IESE 2018-2019 MBA Deadlines

IESE campus in Barcelona, Spain

IESE Business School has released its MBA application deadlines for the class it expects to enroll in September of 2019.

All together, the Barcelona-based school boasts five rounds, including an early decision round deadline of Sept. 4, a cutoff that assures an admit-or-deny decision by Oct. 19th.

The round one deadline is Oct. 11, with a decision on Dec. 4. The round two deadline is Jan. 8, with a decision due March 1, Round three applicants need to complete their applications by March 1 to get a decision on April 30th. The fourth and final round ends on May 7th, with decisions released on June 7.

IESE’s 2018-2019 MBA Application Deadlines

IESE Rounds	Application Deadline	Decision	First Deposit Due	Second Deposit Due
Early Decision	September 4, 2018	October 19, 2018	November 16, 2018	January 30, 2018
Round One	October 11, 2018	December 4, 2018	January 11, 2019	April 30, 2019
Round Two	January 8, 2019	March 1, 2019	March 29, 2019	April 30, 2019
Round Three	March 1, 2019	April 30, 2019	May 30, 2019	May 30, 2019
Round Four	May 7, 2019	June 7, 2019	June 21, 2019	June 21, 2019

At IESE, the application process starts with an online form and GMAT or GRE scores and then your application is given a pre-committee review before the school does a personal interview. Face-to-face interviews are held on the IESE campus in Barcelona, via videoconference, or with admissions directors who travel across the world.

Candidates are then invited to campus for a voluntary assessment day. Though this step is not mandatory, the school recommends that candidates who are invited to campus take advantage of it. Then, your application is presented to and reviewed by IESE’s admissions committee. Applicants are informed by both a phone call and email of the committee’s decision.

IESE DOES NOT DISCLOSE ADMISSIONS DATA

Unlike most U.S. schools, IESE doesn’t disclose data like applications, acceptances, and yield (though it does note that applications have risen by 28% over the past seven years). Overall, last year’s class totaled 359 students, up nine students over the previous year. Academically, the class matched the previous cohort with a 690 GMAT average – and 20 points higher than its Spanish rival IE Business School.

By the same token, the percentage of women continued to rise, climbing four points to a 32% share of the class. At the same time, the percentage of non-Spanish students at the school rose from 81% to 84%. Americans represent the second largest segment of last year’s entering class at 11%, followed by Brazil (6%), India (6%), and China (5%). The professional backgrounds of the incoming class were equally diverse. At 19%, finance accounted for the largest percentage of students in the class, followed by consulting at 16%. Entrepreneurs made up another 4%.

ADVICE FROM RECENT GRADUATES:

“Meet as many people as you can from IESE. Ask them what they like the most about the school. While I’m pretty sure they will all rave about the culture in some way, you’ll be surprised by the diversity of answers you’ll get. Some might tell you it’s the gorgeous campus and the turtle pond. Some might say it’s attending the Africa Intensive Module in Nairobi. Others might tell you it’s simply making new friends from across the globe. You’ll get a million different answers. Take the ones that resonate with you the most, and bring them up during your application process.” — Ahmed Bakr, Class of 2018 graduate now working for Boston Consulting Group

“IESE has, from my observation, a very unique admission criteria. This is a school that not only values your professional achievements but also pays great attention to your personality. Humble, collaborative, and respectful are the very words with which I want to describe my fellow students. For anyone interested in IESE, I’d recommend you to cultivate these qualities in yourself and see if you would fit into IESE’s environment.” — Jieqiong Xu (Faith), Class of 2018 graduate now working at Amazon UK in London