Hi there,

Congrats on both offers!

Given costs are not a concern, I definitely recommend hiring an MBA advisor/coach to talk through both schools in a session. I know a few good ones I'd be happy to recommend.

Make sure to talk to people from these schools as well as read online to figure out which one best fits your goals!

I personally would pick HEC, but that's me based on my preferences.

Also, do not discount either the importance of the city/country itself!

Hey there,

I would say they're on par regarding their perception in the consulting world. I have MBB consulting friends from both programs and they're among the elite MBAs in Europe together with IMD, IS, and ESADE. 

The best school by far, however, which trumps all others in terms of consulting, is of course INSEAD. It's a consultant producing MACHINE but has some drawbacks as well in other regards.

I myself did my MBA at ESADE, which is a great school but does NOT produce consultants en mass. I was the only one from my cohort landing an offer from McKinsey, for example. However, it's amazing in other regards.

Between the two offers you have, you can't go wrong with either. In my opinion, Barcelona beats Paris so I'd go with IESE ;)

Best of luck!

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Hi!

They're both amazing. 

I've helped people get into both and also coached candidates from both schools. Honestly, I would find it hard to decide between the schools myself. 

I recommend you to get in touch with students who study there at the moment and have a conversation with them. The point would be to understand where you would best fit in and what would help you the most. 

Good luck!
Cristian

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Congratulations on the admits!

In terms of helping you decide, you will need to answer a few questions first.

1. Do you see yourself staying in Europe or moving back to Asia or maybe even a new country like US? I would choose the school that has the most clout in that region

2. Which school has more alumni in companies you want to work at? 

3. Which school has peers you will learn most from?

There is no clear answer as to why HEC is better than IESE etc. In Europe, INSEAD and maybe LBS are the best options for global branding, the rest you will need to do more research based on your preferences in the medium to long run.

Best,

Udayan

Hi there,

Q: I have secured admits from IESE and HEC Paris. Which school is better perceived for consulting?

I would recommend checking the past performance of the MBA in terms of placement to understand it.

You can check it as follows:

1. Go to LinkedIn
2. Add the universities as "School", one by one (if possible, target the MBA only)
3. Filter by each MBB/target company as “Current company” for your target geography
4. Check how many school alumni joined your target firms
5. Normalize for the size of the MBA intake (if available)

Best,

Francesco

IESE is supposed to be a notch above, and is more international. But your changes of getting a job in the “local” country are higher if you take the French option vs. the Spanish one.

Barcelona has better climate, whereas Paris has more stuff going on.