This post has been marked as OLD. EssaySnark's advice and strategies for winning MBA applications don't change from year to year, but some of the school-specific admissions policies, essay questions, or other information covered in this article may be outdated.
One of the most gorgeous cities in Europe is Barcelona, and one of the best places to appreciate it is high atop the hillside where IESE’s new business school building now sits. If you speak Spanish (or want to learn it) then we highly recommend you consider one of the great bschools in Spain — and if you want an educational experience comparable to what you can get at HBS, then IESE should be your first choice.
IESE is modeled largely off of Harvard: They are the only school in Europe with an American-style two-year full-time program; they use the case method as the primary teaching vehicle; they put an emphasis on leadership in admissions and throughout the curriculum; they even have a program for college kids to apply that’s just like HBS 2+2 except theirs is called the Young Talent Program. HBS and IESE are the only two schools we’ve ever heard of with a speciality in sports business.
There are other similarities too – which makes sense, because the schools actually have an alliance. The powers that be at Harvard were advisors to IESE when they were first starting out.
Some of the differences are that IESE offers an EMBA program, plus their students are a tiny bit older than you’ll find at Harvard. Average GMAT scores are also less, as you might expect. Both the older-student thing and the more-reasonable average GMAT are standard at European schools, and IESE is in the same category as the best of them. Note that GPAs at IESE are closer to Harvard than other places – 3.6 or so is average.
Another main difference is – no offense Dee – IESE is incredibly applicant-friendly. Not that HBS isn’t – certainly Harvard has been leading the charge among American bschools in making the ordeal of applying less stressful on BSers, what with their midcycle “release” process that they introduced a few years back (basically what that means is, if they know they don’t want you, you’ll find out fast – this is exceedingly kind to BSers, in our opinion).
However, check this out: IESE gives feedback on profiles. That’s before you apply.
They also have this very cool assessment process as part of their interview – it’s similar to what Wharton adopted this year (yeah IESE had it first). We think this assessment is one of the most equitable ways of assessing candidates and we expect more schools to embrace it over time. The group assessment at IESE is in addition to the interview; you still have an opportunity to sweat through your shirt shine in a one-on-one setting with an admissions person.
IESE is on the lookout for high-performing candidates from anywhere in the world. You don’t have to speak Spanish to apply — like most European schools, the entire curriculum is in English. You probably need to know Spanish to live in Spain though if you’re good at gesturing, maybe you’ll be fine – the Spanish are very animated, you may fit right in with that approach.
We heart IESE. You probably would too. The biggest risk with a Spanish MBA is you won’t want to leave the country when you’re done (your mom won’t like that).
ChilliBox12 says
When I visited IESE, one thing they pointed out to me was the importance of Catalan over Spanish in Barcelona. Everyone I met there spoke Catalan. In fact, Spanish is unfavorable in the Catalan region of Spain where IESE is located.
essaysnark says
Very good point ChilliBox – however just to be clear for others who may be thinking about IESE for the first time: The main full-time MBA curriculum is conducted in English, and the bilingual programs offered at IESE are entirely in Spanish. But you’re right, the primary language of the Barcelona region is Català, not Español.
dmalpartida says
I attended IESE summer school in 2010 and I just want to point out that everybody in Barcelona speaks Spanish, as a Latin American I didn’t have any problem with the language whatsoever.
Sure, Catalan might be the “official” language and signs in the streets might be written in this language, but the truth is that everybody speaks and understands Spanish, although they might prefer their native tongue.
essaysnark says
Thanks dmalpartida! Very good to know. Enough people seem to speak English, too, that the language thing shouldn’t be a major deterrent, we’d assume.
ChilliBox12 says
Totally agree with you ES, and no two opinions about the “leaving Barcelona would be hard” comment. That place is beautiful filled with beautiful and generally nice people. I was there only for 3 days but it was quite difficult to depart. IESE is little bit outside the city but easily accessible via metro.
Gonzalo Arenas says
I’m an IESE alumni, and simply wanted to point out that speaking Spanish is not a requirement at all. You won’t need it to attend the school, and you won’t necessarily need it to survive in Spain. A very large number of my fellow IESEans started and ended the program with zero Spanish and they did just fine (funny enough, one of them even landed a job in Spain).
Point being – if you don’t speak Spanish, don’t let that discourage you from applying.
essaysnark says
@Gonzalo, thanks for your firsthand experience, and especially for the reassurances that Spanish skills are unnecessary!