MBA Applications 2014: How to choose your best fit B school?

As registration for MBA Exams like CAT, XAT, NMAT continue and B-schools open their application process for MBA admissions 2014, it is time for you to decide which which B-schools to apply.

Raman Agarwal, CAT 2013 aspirant from Bangalore is confused. He says, Top B schools will close down their Application process before my CAT exam. How can I choose so early? I dont know how I will perform in my CAT 2013?

As a CAT 2013/XAT 2014 aspirant, are you grilling on the same question?
The application dates of Top B schools for the academic session 2014-16 has opened and many will close their application process before CAT 2013 exam starts. In such a scenario, it becomes extremely important for MBA aspirants to choose the right B School from the multiple application choices.

As an aspirant, you must tread cautiously as the cost of multiple application is also a crucial factor at this stage of your B-school journey. The application form for the Top B schools cost on an average Rs 1500. If you continue to fill the form for all the top B schools, you will end up spending more than Rs 25000 along with innumerable hours spent in buying and filling the form correctly.

So, the smart choice would be to choose the best fit B schools for you and fill the forms. MBAUniverse.com brings you the 10 top B schools along with their fee structure, number of permanent and visiting faculties, average salary in placements 2013 and their cut-off percentile for admission year 2013-14. You must evaluate the following factors to pin point the right B school for yourself:

Do your own fact finding Many students choose their B school based on perception or under peer pressure. Although these factors should be kept in mind but it should not be the sole reason to choose a B school for you. Many schools, especially the top schools, may appear to have similar brand or reputation but upon closer inspection you will find various differences which set each of them apart in terms of quality of education, faculties, industry exposure, campus life, etc.

Faculty: While choosing a B-school, you should look at the quality of education you will receive as it builds the base for your career ahead. Strength of the faculty and their experience, industry exposure decides the quality of B school. The size & quality of full time faculty should also be the key criteria while you look into the quality part of your desired MBA programme.

Placement: Most of the top B-schools publish their placement report every year. Good placement records at B-schools offer you an assurance of job opportunity after you complete your MBA programme. The detailed placement reports give a snapshot of the companies recruiting at the B schools over years.

The placement record also indicates to b-schools strength on industry ties. You can measure the quality of placement by measuring the percentage of students placed and their median salary. As placement performance of a B school is also one of the important indicators to the overall output of MBA programme, you must take into account these important data while deciding on your options.

Fees: While an MBA degree offers you enormous opportunities to grow and build career in corporate world across the globe, some of the MBA programmes are also among the costliest study options. Therefore, you need to make informed choice on your B-school options depending on your affordability also. Most of the B-schools have either kept their fees unchanged or have gone for a token fee hike as the incurring cost on the education and training has also increase during last few years.

Cut-off Percentile: Since most of the above listed B schools will close down their Application process before the CAT exam ends. Hence you need to carefully analyze your preparation strategy and your chances of achieving high percentile. If you are not sure of achieving 99+ percentile, there is no point in filling the application forms of those B schools where shortlisting for GD/PI/WAT is based on high CAT percentile. The above table shares with you the cut-off percentile of Top B-schools for the admission year 2013.

So, think before you act and choose the best institutes for yourself. Less than 30 days are left for CAT 2013 exam and you must divert and focus all your energy towards preparation and achieving high percentile.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more update on MBA exams and B schools