I am a Greek 21-years old woman with a degree in humanities (GPA 8.0/10) and 2 year experience as HR manager in a student non-profit european organisation. I have my eyes on Bocconi and I am actually targeting on a scholarship, too. Do I actually have any possibilities of getting in and gaining the scholarship? I am probably one of the youngest people interested in having an MBA, but my goals are very specific and I don't want to "waste" any time. I don't know if at this point it would be better to find a proper job, probably in the marketing field, or use my time to prepare for the GMAT.

Assuming that I score 650+ (which is the average in Bocconi) would it be possible to get in or still, the young of my age, my humanities bachelor and my lack of full-time job experience would be an obtacle? Could I do sth extra to improve my profile?

No, you stand almost no chance of getting into the MBA at SDA Bocconi without the work experience they require. They will admit you to their MSc in International Management however. Take a look at http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-management-2015

[Edited by Duncan on Jun 13, 2016]

Thank you so much for your answer! I know for a fact that a 23 years old, greek male engineer with only 10 months of work exp got into the MBA at SDA Bocconi with a scholarship. He had a GMAT of 720 though. I had him in my mind while my hopes were growing bigger.

Would you recommend having an MSc in International Management prior to an MBA, or it could be a better choice to "broaden" the spectrum with a Marketing Management one?

Also do you consider Bocconi as a good choice taking into account salaries, placement etc? I also see ESSEC quite high in the list above, and in my Linkedin searches, but you don't seem to recomment it so much from what I have read.

I think that's unusual. SDA has AMBA accreditation, and that requires three years' experience: "Students are expected to have a minimum of three years appropriate and relevant postgraduate work experience upon entry and the student body as a whole should average at least five years of such experience." Perhaps this person had an AMBA-accredited MSc, or had some other connection to Bocconi, but it is still quite peculiar.

Yes, I would recommend an MSc. The FT ranking shows Bocconi's standing. Within the top 15 schools, it's in the bottom third for salary and placement. I think that's really about Italy (for linguistic and economic reasons), rather than about Bocconi, but it also reflects the fact that the MSc is in the parent university rather than in SDA. ESSEC MSc students face only slightly lower language barriers, and enjoy better salaries.

My recommendations are really about the schools that fit the individual students. Certainly so many people on this board underestimate the language needs that I'd only recommend it to someone who was committed to learning French, or who did not need to work in France.

You can get in with two years of work experience:

http://www.sdabocconi.it/en/mba-executive-mba/full-time-mba/admissions/admissions-requirements

"On average, students in our MBA program have five years work experience, with the range between two and ten years. Younger candidates are eligible for admission if they have an excellent academic background, test scores, soft skills and motivation."

But Duncan is right - this contradicts AMBA's requirements:

"Students are expected to have a minimum of three years appropriate and relevant postgraduate work experience upon entry and the student body as a whole should average at least five years of such experience."

I'm not sure what's going on there. Perhaps AMBA doesn't look too closely after initial accreditation?

I am currently having italian lessons to spice up my free time, so I hope someday to become proficient enough. I just saw on SDA's site what badux wrote above. Taking into consideration that Bocconi's MSc is 2 years and not 1, wouldn't be more a "smart" thing (and shorter route to my career goals) to look for a job and keep it for 2 years, than spending the double time or more in order to finally have my MBA?

Bocconi does have one year MSc options as well: http://www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/bocconi/sitopubblico_en/navigation+tree/home/programs/graduate+school/master+programs?lang=en

I think it's worth taking an MSc if you don;t have the career momentum you have now. Then in your late 20s or early 30s you can get into an even better MBA.

If you focus is on Italy, then an MSc at MiP and then a later MBA or executive masters at Bocconi sounds great.

I'm still not sure if my target is Italy or the UK. But i wasn't even considering the MIP Masters. I mean comparing it with Bocconi it seems like a way worse choice based on overall rankings.

Yes, but if you are thinking of one year for an MSc and then an MBA later on, then it makes sense to do then at two different schools so you have two alumni networks. And since the difference between the MBAs is more significant than the difference between the MScs (especially since Bocconi only has two one year MSc options in business) then the MIP MSc offer is much better, and some offer time in the UK: http://www.mip.polimi.it/en/academics/people-and-careers/masters/

Could also ESCP in Torino be a good choice?

Yes, a very good option if you want to keep London open.

Thank you so much for your great advice and help! I really hope I'll make the best choice country & university-wise in the end. I won't stop searching the site and forum for more info!

Thank you again!!

I score 760 in GMAT! but the thing is my GPA is 6.9/10 bit low because the highest in my university it goes to 7.9-8.0/10. I am young (21) and I have absolutely no experience except my own start ups! because I was never interested in under paid engineering jobs and I was more interested in business perhaps and not engineering. I am not sure but I want to apply for MBA abroad next year as I am still in my pre final year. I don't know if it would be here in India or abroad. I am actually looking for a good school which would buy my profile and the low grads!

Take a look at:-
Why freshers' MBAs are worse than MiM degrees from better schools http://www.find-mba.com/board/38133

PS and also Which MSc's are better than pre-experience 'Freshers' MBAs? www.find-mba.com/board/22783

[Edited by Duncan on Jun 15, 2016]

I score 760 in GMAT! but the thing is my GPA is 6.9/10 bit low because the highest in my university it goes to 7.9-8.0/10. I am young (21) and I have absolutely no experience except my own start ups! because I was never interested in under paid engineering jobs and I was more interested in business perhaps and not engineering. I am not sure but I want to apply for MBA abroad next year as I am still in my pre final year. I don't know if it would be here in India or abroad. I am actually looking for a good school which would buy my profile and the low grads!