IMD MBA News | Clear Admit

Published: February 5, 2025

Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Cost of MBA Programs in Europe

How much does an MBA in Europe cost? The bulk of the cost of an MBA comes down to tuition. Beyond that, MBA candidates should also plan for living expenses, including room and board, transportation, meals, health insurance and other personal costs. Some programs also have mandatory fees and require funds for activities and supplies. Depending on location, European schools will list costs in pounds, Euros or Swiss francs, so we’ve converted cost to Euros and USD to help with comparisons–especially if you’re also considering Real Numbers: Cost of MBA Programs in the U.S. In this edition Read more

Published: December 12, 2024

A Guide to Test Waivers: Should You Request a Waiver for Submitting a GMAT or GRE Score?

It is no secret that standardized tests are not the part of the MBA application process that applicants most cherish. Some applicants simply aren’t good at standardized testing; others feel they do not have the time to invest in studying properly. With competition for applicants continuing to rise among schools, test waivers became a more prevalent option in b-school admissions. Whether you’re hesitant or excited about the GMAT or GRE, what are valid reasons to request a test waiver? Even if you have a valid reason, does it make sense to request a test waiver? In this piece, we take Read more

Published: October 3, 2024

Real Humans of the IMD MBA Class of 2025

Meet some of the future leaders shaping global business in this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students with new members of the IMD Class of 2025. 103 students joined IMD’s one-year MBA program. Thirty-seven percent of the new class are women and 97 percent hail from outside of Switzerland, representing 44 countries altogether. New IMD students arrived at the business school campus at an average age of 30 with an average of six years of work experience. Twenty-two percent had worked in financing and 16 percent in consulting. Another 12 percent hailed from Read more

Published: September 16, 2024

Bloomberg Businessweek B-School Rankings 2024-2025 Key Takeaways

Graduating students, recent alumni, and companies that recruit MBAs weigh in via survey to form Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2024-2025 Best B-Schools ranking. Top business schools globally are sorted by region, with assessments of programs spanning the U.S., Europe, Asia-Pacific region, and Canada through a rigorous analysis of data and survey responses. This year, the ranking covers 111 full-time MBA programs. To qualify, programs had to be taught primarily in English and meet a minimum threshold of survey response rates. Bloomberg Businessweek surveyed 5,292 students, 9,222 alumni, and 734employers, and also considered compensation and employment data to determine schools’ Read more

Published: August 28, 2024

Admissions Director Q&A: Paola Eicher of IMD

For this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A, we visit Lausanne, Switzerland, to meet Paola Eicher, Associate Director of Recruitment and Admissions at IMD Business School. Paola holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) in International Hospitality Management from Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne. She has over a decade of experience in higher education, focusing on student recruitment and admissions. Before her current role, she was Head of Admissions and Recruitment at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Read on for her insights into the IMD MBA Read more

Published: July 11, 2024

Weekly Refresh: Latest MBA Essay Questions, Analyzed – Plus Deadlines & Rec Forms

We are serving up another Weekly Refresh, a roundup of admissions advice and updates on the Clear Admit site, as we prepare for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle. Essay Tips Drafting your application essays? See the latest of our experts’ advice in our Essay Topic Analysis. The following schools recently released their essays—click for our advice: Chicago Booth Emory Goizueta Georgia Terry Deadlines Released See the admissions deadlines that have rolled out: Duke / Fuqua Georgia Terry You can also bookmark our Read more

Published: July 4, 2024

Weekly Refresh: Latest MBA Essay Questions, Analyzed – Plus Deadlines

We are serving up another Weekly Refresh, a roundup of admissions advice and updates on the Clear Admit site, as we prepare for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle. Essay Tips Drafting your application essays? See the latest of our experts’ advice in our Essay Topic Analysis. The following schools recently released their essays—click for our advice: Cornell Johnson Duke Fuqua IMD UCLA Anderson Deadlines Released See the admissions deadlines that have rolled out: Emory Goizueta IMD You can also bookmark our Read more

Published: May 2, 2024

Real Humans of Amazon: Anna Barskaya, IMD MBA ’19, Senior Customer Solutions Manager

When Anna Barskaya needed to sharpen her business acumen to take the next step in her career, the IMD MBA program had the right offerings to propel her to Amazon. In this Real Humans: Alumni, Barskaya digs into why IMD was the right next step for her as well as some lessons from her journey to and through business school. Read on to learn how IMD also prepared her for working in a global industry at the intersection of both tech and finance. Anna Barskaya, IMD MBA ’19, Senior Customer Solutions Manager at Amazon Read more

Published: March 25, 2024

Real Humans of Bain & Co.: Amanda Tan, IMD MBA ’22, Consultant

In this installment of our Real Humans: Alumni series, we meet Amanda Tan whose IMD MBA experience led her to becoming a consultant at Bain & Co. IMD’s emphasis on personal growth and leadership development was exactly what she needed to succeed in the high-demand world of consulting. Read below for her story. Amanda Tan, IMD MBA ’22, Consultant at Bain & Company Age: 30 Hometown: Jakarta, Indonesia Undergraduate Institution and Major: Durham University, BA Combined Honours in Social Sciences Read more

