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Bocconi EMIT vs Esade Msc Entrepreneurship + CEMS?

Hi everyone,

I'm pretty happy to have been accepted to these two programs, and I'm still waiting on hearing back from London Business schools and HEC Paris (which I would choose instead because I feel they are a "tier" above in reputation).

I think I have a chance of getting in those considering my app (700 gmat, really good essays, pretty good grades - but poor work experience), but I might have to make a deposit in one of these in case I don't hear back from my other schools by the deadline, and I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on these two schools.

My own thoughts:

Both seem to have good recruitment.

Bocconi EMIT:
I am half Italian and would love an opportunity to learn the language / explore the culture. I also have family there. The community aspect is a huge part of my reasoning for going here instead of ESADE

I'm interested in most of the modules offered - the EMIT is pretty great.

I can take an exchange year abroad to a bunch of interesting countries.

ESADE:

The big con is I don't like Spanish culture, and as a latin american the accent drives me crazy, while I love Italian culture. I will learn Italian anyways as CEMS requires me to learn a third language..

The courses are really cool and have some in

Academic-wise the entrepreneurship programme is great, and I can then pursue a CEMS degree at another institution (which could be Bocconi, and I'm also interested in LSE). The CEMS MiM is really high-ranked.

This school also feels much more personal - I was really impressed by my interviewer calling me to tell me I got in. I didn't even get interviewed in Bocconi
.
I also like that I can get a masters in management degree + the msc in entrepreneurship I want to learn, as I get the MiM which might be more respected and the Msc Entrep which I'm interested in.

Any opinions? TBH I probably like the ESADE program considerably more, but like Italy much more than Spain.

Reply 1

Goodfellah

Hey,

You will be surprised in how similar situation I am right now. Have you made up your mind? I'm open to hear what you figured as I'm stuck with EMIT vs MSc Entrepreneurship +CEMS MiM vs LBS (awaiting for the last one)

Reply 2

mz155

Hey Goodfellah,

I'm actually very surprised, because my first choice, which was still pending when I posted this, was LBS!

Even though I wanted to study entrepreneurship, I decided to go for LBS. I felt like the quality of the faculty and students it recruited was amazing, and I wanted to be surrounded by them. My second choice was the ESADE CEMS, so I would have done an MiM anyways which made my LBS decision certain. LBS still has cool entrepreneurship related stuff such as a very interesting elective, a trip to silicon valley and a start-up incubator with a good track record.

As for Esade and Bocconi, I decided that Esade was a better choice. My impression through the admissions process was much better - Bocconi didn't interview me, ask for letters of recommendation, and barely asked me to write an essay. For Esade, you must have met Albert and felt the great 'close' community the school tries to encourage. The course is also more focused towards starting your own business, while Bocconi's EMIT is a hybrid of innovation, economics a strong focus on IT. I personally wanted to focus on the entrepreneurship aspect. Finally, while Bocconi doesn't disclose its average GMAT, I got the feeling that ESADE was more selective. I am sure that the ESADE CEMS is harder to get into than the Bocconi EMIT, although the Bocconi CEMS might be on par with ESADE. The biggest downside to ESADE will be the long commute every day, as the campus is far from the city (and I read most graduates still choose to live in Barcelona)

If you care about employability (which you may not if you want to be an entrepreneur), I would rank them the same -> LBS > CEMS > EMIT.

To list a couple exceptions, you may favour ESADE or Bocconi if you really want a 2 year course (with the ability to intern in between), as LBS is only 1 year. Also, if you plan to work on Spain or Italy, employers will value that degree more than usual, and your contact network will also be strong there. Finally, as the course content is quite different in all three, a very strong preference for one matters - it's not all about statistics.

Obviously this is just my own decision process, and you may have some other priorities, but I hoped it helps you and anyone else reading. It was definitely a really hard decision for me. Let me know if you end up coming to London!

Reply 3

Goodfellah

Glad to hear from you! Congratulations on your LBS enrolment! Thanks for your extensive answer. Your reasoning seems to be very much on the same page as mine.

At this point LBS is my first choice as well, but I still haven't gotten an answer from them. How long did you wait before you received an answer? Did you first get a waiting list position and then an offer or an offer right away? Also, are you concerning the loan schemes by the UK government?

I would likely go to LBS if I get an offer, but I can't make up my mind between Esade and Bocconi as a second option. Currently, I may be able to secure a (almost) full scholarship at Bocconi so that makes me rather stick with Bocconi as a second choice. Would you have picked it as well given this (not small) difference in fees? I recognise that the Msc in Entrepreneurship and Innovations + CEMS MiM is likely to be better recognised by employers (should I leave my entrepreneurial plans for later), but is that slightly better recognition worth the around 30K euro difference? I believe the answer is rather a "no", but since I know you have also researched the universities quite extensively I would like to hear your opinion as well.

Thanks and good luck!

Reply 4

mz155

Thanks and no problem! I know how little information there is out there and how overwhelming this choice can be.

For LBS I got an interview invitation around 3 weeks after submitting my application. I got an acceptance within a week after that, but I think they did this because I let them know my Esade deadline was really close by.

Congratulations on the scholarship! That's great news. I think you're probably right in your decision making regarding Bocconi and ESADE. Bocconi is also considered a great uni and you can definitely argue it's better to graduate there with lower costs. I did get the impression ESADE was more 'global' - and a quick search at Bocconi shows that they only have 15% employed abroad, so that may be something to consider if you have a preferred location you wish to work in (it doesn't necessarily mean that you won't get employed abroad though). If you want to go more in-depth with your analysis you can search for employment reports from the courses to compare such as the one I linked, and also look through linkedin to see what graduates are doing.

Good luck with everything by the way! I know it's easy to get lost agonising over these choices, but do keep in mind you're already in a great position and will go to a top university regardless of what you choose :smile:

Reply 5

Goodfellah

Once again, thanks a lot for taking the time to share you own experience and reasoning

Good luck with you academic career! I'm sure you will enjoy London and grow a lot!

Reply 6

mz155

No problem man! I know how hard it can be to find info on these things.

Best of luck to you too! Give me a shout if you come here.

By the way, Goodfellas is one of my favorite movies :wink:

Reply 7

appleappie

I am curious, @Goodfellah , are you currently at Bocconi EMIT?

I want to apply for EMIT 17/18, but I am not certain if my profile is good enough and how I should structure the personal statement.

If you would have some advice on this, that would be great! :biggrin: