Beat The GMAT a GMAT & MBA community

I am a current participant on the Cambridge eMBA and having faced a similar choice to you last year I wanted to let you know how impressed I have been with my experience at Cambridge to date. At Cambridge you belong to one of the world's top universities which has benefits beyond the brand. In addition to the business school community you are able to tap into the broader university network and into your college network both of which are differentiators for Cambridge. The course format is ideal for executives and means that it attracts top talent from around the world and not just London. Our class of 46 hails from 26 different countries and we are joined on Cambridge weekends by classmates who fly in from as far as LA, Moscow and Washington. Our class also has representatives of almost every sector in it and no sector or profession is overrepresented. What this means is that we have a very interesting, diverse and dynamic class. For me this is the most important differentiator of the Cambridge programme as the reality is that a lot of the learning on an executive MBA comes from interaction with your classmates. I think having a high calibre class in an environment which focuses on collaboration is a winning combination and I have no doubt the Cambridge eMBA has high rankings to look forward to once it is eligible. Ultimately it is a personal choice and I don't think you can really go wrong with either but wanted to let you know how impressed I have been withn Cambridge. I know that other members of our class also faced your dilemma so if you want to get their views the school will be able to put you in touch with us to discuss.

Good luck, you have an awesome experience starting soon.

Hi,

I am run intor similar circumstance soon. Would you please advise me what was your decision and how you made it?

Thanks,
Hooman

Ok, I've had a chat with several Cambridge alumni and people with good knowledge of the LBS program and MBA brands and the feedback I took from it was as follows:

- As a standalone Business school and EMBA programme, LBS is stronger because of its rankings and its network/age. Cambridge Judge is a smaller school.
- However, the Cambridge programme benefits enormously from its integration in the university (even if the school is small and the EMBA recent, it has all the Cambridge reputation, network and resources at its disposal)
- The two programmes are very different: Cambridge promotions are much smaller and you get to know participants and teachers very well. LBS promotions are much bigger so that's more opportunities to network.
- None of the school has necessarily a specialty but because of geography and recruitment, LBS tends to lure the typical MBA candidates (Banking, finance, consulting) whereas Cambridge goes for people with a more diverse outlook (taping into the university research centers and proximity with liberal arts, political science students etc etc).
- finally and that's where it's a bit tricky actually: None of the Alumni I have talked to had awful things to say about the other programme. Cambridge alumni loved to be part of the Cambridge experience and clearly thought of their programme as part of Cambridge as a whole (students get enrolled into a college like any other student), LBS people thought their school was stronger and established but you came back eventually to the fact that both schools are worth considering, depending on who you are and what you want.

On my side, I'm leaning towards Cambridge because I'm the "not your usual banker" type (I'm not being ironic or dissing LBS by saying that, I find it very normal that a big business school tends to cater to that crowd).
That being said, I'll never spend that much money on a degree again and I'm leaving myself two weeks to think about it seriously.

Julien

Confirming I'll go to Cambridge this September !

Hi Julien,
Congratulations! I've recently accepted a place at Cambridge as well. Your analysis was very useful and reinforced the opinion I'd reached.
The EMBA program at JBS is very new and it is arguably a risk given the program may not be fully mature, but I was impressed by the course director and the pedigree of the full-time MBA course, and also the Cambridge link is a big draw for me.

I'd be interested to talk in more detail before things kick off in September. Are you planning to attend the networking reception?

Tim

Hi Tim,

sorry I hadn't logged in here for a while, I actually attended the drinks a few weeks ago, let's catch up in September!

julien

How did you both enjoy the Cambridge experience?

Very useful thread! Thanks, guys. I have accepted the offer at Cambridge - let the networking begin! See you guys in September.