Research MBA Programs

Hello everyone,

I was wondering which of the two programs is better for a career in consulting and which offers better placement opportunities. I don't mind if I have to work in UK or the NL. I am mainly interested in attending a program that has a decent ROI and a good company network.

Thank you.

I think RSM has a better reputation - but then again, you also need to think about another thing: it's probably not going to be easy getting a job in the Netherlands if you do not speak Dutch. I know a few people who have, but they're usually exceptions.

Avoid the RSM MBA no matter what. The quality of the students is low, with many not even speaking English. The program is badly run and the career centre hardly functions. You will not get a good job out of the RSM MBA and the top consulting firms and banks do not actively recruit at the RSM MBA program. Dutch employers will normally not hire you if you don't speak Dutch. Don't waste your money at RSM. I did the MBA at RSM and regret it.

@RSMMBAGrad: Wow, that's not good news! Can you share more about your experience? Also, do you happen to know anything about their Masters of Finance and Investments? Just asking because I was admitted there but eventually turned it down...

Hi,
RSM definitely has a better reputation for post grad. business courses. It also has great employment opportunities, a friend of mine went and really enjoyed her time there - quite a different experience to RSMMBAGrad. She recommended reading the stories on this website to anyone considering RSM: https://www.businessbecause.com/why-mba/ ... gement.htm. I hope that you find it useful, let us know what other resources you find online.

I am a current Full-time RSM MBA student and I am very pleased with RSM. The program has been very challenging so far, and fortunately for me, as an aspiring career changer, I have been invited for an interview from a large Dutch multinational in the coming weeks and we haven't even finished Term 3 yet. I do not speak Dutch, other than a few basic words like kaas, alstubleift and dank u wel, so the comment above which says there are no opportunities for non-Dutch speakers in the Netherlands is inaccurate.

Furthermore, there have been many companies visiting campus, including representatives from Google, Philips, Deloitte, A.T. Kearney, McKinsey, Barclays and Puma to name some of the most memorable. Not all of these companies come to campus explicitly to recruit, but there are many opportunities to establish contacts with high-level managers which can be leveraged in the future. The outlook for our class is looking good, there are many career opportunities opening up as the global economy comes back around and several people have already had or have been invited to interviews.

I guess this message does not address the RSM vs. Imperial request, but I hope it is valuable to hear the perspective of a current RSM MBA participant.

I am an alumnus of RSM. Overall, I was not pleased with RSM. Lousy career center, bad management of the school, bad attitude of the management toward students, to mention just a few.
I advise anyone considering RSM to contact former alumni and learn about their experience before taking a decision.

I had a really good experience while in RSM. If it is true that the career center could be improved, 100% of my batch has found a job before a graduation (2-3 months after the last class). Consulting companies such as PwC (5 contracts last year), Deloitte and AT Kearney actively recruit from RSM, organizing recruitment events at the school.
Not to mention Philips, Unilever, Eli Lilly or J&J...

Regarding the English level, well, true that you'll have to make an effort to understand and be understood by some. But it is a price to pay when you have 97% of foreigners and more than 40 different nationalities. GMAT average is 640 so the quality is certainly not low, and the international exposure you'll get is really valuable.

RSM has been falling in all of the rankings (e.g., The Financial Times, The Economist) and is no longer, despite what the school advertises, a top 10 European MBA programme. Through mismanagement and bad leadership, it is now fast becoming a 3rd-tier programme. Apart from the dramatic falls in the rankings, the average post-MBA salary has decreased by 33% in the past 5 years from $104k in 2006 to $70k in 2011, and is now less than the salary many people earn pre-MBA. The career centre hardly functions, apart from reporting employment figures for the rankings, and you will not see many of the companies advertised in the marketing brochures actually coming to recruit RSM students -- top consulting firms and banks do not target RSM. And, after graduation, the career centre ceases to do anything for the graduates, nor is there a strong alumni network. I know several people who graduated from there in the past few years who are either unemployed or who had to go back and work for the same company at around the same salary they had before the MBA. In fact, considering the debt and loss of income, the RSM MBA has ruined the lives of some people I know.

This thread is from 2011 but I find myself asking a similar question as the OP today. Can someone provide the names of some alumni from the RSM program so that one may contact them via Facebook or another social media. It seems that not many recent graduates can be found on LinkedIn - a troubling sign.

Hello ThinkingMBA,

Of course happy to connect you with our students and/or Alumni. May I ask how you are searching on LinkedIn? 'RSM' itself will indeed not yield a lot (in case that is what you are using), better to use 'Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University' or Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus Universiteit'

With over 28.000 RSM alumni world wide I am pretty sure that we will have few on LinkedIn that we can connect you to:)

Please feel free to send me your CV/profile directely ([email protected]) and happy to connect the dots for you.

Kind regards,
Bart Scheenaard
MBA Admissions Manager