The Best One-Year MBA Programs Outside The US

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An MBA is a hefty investment at a top business school with tuition and two years of foregone salary averaging more than $300,000 at Harvard, Stanford and Wharton before financial aid. But in Europe where one-year programs are more popular, the payback on these MBAs is much quicker thanks to only one year out of the workforce (tuition is lower also).

FORBES surveyed 17,500 MBA graduates around the world this year from the class of 2012 to gauge the return on investment they received by attending business school versus hypothetically not getting a graduate degree. The top 10 one-year international programs produced an average “5-year MBA gain” of $126,000. The leading two-year programs outside the U.S. had a gain of $74,300, while the best U.S. MBA programs had a five-year gain of $73,400 with Wharton School ranked first at $97,100.

The IMD campus in Lausanne

IMD ranks first this year among the one-year MBA programs, up one spot from 2015 in our biennial business school ranking. The school based in Lausanne, Switzerland had a five-year gain of $194,700. IMD caps its annual enrollment at 90 students, allowing for a very individual approach regarding career services. The school works with as many as 70 companies annually to recruit IMD grads.
Students arrive on campus with an average of seven years of work experience. The longer time in the workforce means higher forgone salaries ($81,000 for the Class of 2012). IMD also has the highest cost for a one-year program ($88,000 for the current class) thanks to mandatory fees outside tuition that cover two trips abroad, daily lunch on campus, teaching materials and more.

The payoff is worth it despite the high opportunity cost. The class of 2012 had a median salary of $215,000 five years of out of school, $26,000 more than any other non-U.S. school. IMD grads earned back their investment (forgone salary, tuition) in just 2.3 years on average.

MBA Application Deadlines 2019

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The 2019 application season is around the corner. So if you are planning to apply to business school this Fall, you must start the engines now. Some schools have already released their essay questions and deadlines, while some have only released application deadlines and will soon roll out their essay questions deadlines.

The following schools have released their application deadlines for the 2019 admissions cycle:

