe.
That's the general opinion on this board too, IMD was discussed in several threads - check this out http://www.find-mba.com/board/university/454

Europe was hot 2 centuries ago, Asia is and continue to be the place to be involved with for the forecoming future.

There are no Asian business schools yet that can be compared to Harvard, NYU, Columbia, Penn, Northwestern in the US or ESADE, INSEAD, IESE, LBS, Imperial, Cass. Even as the quality of MBA porgrams in Asia will improve, an MBA from London or New York will always let your CV stand out in the eyes of Asian employers...

Funny to answer such an old topic.
Anyways, from my research, here are the top MBAs in Europe:

2 Years:
1) LBS
2) IESE
3) ESADE
4) SDA Bocconi
5) Rotterdam

1 year or equivalent:
1 & 2) Insead/IMD
3 & 4) Cambridge/Oxford (equal but very different...)
5) IE/Esade 1 year (probably very good but very regional also). IE may deserve to be higher than Oxbridge, but it is not as regarded internationally
6) HEC, rising fast but stil very regional.

This "ranking" is based on recruiting companies, average post-MBA salaries, international outlook, teacher quality and alumni "support".

A note about Esade: it seems to be a very good school. It is the HEC of Spain: very famous undergrad, and probably a very good MBA. But I still got the feeling that the program has "small means" and the hotest of the MBA recruiters (McKinsead, BCG, GS, MS etc) only pick the top of the top of the creme de la creme. Like 4 guys a year. Imagine that!

About IE: I hear such conflicting stories. Sometimes it rocks, sometimes it is the pit of doom. I know they have some very good teachers and dedicated students in the 1 year program.

About Rotterdam: Not exactly overwhelming. No star teachers (or they fly them in for the lessons), job prospects kinda... well, look at their website. Looks good but not much substance.
Insead: nothing to add, actually.
IMD: tough to enter - 90 spots, tough program, some tough students. And such tough admissions people! I guess living in Switzerland makes your c*ca smell better. ;-)

I'm considering Insead, IMD, IESE and Esade 2 years in Europe; maybe Oxford. Not a career changer, could not care less about MNCs and banking now that I know what I want.
What I'm looking for in a program: excellent teachers, very bright and sharp students, a truly international class, and a good environment for my (probably) future wife and (probably) future kid to live in for a year or two. And brand. Perception matters.

Not considering LBS because they will ding me. I will be terribly old, as I'm almost 28; and because of sub-par GPA. IESE is a wild card: they want to bring down average age to 27 because Morgan Stanley and McKinsey said so. And, like, students at LBS are, like, so much younger looking!

Disclaimer: I look for facts at the source: teachers, current students and alumni, adcom people, school stats, employers' perceptions and stats. MP me if you want.

Oh, I forgot to mention ESMT. The future IMD, but made in Germany. Wild card, except if you have actual managerial experience and want to work in Germany.