<p>I'm curious what folks perceptions are of where INSEAD falls in comparison to the top US schools</p>
<p>I think you could argue that INSEAD's prestige / placement falls into one of two camps:
1) On the lower end of HSW, i.e., better than all the rest of the schools out there except HSW
- This is somewhat backed up by the fact that INSEAD shares career services with these schools and has an open exchange program with Wharton
- It is also somewhat strengthened by the percent of students that go on to McKinsey, BCG, or Bain which is higher than any other school out there and that these places along with a few banks, investment firms, and tech companies are the most 'presitgious' employers of MBAs
- This claim could also be backed up by the fact that it is generally considered the best school outside of the US, with the exception of LBS' strength in finance
2) It is more akin to the 'next' group of schools, e.g., Sloan, Chicago, Kellogg
- This is somewhat substantiated by the FT rankings, the low-ish average GMAT score of around a 710, and the high-ish acceptance rate being close to 20% (this is just an estimate, it's not formally published anywhere)
- However, one could argue the GMAT is pushed lower because of fewer applying students speaking English as a first language (<1/3 versus ~2/3 for US schools) and the acceptance rate being pushed higher by the fact that many people don't bother applying because of the language requirements (you need to certify basic language knowledge and intermediate language knowledge in something other than English before graduating, so you need a reasonable working knowledge of 3 languages which would deter a lot of people form applying)</p>
<p>What do you think, option #1, #2 or something else?</p>