If you place Mexico in Central America (I would not) then ITESM is excellent. The IAE in Argentina is also strong.

You can't underestimate the importance of family networks, and leveraging the network of your network. So focus on where you want to really live and put down roots.

Don't forget about IPADE if you're also looking at Mexico.

FIA in Sao Paolo might be good too - they have some faculty with background in manufacturing.

Thanks for your help.

Definitely adding FIA to my list.

Are there any benefits to going with a ranked school in the US that offer travel trips to the region? I was looking at Wharton, and they have offered trips to Brazil in the past. These are generally short though (4 days.) Would the alumni network for this tier of US schools be sufficient to land a job in South or Central America after graduation?

Are there any benefits to going with a ranked school in the US that offer travel trips to the region?

Intuitively, I would say that being on the ground in a country like Brazil for two years would be more valuable in the country than even the best American business school career services or alumni networks.

For example, I searched LinkedIn for executives with MBAs in manufacturing industries in Brazil. By far, the largest number went to FGV for their MBA. University of Sao Paolo is also very well represented.

Same is true for similar execs in Argentina: They go to schools like IAE and CEMA.

I think that a lot of this is based on economics: Wharton grads can make a lot more money in the US than they can in South or Central America.

Point taken, it seems like it's better to have more time in South America than less.

Thanks!

I think the other factors are cost and networking, especially if you need to take debt. At the FIA, which is an initiative of the University of São Paulo, you pay $25K for an internationally-accredited MBA. And you're in a local institution with it's network, and the sort internship support, careers services and alumni network which exchange students normally don't benefit with. Plus lower fees mean less debt, and that allows you to either take longer to find the right position, or to take a position with a lower base salary and a higher bonus - and that can work with local firms.

That's true, the fees are a lot more affordable at the local South American programs. But wouldn't I be missing out on the larger alumni networks from a top global school like Wharton?

That's true, the fees are a lot more affordable at the local South American programs. But wouldn't I be missing out on the larger alumni networks from a top global school like Wharton?

Not necessarily, in that only a small fraction of the typical Wharton MBA class is working in these countries after graduation. In last year's cohort, for instance, less than 4% of grads went to Latin America. The vast majority stayed in or ended up in the US - and this is the case each year.

I just saw that there's a bilingual MBA program at Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Chile - it might be worth looking into, depending on your level of Spanish. It's accredited by both AACSB and AMBA, and the manufacturing sector in Chile is doing quite well at the moment.

What are some good MBA programs in South and Central America? I'd prefer something either in English or in a bilingual format. Here are the ones I'm looking at:

COPPEAD (Brazil)
INCAE (Costa Rica)
FGV (Brazil)

What else should be on my list?

My Spanish is passable. I'd be using the MBA to try to break into a manufacturing position in South America. I'm completely open in terms of country.

So, did you end up settling on a school? I'm curious about your final decision.

Wharton. Applied for round 2 and was accepted. Here's my reasoning:

I got a much better GMAT score than I had anticipated, which made me reconsider my options - since all the advice I was getting was to "get into the best school that you can." I still want to take a study trip to South America (and may still end up working somewhere down there) but wanted to keep my options open in the US as well.

Plus, Wharton's reputation can't be beat. I reached out to alumni working in Brazil, and they were generally happy with the school's connections there. There are Wharton alumni networks all over South and Central America and while they're different from that of the local schools, I believe that you can leverage a network gained from a top-10 MBA pretty much anywhere.

Oh, congratulations!

That would have been an option for me but I just took my GMAT and didn't score that high (670). So I will focus on my Spanish and applying to IPADE.