ESADE MBA

Rankings | Class Profile | Employment Report | Sample Essays | Interview Questions

Esade Business School – Introduction

The school prides itself as being at the forefront of “modern MBAs,” by which they mean that they aim to prepare creative leaders who can flourish in a disruptive environment. They say their MBA is based on “Four C’s”: Collaborative leadership, Critical thinking, Creativity, and Communication skills. It is also flexible, offering 12-, 15-, and 18-month options, with the longer options involving exchanges and internships.

It is possible to see this MBA through a conventional lens as a core program and around 40 electives ranging from the predictable (Hedge Funds) to the unusual (In Search of Principles for a Life Philosophy). There are the usual study tours, treks, and exchanges — although, with 13 partner schools in Asia and 11 in the United States, the range is impressive. ESADE also offers Business Labs for family businesses, innovation, entrepreneurship, and marketing, and boasts a Career Acceleration Program in investment and private banking, consulting, and technological disruption.

But the school prefers to talk about the full-time MBA as a transformative experience. They say the first term is about building awareness, promoting introspection and self-knowledge. The second term is about learning to create and innovate, and the third is about transformation, putting into practice what you have learned. For more details Click Here…

ESADE Spain MBA Rankings

ESADE Spain MBA Class Profile & Employment Report

ESADE Spain MBA Application Deadlines

ESADE Spain MBA Application Essay Tips

Essay 1: Which aspects have you improved on during your academic and professional career so far? Which tools or values have helped you achieve this?

The key to answering this question is to pick a significant achievement or a significant challenge that you overcame in your professional life. Once you have picked a story, illustrate the example using STAR methodology. Situation → Task → Action → Result.

Start with describing the challenging situation at hand to give a background to the reader. Explain what was expected out of you to do and the consequence of the task. Explain how this difficult situation drove you to take certain initiatives or steps. Explain what tools helped you overcome the challenge – mentorship, guidance, values such as determination etc. Explain what challenges you faced in the course of taking certain actions. It is important to show what the outcome of the action was and what are the results that you obtained. Conclude by showing what this experience has taught you and how has this experience shaped you as a better leader?

Essay 2: How will your background, values and non-work-related activities enhance the experience of other ESADE MBA students and add to the diverse culture we strive for at ESADE? (Note: The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have accomplished)

To approach this question, jot down the traits that are intrinsic and extrinsic to you. Examples of intrinsic traits could be your background, ethnicity, sexual orientation etc which can add diversity to the ESADE community. Extrinsic traits include your passions and hobbies – are you a scuba diver? Guitarist? Theatre artist? Founder of an NGO? Marathon runner?

Once you have picked two to three traits, weave a cohesive story. A structure to weave a good story is the STAR methodology. Situation → Task → Action → Result

Explain your background, in this case your traits, to the reader.  Then explain how these traits inspired you or drove you to take certain actions. In due course of pursuing your actions, how did it mould you as a person? Did you achieve something? Did you learn something new? Did you create value for a group or community? Did you overcome significant challenges?

Then show the reader that these traits you possess will help you contribute to the ESADE community – through ESADE Student Clubs or activities.

Essay 3: What are your motivations in pursuing a full-time MBA at this point in your life? Describe your mid-term and long-term visions for your post-MBA career path. What is it about Esade you think will help you reach your goals?

Quick essay Tips – To write career essays for Esade MBA program, a very simple structure to follow is

Explain your current position and work experience → 2. State your short and long term goals → 3. Skillsets you have acquired throughout your career so far → 4. Explain what you currently lack to attain your short and long term goal → 5. Show how an MBA from school like Esade can help you bridge the gap in your skills to achieve your short term goal. 

Detailed Essay writing Tips – The best and an easy approach to write this Esade application essay is to break it into two parts:

• First Half – explain “what are your goals and why you need an MBA”
• Second Half – establish ”Why or how the Esade MBA program is the perfect fit for you?”

First Half – Goals and why MBA?

Start with a strong introductory paragraph on who you are and what are your desired goals from an MBA.

Eg: “I am an engineer with four years of experience in the IT sector leading projects for clients across multiple countries. In the short term i want to transition from a software developer role to a product manager role” 

For the main body, start on a strong note, show what skills you already have. B-schools in general prefer to see strong academic track record, progress in professional career, client management exposure, leadership and international experiences. Highlight some of your key achievements with numbers or awards that you may have received. Show your outstanding performance via the promotions or opportunities to lead or international deputation.

After establishing the strengths of your profile, move on to show how the limitation of your current role and skills are hindering your future career progress or desired transitions. Establish the need for upskilling yourself which can only be done via an MBA at this stage of your career. Talk about how an MBA can enhance your business acumen, leadership skills, soft skills for communication and presentation or provide you the network to grow your career or business.

This sets the context for your “Why MBA” argument. The first half of the essay explains what you already have and what you lack to grow in your career. Lastly how an MBA can unlock opportunities for you to grow. 

Second Half – Why Esade MBA?

To answer the – “why Esade MBA” part of the essay, build your argument on 3-4 points which helps you fulfill the gaps in your skill set and achieve your goals. Reasons to choose the Esade MBA program should align with your reason to do an MBA as mentioned in the first half of the essay.

Ensure your reasons portray a holistic approach to how you intend to gain/upskill from the MBA program. An easy way to structure can be to break it down across three buckets –

• Inside the class – what excites you the most about the Esade MBA program in regards to the academic curriculum? Is it a particular specialization? Range of Electives? Quality of Professor?  Feel free to name drop a few.
• Outside the class – outside of the academics, how do you plan to make the most of the opportunities available at Esade? Clubs? Networking event? International exchanges? Leadership seminar? Speak with Alum, current students and find specifics which perfectly aligns with your needs to achieve your goals in a particular industry or function.
• Outside of campus – show how the overall school brand, alumni network which you would carry and be a part of long after your campus stint can help you build a successful career in the long term.

Closing argument

Summarize your entire essay in 3-4 lines and confidently portray how you believe the Esade MBA program is the perfect next step or logical step for you to achieve your career goals and how you would be a great fit and valuable addition to the class if selected.