Deadline Business School Program Round Step of the Process
February 24, 2019 Cambridge (Judge) MBA Round 3 Interview days (24 & 25 February or 3 & 4 March 2019)
February 26, 2019 UCLA (Anderson) MBA Round 2 Decision release
February 28, 2019 ISB PGP Cycle 2 Final Offer Decision
March 2019
March 1, 2019 IESE MBA R3 Application Deadline
March 1, 2019 IESE MBA R2 Decision By
March 1, 2019 UNC Kenan-Flager Full-time MBA Round 2 Deposit Deadline
March 1, 2019 MIT Sloan Full-time MBA Round 1 Admitted applicants must reply to offer by
March 6, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 4 (September 2019 Intake) Deadline for complete application
March 8, 2019 Emory (Goizueta) Two-Year and One-Year MBA Round 4 Application Deadline
March 8, 2019 Emory (Goizueta) Two-Year MBA Round 3 (Domestic) Notification
March 8, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) Two-Year MBA November Round Deposit & Official Documentation Deadline
March 8, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) One-Year MBA November Round Deposit & Official Documentation Deadline
March 8, 2019 Cambridge (Judge) MBA Round 4 Application Deadline
March 11, 2019 UNC Kenan-Flager Full-time MBA Round 4 Application Submission Deadline
March 14, 2019 Darmouth (Tuck) Full-time MBA Round 2 and Round 2 Consortium Admissions Decision
March 14, 2019 UC Berkeley (Haas) Full-time MBA Round 2 and Round 2 (Consortium) Decision Posted
March 15, 2019 Michigan (Ross) Full-time MBA Round 2 Decision Released
March 15, 2019 Emory (Goizueta) Two-Year MBA Round 3 (International) Notification
March 15, 2019 NYU (Stern) MBA 4th Deadline Deadline
March 15, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) Two-Year MBA January Round Initial Notification
March 15, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) One-Year MBA Rolling Application Deadline
March 15, 2019 UNC Kenan-Flager Full-time MBA Round 3 Decision Release
March 15, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 3 (September 2019 Intake) Final decision notification
March 18, 2019 Michigan (Ross) Full-time MBA Round 3 Deadline
March 18, 2019 Duke (Fuqua) Daytime MBA Round 2 Final Decision Release
March 20, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) One-Year MBA January Round Final Notification
March 20, 2019 Virginia-Darden MBA Round 2 Decisions
March 20, 2019 Duke (Fuqua) Daytime MBA Round 3 Application Deadline
March 21, 2019 Wharton School Full-time MBA, MBA/MA–Lauder and JD/MBA Round 2 Decisions
March 21, 2019 Chicago Booth Full-time MBA Round 2 Final Decision Notification
March 22, 2019 Oxford (Saïd) MBA Stage 3 Final decision on
March 22, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 1 (January 2020 Intake) Interview decision notification
March 26, 2019 HBS MBA Round 2 Admissions Board’s Decision
March 26, 2019 Georgetown University (McDonough) Full-time and Evening MBA Round 2 Decision Notification
March 27, 2019 Northwestern (Kellogg) Full-time MBA Round 2 Decision Released
March 28, 2019 Stanford GSB Full-time MBA Round 2 Notification
March 28, 2019 University of Texas at Austin (McCombs) MBA Round 2 Decision Delivered
March 29, 2019 IESE MBA R2 Deadline 1st deposit
April 2019
April 1, 2019 Darmouth (Tuck) Full-time MBA Round 3 Application Deadline
April 1, 2019 NYU (Stern) MBA 3rd Deadline Initial Notification by
April 1, 2019 Georgetown University (McDonough) Full-time and Evening MBA Round 3 Application Deadline
April 2, 2019 Wharton School Full-time MBA Round 3 Application Deadline
April 2, 2019 Yale SOM Full-time MBA Round 2 Decision Release
April 2, 2019 MIT Sloan Full-time MBA Round 2 The Admissions Committee notifies applicants of their decision by
April 2, 2019 University of Texas at Austin (McCombs) MBA Round 3 Application Due
April 3, 2019 Stanford GSB Full-time MBA Round 3 Application Deadline
April 3, 2019 Virginia-Darden MBA Round 3 Deadline
April 4, 2019 Chicago Booth Full-time MBA Round 3 Submission Deadline
April 4, 2019 UC Berkeley (Haas) Full-time MBA Round 3 Online Application Submitted and Tests Taken
April 5, 2019 Darmouth (Tuck) Full-time MBA Round 3 Applicant-Initiated Interview Deadline
April 5, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 4 (September 2019 Intake) Interview decision notification
April 8, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) One-Year MBA January Round Deposit & Official Documentation Deadline
April 8, 2019 MIT Sloan Full-time MBA Round 3 Applications must be submitted by
April 9, 2019 Emory (Goizueta) One-Year MBA Round 3 Deposit Due
April 10, 2019 Columbia Business School MBA August 2019 Entry Final Deadline
April 10, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) Two-Year MBA April Round Application Deadline
April 10, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) Two-Year MBA January Round Final Notification
April 10, 2019 Northwestern (Kellogg) Full-time MBA Round 3 Application Deadline
April 10, 2019 Duke (Fuqua) Daytime MBA Round 3 Interview Decision Sent
April 12, 2019 Northwestern (Kellogg) Full-time MBA Round 3 On-Campus Interviews Must be Scheduled by
April 12, 2019 UNC Kenan-Flager Full-time MBA Round 3 Deposit Deadline
April 16, 2019 Yale SOM Full-time MBA Round 3 Application Deadline
April 16, 2019 UCLA (Anderson) MBA Round 3 Application Deadline
April 17, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 2 (January 2020 Intake) Deadline for complete application
April 18, 2019 Wharton School Full-time MBA Round 3 Interview Invitations
April 18, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) Two-Year MBA CGSM Deposit & Official Documentation Deadline
April 18, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) Two-Year MBA January Round Deposit & Official Documentation Deadline
April 19, 2019 Emory (Goizueta) Two-Year MBA Round 2 (Domestic) Deposit Due
