For Indian students interested in an MBA in Spain, this year’s global MBA ranking includes 5 Spanish business schools in the top 100.
But is an MBA in Spain good for Indian students? Whether it is worth it or not depends on what you’re looking for.
The medium of instruction in top MBA programs is English. But it sure helps to know Spanish if you intend to take up jobs in Spain that involve interaction with locals and team-members that don’t understand English.
MBA Fees
Business school in Spain offer MBA programs of varying durations from 1 year to 2 years. Shorter duration MBA programs costs lesser.
The fee for a top MBA in Spain such as ESADE is around €75,000 (~ ₹68 lakhs). The fees for the 11-month and 15-month International MBA at IE is €82,300 (~ 75 lakhs). For IESE the tuition fee is €99,500 (~ ₹90 lakh).
Cost of living
The cost of living in Spain can vary between €1,000 to €2,000 per month (₹90,000 to ₹1.80 lakh), depending on the city you are studying in and your lifestyle choice.
This cost includes housing, utilities, food, commuting, sports & extracurriculars. On an average, expect to shell out €1,500 – in Indian Rupees, that’s around ₹1.35 lakh.
What does it take to get into a top MBA in Spain for an Indian applicant? Sourinath Bhose takes us through his journey.
MBA in Spain after Automotive Engineering
How I got into a top MBA in Spain
by Sourinath Bhose
If you get a chance to go through my CV, you’ll realize that it screams ‘Automotive’! And that’s because of the interest and drive I have for cars.
This inclination towards cars began when I was around ten years old when I would see my father tinkering in the garage trying to get our 2 Austin 7s (from the 1920s!) up and running.
I would frequently visit him and he would show me all the internal parts. I was really impressed by his knowledge and I found myself spending more time with him and his mechanics, trying to fix all the problems.
My love for cars grew and I wanted to do something in the automotive domain.
When I got admitted to mechanical engineering, I participated in 2 national events: NGKC (National Go-Kart Championship) where I was part of team to build a go-kart and FDC (Formula Design Challenge) where the same team had to build an F1 car.
My love for cars drove me to pursue a master’s degree in Automotive Engineering from Jadavpur University.
Here I was able to dive deeper into the technical complexities. During my final semester, I was able to land a job in Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI).
At his point, I was on top of the world. When I told the news to my family, my father was the happiest person in the world. This marked the start of my professional career.
As an engineer, I work in software validation. I am responsible for creating the environment which will allow the testing of the electric motor software.
What makes the job challenging is the sheer complexity of the system. Most of my job requires me to find a needles in many haystacks! And to be honest this pushed me to develop very strong problem solving skills.
As I grew in my role, I wanted to be part of the bigger picture. As the entire automotive industry is shifting to ‘Electric’, I wanted to be in a decision-making position to mitigate the upcoming problems that the automotive industry will face. This is what motivated me to moving towards the MBA.
To pursue an international MBA, the GMAT is always the first step. I relied on the GMAT Official Guides, resources from GMATClub and a lot of YouTube videos.
However, with all the preparation, I only got 630.
I decided that I would give it again and took help from a GMAT tutor. I was able to raise my GMAT score to 680 and although it was better, it was still not a score that would stand out.
I decided to move ahead with my applications with this score as I knew that even though my score was mediocre, my profile was pretty strong and with the right essays, it would definitely shine.
Cutting through the clutter of admission consultants
Strong MBA essays were necessary for a successful application. For this I decided to take professional help from experienced, proven and trustworthy admission consultants to guide me in creating my essays.
I decided to contact MBA Crystal Ball (MCB) and get more insight about MBA essay reviews. Vibhav Agarwal from MCB connected with me for my initial discussion.
When I explained my entire scenario, Vibhav gave me a very realistic and optimistic picture to move forward with.
I had read many online reviews about MBA Crystal Ball and all of them were nothing short of incredible.
