The final admission round post declaration of CAT 2015, XAT 2016, CMAT 2016 result is presently going through. IIMs and other top B-schools would shortly be making final admission offers after completion of their PI round and in case you are not one of the lucky ones, get ready with your future plan but don’t give up. Many of the good B-schools have kept their admission process open for the candidates who have not yet been able to apply for admission to the respective MBA/PGDM 2016-18 batch after announcement declaration of written exam result.
While the WAT and Personal Interview round in IIMs, SPJIMR, MDI, XLRI and other top rated B schools who accept CAT and XAT scores is going to be over shortly, many B-schools like FMS Delhi and others are yet to begin their PI round. If you have already applied to these B-schools and have scored a percentile in CAT 2015 as high as 98-99 you may have fairly good admission opportunity in MBA 2016-18 in these B-schools.
Don’t linger on: Opt or drop
If you have scored a lower percentile in the range of 70 to 80 and even your sectional percentile scores are also not as per the minimum prescribed qualifying scores of IIMs and other B-schools, you have to think and take decision whether to opt for the admission in other good B-schools instead of aspiring for IIMs, XLRI, FMS, MDI among others.
If you linger on the decision of taking or not taking admission in MBA 2016-18 in the B-school as per your scores, you will miss the bus. It is therefore very much required that you should either opt for the admission or drop the idea of pursuing MBA 2016-18 and prepare hard again for next year but it again depends upon your confidence level.
One of the biggest reasons for not applying to more B-schools is sudden unexpected dip in overall or sectional percentile. Now you are left with 2 alternatives either to choose from what is available or go ahead with a firm target for MBA 2017-19 and begin preparation right now.
In view of the experts and mentors, admission to MBA programme in 2016 in a low ranked B school must be avoided if you are confident of cracking CAT 2016 with 95 percentile or you have a good job with decent salary.
No need to give up the job
If you are engaged in a decent job and are getting handsome salary, why to give it up when you are not sure of getting a top rated B school. By taking admission in a second tier B school, apart from incurring high MBA education expenses, you will be losing 2 years of salary which in no way is less important.
Besides, after completion of the course from some average institute, are you sure of getting a salary twice the amount you are drawing? If no value addition you are going to get even after 2 years, what’s the use of pursuing MBA now, just for the sake of an additional degree? Why then to give up the job instead of getting exposed to learning more at work place? If you have the confidence, you must work hard to score a high percentile in CAT 2016 and get admission in 2017 in a highly ranked B school.
In case of shaking confidence level and not getting sure to score higher than what you have scored now, it will be better to continue working and along with your work try to boost your confidence level rather than incurring the high costs associated with obtaining an MBA or PGDM from a low ranking B school.
How to assess your confidence level
The question- ‘how confident you are to score a high percentile in CAT 2016’ can only be answered by you. Your low score in CAT 2015 might not get you a very good B school nor the experts advise you to pursue one if you have confidence enough to hit the high score in CAT 2016. A percentile range upto 85 may not push you up beyond a second tier B school nor any score can guarantee you admission to IIMs or XLRI unless you are backed with a strong academic profile and work experience.
If you have scored a CAT/XAT percentile below 90, you may get only a second tier B school. If you can improve your performance and have that strong confidence to crack CAT 2016 with a percentile around 95, MBAUniverse.com advises you to wait and don’t be in a hurry to take MBA admission in 2017.
Think where do you stand and what you would be getting after 2 years of your MBA study? The MBA from low ranking B school may not get you anywhere in terms of learning and placement. Let your confidence prevail, nurture it and work hard for next 6-7 months to get the top ranking B school in 2017.
ROI is important
It is very much true that not everyone can get into IIMs or XLRI. But these are not the only top B schools if we rank them in terms of learning and placement. Other B schools like SPJIMR, JBIMS, IIFT, FMS, MDI, IMI, IMT, NITIE have been doing even better since they were established and as such you need a percentile as high as 95 to get a call from them. The placement also surpasses many IIMs in these B schools. If you have the confidence level to compete and score high, avoid taking MBA admission now and get ready for CAT 2016.
If you end up investing Rs.10-15 lacs as fee and other expenses in any B-school or should invest it to pursue MBA from one of the top rated B schools like IIMs. Our answer goes for latter and of course yours would also follow suit. How wise it would be to invest 10-12 lacs to get an annual placement package of Rs.5 lacs after 2 years, that too when you are earning almost same amount before your MBA degree? What’s the ratio of return and why should you go for it? If it’s only for the sake of pursuing MBA, you can do it with distance learning, executive MBA and with other numerous options.
Pursue MBA with passion
If you want to shape your future and wish to pursue quality MBA, boost your energy, believe in yourself and build the confidence to crack CAT 2016 with high percentile. 4 months or 1 year in life means nothing, if you have an inclination and will to achieve the goal. Admission to any of the good B schools can get you a very good ROI after completion of your MBA whether you are a fresher or a working professional.
Please remember competition for pursuing MBA/PGDM is only among top 30 thousand candidates who try to enter top 30 B schools every year by appearing in CAT/XAT/CMAT/MAHCET. Interestingly you will find the same candidates who are the toppers and very high percentilers in every reputed All India MBA entrance test which leads to the admission in good B schools. Increase or decrease in number of test takers by a few thousand hardly makes any difference.
Apart from 13 IIMs, other b schools where intense competition for admission exists, include XLRI, FMS, IIFT, SPJIMR, JBIMS, IMT, MDI, IMI, BIMTECH, DMS-Delhi IIT, NITIE, SJMSOM-IIT-Bombay, NMIMS, VGSOM-IIT Kharagpur, Great lakes, TAPMI, Symbiosis. These institutes offer admission to around 25000 students every year. Despite this fact, even the high percentilers due to lack of high sectional percentile or weak academic profile are unable to make it these top B-schools every year. So weigh your skills and make utmost efforts to improve them.
Below the specified level neither there is any substantial competition among the candidates nor the colleges claim any fixed cut off percentile. MBA aspirants can get admission to any other B school with little efforts and low percentile every year.
MBA has good future
The future of MBA job market has already started showing upward trends. Almost all the good B-schools like IIMs, FMS, JBIMS, XLRI, SPJIMR, MDI, IMI, IMT among others have claimed a hike of 15 to 25% in highest and average salary offered by recruiters to their students in placement 2016.
The trend started from 2015 has picked up further in placement 2016 despite the increase in number of students seeking placement in top rated B-schools. Your confidence and hard work for CAT 2016 may become a turning factor and when you complete your MBA in 2019 there could be much better opportunities waiting for you.
According to the experts and mentors on MBA preparation, a confident skilled professional can turn the tables in his favour. They suggest to remain fully motivated and confident with your preparation level for the coming year to score not less than 95 percentile. Begin your preparation now. Mix your intelligence with wisdom and achieve the goal.
Whether it is your second year of preparation or you are going to appear in CAT for the first time, it shouldn’t become the excuse for not scoring high in CAT 2016. You are not going to appear or participate to please someone else. It’s the matter of your career and therefore prepare with focused attention on the weak areas and revise the strong areas in the syllabus. Doing MBA from good B-school is of more worth, than doing it from a lower rung one.
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Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com to get more updates on MBA admission 2016
