This section provides some guidelines for potential MBA candidates, based on the personal experience of various Club members; the information herein is complementary to official data from each business school

INSEAD

Location: Fontainebleau, France and Singapore (courses in English)

Duration: One year (two promotions: January – December or September – June)

European Ranking: First          

World Ranking: Fifth   

Tuition Fees: € 35,000

Cost of Living: Basic - €1,000/m, Medium (some social life) - €1,500/m, Full Monty - +€2,500/m

Admission Process: See www.insead.fr

Practical Advice: Start the whole admission process at least one year in advance, deadlines are relatively tough. GMAT: two months of preparation are recommended (a score in excess of 650 is required in practice). TOEFL: specific preparation for the test is recommended irrespective of your knowledge of the language. Essays: use a three steps process: first draft, review draft after two weeks, final review after another couple of weeks; it is recommendable to have them finally checked by a native English speaker; try to get advice from alumni.

Financing: start early your discussions with the bank; ABN Amro is a traditional source of funds for tuition fees; the cost of financing is not at alll prohibitive from a post-INSEAD perspective

Job Prospects: Hundreds of reputable companies from all domains (financial, consulting, industry) recruit on campus. Recruiting process is demanding tough as is simultaneous with a part of the tuition period. In normal years however, there are two-three job offers per candidate. The schools Career Management Service is well organised and supportive

Other Features: The January – December promotion benefits from a seven weeks holiday; getting a summer job is highly recommended as it could result in a job offer post graduation; summer jobs are normally well paid (e.g. ~£1,000 per week in investment banking in London)

Alumni Ratings: Course material – v. good, Faculty – good, Elective courses – outstanding, Colleagues – outstanding, Networking prospects – outstanding, Reputation – excellent, Employment prospects – outstanding, Overall value for money – probably the best worldwide

IESE Business School

Location: Barcelona, Spain (Programme in English, with bilingual option, English and Spanish, in the second year)

Duration: 20 months

European Ranking: 4th           

World Ranking: 24th

Tuition Fees: € 40,000

Cost of Living: € 800-1500 / month

Financing: All IESE students have the option to take a loan covering the tuition fees for both years. The bank is Banco Santander Central Hispanico (BSCH) and rates are very competitive. Recommended by alumni. For living expenses there is a number of scholarships available. In addition, the compensation for the summer internship is between €5,000-15,000, depending on the sector, the location and the duration of the project. Most Eastern Europeans manage to cover the living expenses through a combination of personal savings and income from the summer job.

Job prospects: All typical MBA recruiters (banks, consulting firms) come to IESE, plus many other multinationals and SMEs. Although the job opportunities are not an issue, students should expect to put effort in the job search process and not take success for granted. Students get an average of 2-3 job offers. Job search success depends mostly on: pre-MBA experience, personality/ability to perform well in an interview and the economic outlook. Students really interested in entrepreneurship, who want to test/develop an idea,  get a lot of support and will have the chance to meet investors. An important proportion (around 30%) of IESE alumni set-up their own business within 5 years after graduation

Lifestyle: Barcelona is one of the most exciting places to live in Europe. With the beach nearby , the ski resorts within 2-3 hours and the famous nightlife, students are guaranteed to experience great lifestyle. For further information see:   www.bcn.es

Alumni recommendations: Visit IESE’s campus in Barcelona before making a decision about what MBA programme to choose. You will have the opportunity to understand clearly if this is the best programme for you or not. Speak at least to an alumni, ideally from your country, before applying to the programme. He /she will be able to give you important insights on how IESE could help you fulfil your career goals.

Oxford Brookes University

Location: Oxford, UK

Duration: One year: September intake)

UK Ranking: Oxford Brookes has been voted as the UK's 'top new university' for the sixth year in succession, by The Times Good University Guide 2001. It was also voted 'top new university' by The Sunday Times in 2001     

Tuition Fees: ~£10,000

Cost of Living: We estimate that students in self-catering accommodation should allow around £650 per month for living and accommodation costs. Payment for University accommodation can be made in 3 instalments, together with your tuition fees.

Practical Advice: Financing advice is given on the University website under the heading International Students

Job Prospects: The University has a Career Centre, and there are Employer presentations on campus.

Personal Rating:  Very good for students not wishing to specialise in a particular domain, particularly those with entrepreneurial ambitions. Some very successful e-commerce companies have started as MBA projects of Oxford Brookes Business School.

City University Business School

Location: London

Duration: one year Full-time MBA, two years Evening MBA (late September start)

Tuition Fees: £20,000 Full-time, £22,000 Evening MBA (for 2002)

Specialisations: General and Strategic Management, Finance, International Business and Management of Technology.

Cost of Living: £350 – £700 (accommodation not included). A number of places offered in the University's Residence Halls, otherwise expect £400 - £700, based on a flat-sharing scheme. London is expensive.

Ranking: 81 (Financial Times - 2002 MBA Rankings). The school is expected to leap up quite a number of places with the opening in autumn 2002 of new, purpose-built facilities in the City of London.

Admission Process: Details on the website. Interview is strictly required, but an over-the-phone arrangement could be reached. Studentships/Scholarships are awarded to a number of students in the form of tuition fee waivers, but not for the full amount. Admission process ends when all places are taken. Expect a fast reply.

Financing: The school does not have any particular arrangements with a bank.

Job Prospects: The school has a good name in the City of London - CUBS Alumni work for almost all reputable companies in the City. The Career Resource Centre is a useful resource.

Other Features: the Business Research Project (for FT MBA) is a good opportunity to put into practice the learning, with a 50% weighting in the graduation mark. The student can also get some UK work experience and the project is paid. Depending on your arrangements you can earn as much as £10,000 (pre-tax).

Alumni Rating: A reasonably good school with much better reputation in London than anywhere else. A good mix of students from all nationalities and backgrounds. The course administration is expected to be considerably improved in the new facilities.