Published: February 12, 2024

Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Percentage of Women MBA Students

Over the past decade, the percentage of women MBA students has been on the rise across leading business schools. USC Marshall was the first leading business school to achieve gender parity while others have achieved or continue to strive for that benchmark. The Forté Foundation has also consistently reported that women are either gaining or holding their ground on b-school campuses–and, most recently, reported record highs. Look at the chart below to see the percentage of female MBA students at leading business schools around the Read more

Published: February 7, 2024

Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Cost of MBA Programs in Europe

How much does an MBA in Europe cost? The cost of an MBA does not just include tuition. MBA candidates should also plan for living expenses, including room and board, transportation, meals, health insurance and other personal costs. Some programs also have mandatory fees and require funds for activities and supplies. Whether in pounds, Euros or Swiss francs, it helps to know what your budget should be to cover the price of an MBA program. About a third of European business schools offer need-based scholarships to help offset the cost of an MBA. Many programs also offer Read more

Published: December 7, 2023

Real Humans of the IMD MBA Class of 2023

We pay a visit to Lausanne, Switzerland, for this edition of our Real Humans: MBA Students series to meet some members of the MBA Class of 2023 at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Eighty-seven students matriculated in January 2023 for the one-year IMD MBA. Thirty-six percent are women. The class represents 36 different nationalities with a quarter coming from Western Europe and 24 percent from South Asia. Ten percent each hail from Latin America or North America while another nine percent joined from East and Central Asia. Eight percent joined from Africa/Middle Read more

Published: September 18, 2023

Stanford GSB Tops Bloomberg Businessweek’s U.S. Business School Rankings 2023-2024

Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2023-2024 Best B-Schools ranks the top business schools globally by region, charting assessments of programs in the U.S., Europe, Asia-Pacific region, and Canada through a rigorous analysis of data and survey responses. This year, the ranking covers 110 full-time MBA programs. To qualify, programs had to be taught primarily in English. Bloomberg Businessweek surveyed 6,574 students, 10,347 alumni, and 713 employers, and also weighed compensation and employment data to determine schools’ scores. The top five of the U.S. business schools ranking sees the same schools as last year’s, with some slight shuffling. The Stanford Graduate Read more

Published: January 23, 2023

Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Cost of MBA Programs in Europe

How much does an MBA in Europe cost? The cost of an MBA does not just include tuition. MBA candidates should also plan for living expenses, including room and board, transportation, meals, health insurance and other personal costs. Some programs also have mandatory fees and require funds for activities and supplies. Whether in pounds, Euros or Swiss francs, it helps to know what your budget should be to cover the price of an MBA program. About a third of European business schools offer need-based scholarships to help offset the cost of an MBA. Many programs also offer Read more

Published: October 24, 2022

Real Humans of the IMD MBA Class of 2022

We head to Lausanne, Switzerland, for this edition of our Real Humans: MBA Students series to meet some new members of the MBA Class of 2022 at IMD. 104 students matriculated in January 2022 for the one-year IMD MBA. Thirty-five percent are women. The class represents 39 different countries with a fifth coming from Western Europe and 18 percent from South Asia. Fourteen percent hail from East and Central Asia while another 12 percent came from Latin America. Ten percent each joined from Africa/Middle East or North America. Eight percent came from South East Read more

Published: August 10, 2022

Admissions Director Q&A: Anna Farrus of IMD

Director of MBA Recruitment and Admissions at IMD, Anna Farrus, joins us for this installment of our Admissions Director Q&A series. Anna started at IMD business school in 2018. She oversees MBA recruitment and admissions and, earlier this year, took on the additional role of heading up the Career Development Center. Prior to her current role with IMD, she worked in admissions for two other European b-schools, IESE Business School and Oxford Saïd. Read on for her insights into IMD, what to expect in the admissions interview, how to write a strong application and Read more

Published: July 28, 2022

Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Percentage of Female MBA Students

Over the past decade, the percentage of female MBA students has been on the rise across leading business schools. USC Marshall was the first leading business school to achieve gender parity while others have achieved or continue to strive for that benchmark. The Forté Foundation has also consistently reported that women are either gaining or holding their ground on b-school campuses. Look at the chart below to see the percentage of female MBA students at leading business schools around the globe. Business School % Women Arizona State University Read more

Published: July 19, 2022

Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: MBA Class Size at Top Programs in Europe

MBA class size in Europe varies as much as it does in the U.S. London Business School and INSEAD lead the pack with around 500 students each. At the other end of the spectrum, some European schools have fewer than 60 candidates. ESMT Berlin and Imperial College of Business fall at the smaller end with class sizes of 40 and 53, respectively. Cambridge Judge, Esade and Rotterdam Business School all hover around 150-220 in class size. HEC Paris approaches 300 members of their class, while Oxford Saïd exceeds 300. IESE Business School lands around 350 members while IE Business School Read more

