IESE visit and interview

As most MBA-wannabe's will tell you, visiting the schools you are applying to is the best source of information about the school. With that in mind, and the prospect of spending some time in Barcelona, I headed out to visit an IESE Open Day. All the participants, more later about them, were sent a case in advance to read, a mock class was part of the day's agenda. My first impressions of the school were that it was well laid out, beautiful buildings, all in all very impressive (for an idea of what it looks like, check out this link). We were greeted by the entire admissions staff, and after picking up our information material and name tags we were ushered into what I suppose is a good example of a regular classroom. Welcome speech, followed by a tour of the campus and coffee, followed by a powerpoint about the school with some general information. So far so good. Next was for me one of the highlights of the day: the mock class that one of the IESE professors gave to illustrate IESE's teaching methods. They use the case method extensively and this class was the discussion of the case that we were sent before the Open Day. The professor handled the class and the discussion skillfully, allowing room for discussion but at the same time knowing which points she wanted to make and making them. I was impressed! Lunch was at the school restaurant, rather nice, a three course meal with wine, and each table was assigned two current MBA students, who were able to talk about the school from a student's perspective and answer questions. I was struck by the enthusiasm of the students, but also of my current MBA-wannabe's. There were some 50 people there, from Europe but also the US, and I had some nice chats with people. The afternoon continued with a presentation on Career Services (during which most people felt the effect of a three course meal I must say), and a panel of current students who, again enthusiastically, answered questions from the audience. As I had applied a few weeks before, I was able to have my interview at the end of the day, it lasted about an hour and besides the usual questions we covered some specific questions about my hobbies, who my favourite historical figure was, and some concerns I had about the case method. All in all I was impressed by the school, the current students and the prospective students that were there. The facilities were nice, and staff helpful and friendly. (disclaimer: this was written after I was admitted to IESE, but I have tried to be as objective as possible)