In which country (and business school/university) would you apply for an MBA ?

Question

I recently got my undergraduate degree from an Italian University ( I am an EU student).
given the fact that i'm desperately looking for a post graduate course abroad and possibly the chance of relocating there later on a permanent basis,i need the following advice.

taking in consideration the following aspects in order to make a decision, what country would you recommend/would you want to relocate to for an MBA or Masters in Accounting?

- Master degree tuition fees
- Living and Accomodation expenses
- Cultural diversity of the local Enviroment, attractiveness of the country/city, quality of life
- "Return on Investment" (value for money, world wide reputation) and Quality of education standards
- chances of finding a job in the same country on a permanent basis.
- given visa constraints
- (last but not least) entry requirements, ie gmat, working experience, chances of being accepted

Answer 1

You're obviously fluent in English and Italian, so I'll focus on countries/regions where those are the main languages spoken. Your best bet for being able to stay in the country and work after graduation is to attend a school in the EU, or else Canada. It'd be hard to find a way to stay in the US, so if working in the university's country afterwards is really a factor, prioritise in this way:

1. EU schools:

London Business School
INSEAD

2. Canadian schools

3. US schools:

Wharton (U Pennsylvania)
Harvard
Stanford
Columbia

But if prestige of the program is a major factor, then I'd switch that: #1 US, #2 certain EU schools, #3 certain Canadian schools.

In general, business schools in the US are often seen as more prestigious, internationally, than those in the EU. But INSEAD and LBS are definately exceptions, and exceptional schools.

I've attached a rankings list, below.

As for where to go re: expense. Again, staying in the EU is probably your best bet. Tuition in the US is very high, especially for international students. Tuition for a comperable program for an EU school should be much, much lower for someone from an EU country. Schools in Canada are an option, but they're less well-known than those in the US. But Canadian schools are much less expensive than US schools, even for international students.

Australia may be an option, but I'm not familiar with their universities or their work visa requirements.

As for cost of living - that depends on which city your school is located in. Check out the list, attached. Pick a few schools in each region and investigate them. Then post back with questions about those specific towns.

Answer 2

Most of the top MBA programs are in the US. I would estimate that at least 15 of the top 20 MBA programs in the world are in the US.

There are several good ones in Europe -- but INSEAD (France) and London Business School (UK) are the only ones that compare favorably to the top US schools. There are a few Canadian schools (Toronto, British Columbia and Western Ontario) that are quite good. Very few other schools.

You can look at the rankings in BusinessWeek or US News for their opinions. My opinion of the best MBA programs follow:


1. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
2. Stanford University
3. University of Chicago
4. MIT (Sloan)
5. Northwestern University (Kellogg)
6. Duke University (Fuqua)
7. Dartmouth University (Tuck)
8. University of California at Berkeley (Haas)
9. Harvard University
10. University of Michigan
11. Columbia University
12. NYU (Stearn)
13. UCLA (Anderson)
14. University of Virginia (Darden)
15. University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)
16. Cornell University

What makes my opinion better? Maybe nothing -- but I have an MBA from Duke, a PhD from Haas and have taught at Sloan and Wharton.