Dear all,

I would like to ask you all for some advice regarding MBA programs.
I work for an Oil and Gas company in Abu Dhabi as a Project Manager and I have been admitted to Warwick Global Energy MBA (Distance Learning) and Cass executive MBA in Dubai.
My concern is that I do not know which one will be better for me, I know that Cass is well known for finance but is it good also for management?? and Warwick will be 90% online program which is something that I am not sure about...
in term of reputation which of the two is better known in the UK and holds more prestige?
What are the questions I should ask to understand which program is better?

thank you all for your help :)

Take a look at: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/emba-rankings-2011

Cass and Warwick are big schools, pretty good at everything. Warwick is also good at finance, especially in its MSc and PhD. On the MBA scene, I think Cass has the edge. On "the high street" Warwick is better known as a university.

Were I you, I would choose Cass because it's a face to face programme: that difference means less than any difference in the standing of the schools.

What did you think of the Manchester MBA in Dubai?

Dear Duncan,

Thank you very much for your reply, I have explored the possibility of studying at Manchester MBA but from the information I found, it appears to focus mainly on Project Management rather than having a balance between finance, strategy, marketing, etc.

Further to this, I received an email from London Business School admission team yesterday ( I previously sent my CV for their review) and received the following response ?Your profile is certainly very interesting and a consistent fit with London Business School?s EMBA and I believe that you could make a strong application to the programme.? I am unsure if this is a ?standard? email they send to the majority of applicants, in order to gather application fees, or if it is a genuine interest, however I am now considering whether to apply for LBS also.

They advised me to apply without the GMAT test and if I pass the first steps (essays, ref. letters, interview) they will send me a ?conditional offer? based on my GMAT score.

With my background, do you think LBS is a possibility for me?? I have approximately 10 years work experience and 5 as a Engineering Team Leader- Project Eng/Manager. I am unsure if I should even consider this as a possibility as even if I will pass the first stage, I believe it will be very challenging to pass the GMAT test with more than 600 (their requirement), as English is not my mother tongue and I know that the final English section can be very difficult.

Do you know roughly how long it takes to prepare for the GMAT test, if I have the weekends and a few hours after work each evening to study?

I have also checked the rankings and according to QS, CASS appears to focus more on Finance and Strategy whilst Warwick focuses more on Op. Management, which is would prefer.

Thank you again for your help.

I don't think you should be limiting your choices on the basis of the little research you have done. You should try to get into the best programme you can, rather than finding excuses to rule top schools out.

Look again at the MBS programme: project management is one of three specialist parthways, but most students don't take a pathway, they take the regular electives. (http://uae.portals.mbs.ac.uk/Programmes/GlobalMBA/Structure.aspx)

LBS is not in the business of making money by collecting application fees. It loses money on applications and does not encourage candidates who are clearly unsuited. If they say it's a possibility, then it is.

If you are motivated to get 600, then you will. I'm a native speaker, so preparing for the GMAT took me 30 hours. Your written English looks fine to me, but why not take a practice test and see what the gap is?

Focus is different from ability. It's not either or: a big school can be strong at everything. Cass and Warwick are both strong, sizeable schools.
-- Warwick is, for example, a top five finance school at the MSc level (http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-finance-pre-experience-2011) even though it is in a manufacturing region and has a strong competency there.
-- Cass is, indeed, best known for finance but a whole month of the Dubai programme is on operations management. There are people on the faculty like ManMohan Sodhi and Ajay Bhalla who have been published in world class OM journals, at the very leading edge of the discipline.

Duncan, I will apply for LBS and do the GMAT.

is it correct that you have to score at least 650?

Did you studied at LBS?

thank you for your help

No, LBS looks for scores of at least 600 but, of course, the average score is higher. I'm an LBS EMBA graduate.

There are many things to consider when choosing a[a href="kccitm.edu.in/mba/mba] Top college in INDIA [/url]or in any other country. Obvious attributes to consider would be the school?s ranking and quality of faculty. However, you should also consider some of the more intangible attributes associated with the business school. Sure, the academic part of it is certainly important, but in many ways, the intangibles are just as important and often ignored.

I guess one thing to consider, for example, is how well they teach hyperlinking ;-)

Thank you all for your tips, at the moment I am appling for the LBS, stuck with one essay...
"Please qualify the content and scope of your management experience and/or exposure to decision making. How would this help you contribute effectively to the learning of your EMBA classmates?"
Does anyone have any tips??

thanck you again ..:)

Hi
Did you apply for LBS? have you got the admission? I am in the same boat.
I have applied for LBS EMBA 10-12 days back. Does any body has any idea how much time they take. The website says 10 days. Should I ask them or wait?

Thanks
Poonam

Hi poonammarwah, yes I applied for LBS and I am now in the 2014 class.

I believe that if no one responded to date, you should call them and find out.

Thanks Mauro,
Can you please share some details
1. What is the acceptance rate, how many people apply and how many get admitted
2. If you get a call for interview what are your chances to get in
3. did you apply to other EMBA programs also and got admitted?

I have 15 years of expereince out of which 12 years in IT(last company IBM) and 6 years in Entrepreneurship( launched 3 ventures) LBS is my first priority as I like the program and so many other things. I am planning to apply to HEC Paris, Insead Abu Dubai, IESE, IE also

Hey Mauro,

That is great news. I'll look forward to seeing you on campus!

Duncan.

Hi Poonammarwah,

Unfortunately I would not be the best person to answer your first two questions. LBS should be able to provide you with the information in question 1. I can tell you however that in the Dubai stream is made up of 60 students whilst the London stream is made up of 80 students, therefore 140 students in total, however I do not know how many people applied in total.

For question 2, I can tell you that my interview took 2 hours and I was sent an unconditional offer 10 days later, but once again, I do not know how many candidates made the interview but didn?t pass past this stage.

For question 3, i applied for a number of MBA programs, including Cass, Insead and Warwick and I was accepted for all. I believe that with your experience, a good GMAT score (around 620) and a good interview you should have a good chance of also receiving an offer.

I wish you all the best.


Dunkan,

Thank you for all your tips and I look forward to seeing you at ?Windsor Castle? ;)

Thank you Mauro,
Yes I have a decent score, 640.
Keeping my finger crossed.

Best Regards
Poonam

Guys,

Just received an email from Cass saying that from 2013 they are starting March intake as well for their EMBA in Dubai, so going forward there will be two intakes per year i.e. March and September.

Regards
Nirmal

Howz CASS EMBA?

I am shortlisting schools based on following factors
1. international students/diversity
2.International faculty
3.Studies in more than 2-3 countries
4. In top 25 FT MBA and top 10 EMBA FT ranking
5. classes in block format

I would personally rank Cass in UAE second to only LBS and Insead. It was ranked 32nd FT in 2012.

I believe Cass emba will meet most of your above expectations, however for more details you better get in touch with their admission team.

Regards
Nirmal