Imperial College MSc Economics & Strategy for Business (ESB)

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Hi everyone,

Having followed this thread and benefitted greatly from the info I thought I'd share my own experience...

I had my interview for this course yesterday. It was very informal and the interviewer was really nice and definitely not there to catch me out. It seems the questions they asked me and some other applicants are very similar, I personally was asked:

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Tell me something about yourself and why you want to do this course at imperial?

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What do you consider to be a good strategy?

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There was a failed merger between X and Y last year, what is your opinion about these mega-mergers?

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Do you consider government to have a place and role in these decisions?

The interview lasted just over 10 minutes and was overall no where near as intimidating or difficult as I thought it would be. I was told I should expect to hear back from them by the end of this week.

I applied late December and recieved my interview invitation last week.

Hope this helps!

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 41

Primal

Got my offer today! So relieved. The acceptance fee is pretty high though (£1995), which I have to dig out of my own pocket somehow. Mind-numbing, repetitive work, HAI THERE!

Any questions in regards to interview or whatever else, pm me :smile:

Reply 42

kapil2511

Original post by Primal

Hey, congratulations on getting an offer. I got an offer for the same course last month. I was just wondering, is it a good and competitive course? I am not too sure if imperial business school is that good. Could you please help me out with the reputation of the course and college.thanks

Reply 43

Primal

Original post by kapil2511

Imperial is one of the best schools in the world (http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking/region/europe). The business school bases a lot of its teaching on entrepreneurship, since Imperial has one of the best hubs for innovation in the world. They also have an excellent career advice/placement service, among the worlds best. The course takes material from its MBA course and its management course and mixes it with Economics and strategic analysis etc. For me, holding a BSc in Economics, that was perfect.

Reply 44

kapil2511

Thank you for your reply, it was really helpful. Even i have done my Bsc in Economics, so it should be good for me. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Reply 45

madcatmk3

Original post by Primal

When did you two apply? Was there an interview? I applied to the program start of March.

Reply 46

Primal

Original post by madcatmk3

When did you two apply? Was there an interview? I applied to the program start of March.

I applied just before Christmas. Then there were the holidays (which was a pain because of the waiting). I received my invitation to an interview on March 5., since the processing time of applications are typically 6-8 weeks. The interview was nothing to get really anxious about - the woman I spoke to was very nice and the atmosphere was relaxed. I wrote a post about it HERE, if you want to read more about it. Then I received my unofficial offer (per email) on March 18. and the official offer (on the student e-service page) on March 28, where the conditions of my offer were included.

You should prepare for another 3-4 weeks of waiting I'd say. Good luck :smile:

Reply 47

madcatmk3

Original post by Primal

Thanks, that was very helpful.

I'm trying to make plans for next year. Was also accepted into KU Leuven.

My Profile is:

Boston University
BS Business Administration
Areas of study: Finance, Operations & Poly Sci minor
3.5/4.0 ( top 20%), 3 Year Graduate

Experience: Thomson Reuters Intern, Elite Financial Start as an emerging market analysts in NYC and my own non profit consulting firm (clients in thousands to low millions of revenue).

The wait is killing me. I've lived in the US for the majority of my life and next year could end up in NYC, London, Leuven or Johannesburg.

Reply 48

Primal

I'd say your profile definitely makes you suitable for the programme. It's more experience than I currently have, and about the same grades. The only thing that could set you back is something in your personal statement they don't like, or because you applied as late as you did. Most of the ones I know, applied before Christmas.

Wish you all the best of luck though :smile:

Reply 49

madcatmk3

Original post by Primal

Thank you! Yes the late application probably hurt me. I didn't even figure out about the program until very late being unfamiliar with the UK school system. I had saved enough money for a year of BU fees and housing ($60k USD) so Imperial actually comes out a little cheaper then a fourth year here.

Hopefully I'll be fine on the personal statement, since my current job has me writing a lot. Unless they took an extreme dislike to my American spelling of program.

How does a 3.5/4.0 convert into UK grading? I've heard various different things. The average in my school within BU is a 3.1/4.0 with a standard deviation of about .2.

Reply 50

Primal

Original post by madcatmk3

Hopefully I'll be fine on the personal statement, since my current job has me writing a lot. Unless they took an extreme dislike to my American spelling of program.

How does a 3.5/4.0 convert into UK grading? I've heard various different things. The average in my school within BU is a 3.1/4.0 with a standard deviation of about .2.

Hahaha, I laughed so hard. So dumb :biggrin:

For convertion rates, I'd say

3.0-3.4 converts to a 2:2
3.4-3:7 converts to a 2:1
3.7+ converts to a 1st

That's a rough estimate though. I guess it varies a lot across institutions. Cambridge, for example, makes a 3.8 into a 1st.