That helped me cut through the clutter of admission consultants making all kinds of claims and promises.
I decided to start my application journey with MBA Crystal Ball. I decided to sign up for the MBA MAP (application strategy service) and the 4 B-School MBA Essay review.
MBA MAP and MBA Essay Review
Vibhav was assigned to be my consultant for the entire process. The MBA MAP, which was the initial step, was very helpful in identifying which parts of my profile were strong and which parts were weak.
It also gave me a clear picture of where I stand among other applicants and how I will probably fare against them, depending on the B-school. The MBA MAP set the stage for where I would apply and how I would build my essays.
I decided to apply to Mannheim Business School, Saïd Business School (Oxford), SDA Bocconi and Esade Business School.
I decided to go for European business schools because my entire profile is pretty Europe-centric: Worked in Mercedes-Benz, one of Europe’s most well-known brands, spent 6 months in Stuttgart and can speak German.
At this stage I was asked to bring a clear picture of my post-MBA plans and Vibhav was instrumental in guiding me here.
Vibhav asked me a lot of specific questions and it was here I realized the importance of asking the right questions.
He really helped me open my mind, see the bigger picture and push myself to drive the bigger picture.
While I worked on the career aspects (Why MBA, short term goals, etc.) with Vibhav, I worked on the emotional aspects with Maitabi Banerjee.
Maitabi helped me bring about a strong personality through my essays. She stressed on making my essays personal and being able to draw the reader’s attention.
Working with Vibhav and Maitabi, I created strong essays and also got a very good picture of what I wanted to do after the MBA and how to reach there.
I got 3 MBA interview invites!
I was thrilled when I got my first interview call from Esade, later from Mannheim Business School and finally from SDA Bocconi.
I decided to take the interview package from MBA Crystal Ball to prepare efficiently for the upcoming interviews.
Vibhav and Maitabi prepped me very well as they knew my entire profile and they know what the admission committee looks for.
I received the feedback that I had to improve on the delivery and conciseness of my answers and it really helped me during the actual interview. The interview went on for 40 mins.
The interviewer asked me about my post MBA goals, why this particular B-school, my strengths, how I would fit in to the class, my plan B and my international experience. In case of Mannheim, there was a second interview with a case study.
I got the admit from Esade 2 weeks after my interview and from Mannheim 1 week after the second interview. I was ecstatic. The first thing I did after getting my admits was inform Vibhav and Maitabi. They were just as happy as I was when they got the news.
Vibhav and Maitabi’s support was invaluable during the entire application process: from the MBA MAP, through the essay reviews and finally to the interview prep.
I will now be going to Esade, Barcelona for my MBA.
This achievement would not be possible without the support my wife gave all around the year while I was preparing for GMAT and then busy with my applications and interviews, all the while eating into her personal time over weekdays and weekends.
I will be travelling to Barcelona in August, 2023 with her and start a brand new chapter there.
Final thoughts
The entire application process was a very memorable experience for me.
I interacted with many alumni from different B-schools and got a more personal view about the B-school.
While working with MBA Crystal Ball on the applications, I also got to know a lot about myself:
- how to draw on my best experiences
- how to write my learnings from bad memories
- how to paint a mistake in a positive light
- how to draw a career path
I feel that before attending the MBA, one really needs to have such an eye-opening experience.
My advice to Indian aspirants from the automotive sector:
First, there are relatively fewer applicants from the auto sector, so this is your opportunity to highlight the uniqueness in your career.
Second, focus on extra-curricular activities aside from your primary job. Admission committees look for a person who can handle the academic pressure and who is a wholesome individual outside the classroom.
All the best!
Also read:
– IESE MiM in Spain
– How I got into LBS, ESSEC and ESADE MiM with 690 GMAT
– Overcoming low GMAT to get into top MBA
– Working while studying as an international student in USA, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands
– Top countries to study MBA in Europe
Did you use your savings or applied for loans. Please elaborate on this too.