MBA

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• It really depends on how you define "recognized better". If it is about whether both qualify as a target university for strategy consulting companies, there is no difference. If it is about the quality of teaching, I would highly advise you to have a look at the best-known university rankings such as the one from FT.
• However, I would highly advise you to opt for the MBA program that better aligns with your professional (and maybe even personal) mid- to long-term goals. In order to make an informed decision about it, I would advise you to do the following:
  • Weigh the different criteria that are meaningful to you, independently of the current options (e.g., prestige, culture, international exposure, location, costs). After that, score the two options depending on your criteria and their weighting, resulting in two scores (this way you have covered the left-brain perspective).
  • Critically assess your initial reaction to the outcome of the scores. For instance, if you feel the urge to tweak the numbers for a different outcome, this is a solid indicator that you do not want this decision to become reality (this way you have covered the right-brain perspective).
  • By doing so, you will be able to integrate both your feelings and facts (and thus both parts of the brain) into the decision-making, guaranteeing a higher chance you will still be happy with it years later.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

Whenever this question pops up, it's easy to do your own research. Check on LinkedIn and filter for your target employers and the schools you want to compare.

You could then even reach out to respective people and start your networking by asking them about their experience (win-win).

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there, 

Q: Is IMD recognized better than ST Gallen MBA in Switzerland? Which is one better?

Are you referring to which one is better for consulting? Regardless of the target companies, you can check the numbers on LinkedIn as follows:

1. Look for alumni of the MBAs 
2. Check how many went to your target firms
3. Normalize for the size of the MBA intake

Best,

Francesco

As other coaches already highlighted, it depends on which dimensions you care about and both are strong schools.

If narrowed down to recruiting into MBB, IMD has a better reputation, from what I have seen and heard - know quite a lot of people in BCG who did IMD MBA, HSG much less common - easy to fact-check this on LinkedIn though. 

Regards, Andi

Hello,

Agree with Hagen here. You need to list out the criteria that are most important to you - culture? recruitment? activities? academics? There is plenty of information available online to flesh out details in these aspects and you can decide accordingly.

It would also be helpful to speak to alumni/students from both schools to give you a sense.

Hope this helps!

Rushabh

Hi,

If you are asking w.r.t. to MBB hiring, at least for BCG when I was there I know that we hired from both those schools (had quite a few colleagues in SEA offices who went to either school).

Hi there,

My light understanding is that IMD is ranked higher.

Which one is “better” is going to be determined by the things that you value!

If you are only looking at rank, looks like IMD is the way. However, make sure to think through the other factors that matter to you, then research accordingly!