Reply 51

madcatmk3

Original post by Primal

Hahaha, I laughed so hard. So dumb :biggrin:

Interesting. That sums it up well. What percentage usually graduate scoring in each category? I know at BU SMG a 3.8+ would be maybe ten students out of a class of 700+. It's extremely unlikely to be the best across every management subject (Finance, Accounting, Operations, Organization Behavior, Marketing, Information Systems ect) AND have had high preforming randomly assigned teams every time.

Reply 52

Primal

Original post by madcatmk3

That, I don't know. I guess it varies a lot. I think a 1st usually is the top 5% in the UK. You also get each assignment marked with a 1st, 2:1, 2:2, etc. If you score a 1st, that means ~70% or more is correct, which really surprised me at first. But, if for example you have a paper being marked 80% or more, it would be classified as publishable. I was told that when teachers correct your papers, they don't start off at 100% and subtract marks as they find mistakes (as I am used to from Norway). They would instead start at maybe 70%, and mark upwards or downwards depending on the quality of the assignment.

Reply 53

madcatmk3

Received a request for an interview today. I appreciate any help as to what I'll expect.

Thanks for the help so far!

Reply 54

sc82491

I have my interview scheduled for Thursday for the Economics and Strategy for Business.

My undergrad:
Boston University
BS Business Administration
BA Economics
3.4/4 GPA (Graduated in 3.5 years)

Worked in financial firms in Argentina, UK, India, USA, The Bahamas

Just a couple of questions. I was reading the sample questions and it seems that they're quite broad to fit into a ten minute interview. Did anybody get an idea of how much technical knowledge they want you to display in your answer and how specific to get? Because of time constraints if I get into jargon it'll probably take ages to explain everything.

Also, does the interview mean that your other qualifications were deemed acceptable and you've 'passed' the first stage? Or not. I only applied at the middle of February because I was researching different programs and am kind of worried.

Reply 55

madcatmk3

Original post by sc82491

Was wondering the same thing. If you're in SMG this week feel free to say hi as mine isn't until next Thursday. I have a few friends who are in the econ department here too.

My feeling based on the time frame and the way that they have been speaking to me is that you meet the qualifications and the interview is only a potential to knock yourself out. In my past experience this has been a way more British firms operate as well. Considering, however, how late our applications are it is possible that they are screening far more rigorously.

At the same time considering

Reply 56

Primal

I think if you pass through to the interview, you're deemed appropriate for the programme, but you still risk being rejected if you know nothing, or can't answer the questions asked, properly. Just tell the interviewer that if she needs/wants a deeper explanation of what you tell her, then she should let you know. Then just explain the answers to the questions in a general matter, not diving too much into detail. My interview lasted about 20 minutes, although they said in the email that it normally lasted around 10. So there is definitely room for conversation and some deeper explanation if you find it fitting. Oh, and be yourself (cliché #1, yes, but it's still true), because they'll definitely see if you're acting up. They don't want to break you or anything. The atmosphere is great.

Basically, you're on the home stretch by now. The only way to get rejected is if you fall over, break an arm and some ribs, complain about it and refuse to get back up. Metaphorically speaking. With that education and experience of yours, you'll do fine :smile:

Reply 57

seekpostgrad

I have been accepted into the programme recently and let me tell you, the interview can only be a formality. I´ve had what I thought was the worst interview possible , with the interviewer actually cutting me off at one point because I was rambling on and on in a question I probably had very little clue about and the offer came soon enough with me being shortlisted for a scholarship. So I would guess that if you get to the interview phase you only really need to show you are a half coherent individual (which I most definetly did not show) and have maybe a couple of questions just to show you have kind of researched the programme well. For others who have been accepted, inclusively those pursuing the course right now, do you think it is worth its astronomical tuition fee? Plus the accomodation and the ridiculous cost of living in London? I cant seem to gain the courage to accept this offer because just to get the ball rolling its something like 30k e.g. tuition (21k) + gradpad accomodation (9980)...What do you guys think?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 58

mnsmj

I've applied to an MSc at Imperial Business School (application that had no answer yet, not even an interview) and I can tell you that I found it to be the most expensive one both regarding tuition and costs of living.

The Gradpad is very expensive, in my other options I would be able to pay for two rooms and still keep some money... The same goes for tuition. But it is a very good Business School so it is probably worth it. I mean, it is a top business school. In what concerns accommodation I would think most people go with private housing.

Anyway I have some offers already so I'm not worried (yet).

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 59

seekpostgrad

Yeah I have offers from other universities, but none of them rank as high as Imperial.Other masters I have been accepted cost 9,900 to 13,500 which is a huuuuge difference from Imperial tuition fee, regardless of their very generous offer of an ipad. I would not mind going into private housing but how can I possibly find a house if I am not living in London? in fact I´m quite far away so doesn´t that make househunting a bit helish and diffcult to say the least? And aren´t rents in London absolutely ridiculous either way?