April 19, 2019 Emory (Goizueta) Two-Year MBA Round 3 Deposit Due
April 19, 2019 UNC Kenan-Flager Full-time MBA Round 4 Decision Release
April 26, 2019 Oxford (Saïd) MBA Stage 4 Interview decision on
April 26, 2019 Georgetown University (McDonough) Full-time and Evening MBA Round 2 Deposit Due
April 26, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 1 (January 2020 Intake) Final decision notification
April 28, 2019 Cambridge (Judge) MBA Round 4 Interview days (28 & 29 April 2019)
April 29, 2019 Darmouth (Tuck) Full-time MBA Round 2 and Round 2 Consortium Enrollment Decision and Deposit Due
April 29, 2019 Duke (Fuqua) Daytime MBA Round 3 Final Decision Release
April 30, 2019 IESE MBA R3 Decision By
April 30, 2019 IESE MBA R1 Deadline 2nd deposit
April 30, 2019 IESE MBA R2 Deadline 2nd deposit
May 2019
May 1, 2019 MIT Sloan Full-time MBA Round 2 Admitted applicants must reply to offer by
May 1, 2019 Georgetown University (McDonough) Full-time and Evening MBA Round 4 Application Deadline
May 3, 2019 Emory (Goizueta) Two-Year MBA Round 4 Notification
May 3, 2019 Cambridge (Judge) MBA Round 5 Application Deadline
May 4, 2019 Oxford (Saïd) MBA Stage 4 Apply by
May 7, 2019 IESE MBA R4 Application Deadline
May 8, 2019 Virginia-Darden MBA Round 3 Decisions
May 8, 2019 MIT Sloan Full-time MBA Round 3 The Admissions Committee notifies applicants of their decision by
May 9, 2019 Wharton School Full-time MBA Round 3 Decisions
May 9, 2019 UC Berkeley (Haas) Full-time MBA Round 3 Decision Posted
May 9, 2019 University of Texas at Austin (McCombs) MBA Round 3 Decision Delivered
May 10, 2019 Michigan (Ross) Full-time MBA Round 3 Decision Released
May 10, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) Two-Year MBA April Round Initial Notification
May 10, 2019 UNC Kenan-Flager Full-time MBA Round 4 Deposit Deadline
May 10, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 4 (September 2019 Intake) Final decision notification
May 15, 2019 Emory (Goizueta) Two-Year MBA Round 4 Deposit Due
May 15, 2019 Northwestern (Kellogg) Full-time MBA Round 3 Decision Released
May 15, 2019 Georgetown University (McDonough) Full-time and Evening MBA Round 3 Decision Notification
May 16, 2019 Stanford GSB Full-time MBA Round 3 Notification
May 16, 2019 Chicago Booth Full-time MBA Round 3 Final Decision Notification
May 17, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 2 (January 2020 Intake) Interview decision notification
May 19, 2019 Darmouth (Tuck) Full-time MBA Round 3 Admissions Decision
May 21, 2019 Yale SOM Full-time MBA Round 3 Decision Release
May 21, 2019 UCLA (Anderson) MBA Round 3 Decision release
May 28, 2019 Georgetown University (McDonough) Full-time and Evening MBA Round 3 Deposit Due
May 30, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) Two-Year MBA April Round Final Notification
May 30, 2019 IESE MBA R3 Deadline 1st deposit
May 30, 2019 IESE MBA R3 Deadline 2nd deposit
May 31, 2019 Darmouth (Tuck) Full-time MBA Round 3 Enrollment Decision and Deposit Due
May 31, 2019 Georgetown University (McDonough) Full-time and Evening MBA Round 4 Decision Notification
June 2019
June 1, 2019 NYU (Stern) MBA 4th Deadline Initial Notification by
June 1, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) Two-Year MBA Second Deposit All Rounds Deposit & Official Documentation Deadline
June 1, 2019 MIT Sloan Full-time MBA Round 3 Admitted applicants must reply to offer by
June 5, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 3 (January 2020 Intake) Deadline for complete application
June 6, 2019 Georgetown University (McDonough) Full-time and Evening MBA Round 4 Deposit Due
June 7, 2019 IESE MBA R4 Decision By
June 7, 2019 Oxford (Saïd) MBA Stage 4 Final decision on
June 9, 2019 Cambridge (Judge) MBA Round 5 Interview days (9 & 10 June 2019)
June 15, 2019 Cornell (Johnson) Two-Year MBA April Round Deposit & Official Documentation Deadline
June 21, 2019 IESE MBA R4 Deadline 1st deposit
June 21, 2019 IESE MBA R4 Deadline 2nd deposit
June 21, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 2 (January 2020 Intake) Final decision notification
July 2019
July 5, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 3 (January 2020 Intake) Interview decision notification
July 24, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 4 (January 2020 Intake) Deadline for complete application
August 2019
August 9, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 3 (January 2020 Intake) Final decision notification
August 23, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 4 (January 2020 Intake) Interview decision notification
September 2019
September 27, 2019 INSEAD MBA Round 4 (January 2020 Intake) Final decision notification
October 2019
October 7, 2019 Georgetown University (McDonough) Full-time and Evening MBA Round 2 Application Deadline

Competition for each of the rounds is equal, but the earlier you gain admission, the more time you have to secure financing and arrange logistics. The online application form typically opens two months before each application deadline.

It is always useful to read other people’s work to get a sense of what good essays are. To assist you, TopAdmit provides you some MBA essay samples written by counselors and editors hailing from prestigious schools including Harvard. This page contains personal statement samples, statement of purpose samples, and application essay samples for college. But please remember, these are for your reference only; it is not to your benefit copying their style or concepts. It not only violates academic ethics and could lead to an automatic rejection by the admissions committee — the point of our service is to help you construct a unique essay — not one similar to other essays.

For more information, please visit the INSEAD MBA admissions website.