Published: June 28, 2022

Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Average GMAT Scores for Top European Business Schools

If you completed the new GMAT Focus edition, now simply referred to as the GMAT, with a score ending in a 5, please refer to Coming to Grips with the New GMAT scores. The analysis below refers to the traditional GMAT test. We’ve compiled the average GMAT scores for the top European business schools in the chart below. See where your GMAT score lands or, if you have yet to take the GMAT, get a sense of what score you need to target to be competitive. Business school admissions use the GMAT score as a sign of applicants’ academic Read more

Published: February 15, 2022

The Financial Times 2022 Global MBA Ranking: Wharton Returns on Top

The Financial Times (FT) released its rankings of the 100 best MBA programs for 2022. While COVID kept several schools on the bench last year, a total of 151 schools participated in the 2022 edition. “It’s important to remember that COVID took a toll on the rankings last year, but several programs seem to be making a comeback,” says Graham Richmond, Co-founder of Clear Admit. “For instance, six schools in this year’s top 20 were not a part of last year’s ranking due to COVID abstentions. Wharton even storms back to grab Read more

Published: September 8, 2021

Admissions Director Q&A: Anna Farrus of IMD Business School

Anna Farrus, Director of MBA Recruitment & Admissions at IMD In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series, we take a trip to Switzerland to learn all about IMD from Anna Farrus, the Director of MBA Recruitment and Admissions there. Anna has a long history in the management education space, beginning at IESE in Barcelona, which is also her hometown. She then led the admissions team at Oxford Saïd Business School for nearly 12 years. Anna has been heading up admissions at IMD since 2018. Read on for her insights into the Read more

Published: August 19, 2020

Admissions Director Q&A: Anna Farrus of IMD

Located on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, IMD maintains a small class size of about 90 MBA students each year. To talk more about the leading MBA program, Anna Farrus, the Director of MBA Recruitment and Admissions, joins us for this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series. Farrus has worked in business schools for almost 20 years. Before joining the MBA team at IMD in 2018, she spent almost 12 years at Oxford Saïd Business School heading up their Admissions and Financial Aid team, and before that worked in the MBA Admissions team at IESE Business School, in Barcelona where she is originally from. Read more

Published: February 27, 2020

Coronavirus Concerns Disrupt MBA Admissions Interviews, Testing and More

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases reaches over 80,000 globally, mounting concerns have disrupted normal operations of MBA admissions testing, interviews and events. Entrance Exam Sessions Suspended GMAT, GRE, IELTS, and TOEFL testing in mainland China has been pushed back further to the end of March. On its official website, the Graduate Management Admissions Council, which owns and administers the GMAT and Executive Assessment, states the following: “In the interest of the health and safety of our candidates, all testing in Mainland China has been Read more

Published: November 25, 2019

Admissions Director Q&A: Anna Farrus of IMD

We continue our series of Admissions Director Q&As with the leading business school in Switzerland. Located on the shores of Lake Geneva, the IMD MBA does not just prepare you for your immediate post-MBA job, but looks at your long-term career. Two key streams that run throughout the program are leadership and career development. During the program, students develop the leadership skills and self-awareness necessary to develop into top leaders in business. This doesn’t just involve teaching the basic MBA toolkit, but ensuring they have the global, digital, and entrepreneurial mindset that Read more

Published: September 24, 2019

Chicago Booth Lands Top Honors on Forbes Best U.S. Business School Ranking

For the first time in Forbes’ history of ranking U.S. business schools, the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business took the number one spot. Booth’s meteoric rise followed the same path as Wharton did in the last ranking—both jumped from 7th to 1st in their respective rankings, and Wharton was also new to the leading position. Forbes’ biennial ranking focuses primarily on return on investment for MBA graduates. The organization surveyed more than 100 schools and 17,500 alumni from the Class of 2014 regarding their pre- and post-MBA compensation, career choice, and location. Responses received from 25 percent of those alumni determined schools’ ranks in terms of five-year MBA gain, which Forbes defines as “the net cumulative amount the typical alumni would have earned after five years by getting their M.B.A. versus staying in their pre-M.B.A. career.” They did exclude programs if their response rate was under 15%, or if graduates actually lost money after five years. (In 2017, there were 100 schools in the ranking; this year, there are only 61.) Booth landed top honors with a $94,400 five-year MBA gain, coming in $3,600 above the next highest school, Stanford GSB. While Stanford GSB’s Class of 2014 grads reported the highest total compensation of any other school—$250,000 five years post-MBA—the high cost of living in the Bay Area affected their net gains. Meanwhile, Chicago Booth’s Class of 2014 reported reaching an annual salary of $245,000. Two thirds of the Booth class had entered the lucrative fields of finance or consulting, with McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Accenture and Amazon scooping up most graduates. Read more