Despite the high fees, there is strong and growing demand for places on MBA courses and entry can be extremely competitive, especially at a top business school.

The requirements will include a strong academic background, with good grades at A-Level and degree level. A more important differentiator though is the level and type of professional experience, and the leadership and business skills and qualities acquired up to the date of the application.

In Europe, most courses will look for a minimum of 3 years high calibre work experience, and often for a median of around six years. Candidates are usually working at managerial level when they apply.

For US courses, while a certain level of professional experience may improve your application, some students go on to MBA study straight from their undergraduate degree, which is comparatively unknown in Europe.