Are you choosing right B-school; know the facts and base your decision

Updated on March 31, 2016

I am supposed to choose the right MBA or PGDM programme at the right B-school where I would be investing the precious 2 years of my youth, will defer employment for another 2 years, invest a lot of money to earn my PGDM or MBA

The only way to choose the right B-school is to first know the facts, analyse the USPs of the MBA programme at the B-school then proceed to go for the comparison

Even after getting shortlisted and converting the call to a few of the B-schools, it remains a tough decision to take whether I am choosing the right B-school. I am supposed to choose the right MBA or PGDM programme at the right B-school where I would be investing the precious 2 years of my youth, will defer employment for another 2 years, invest a lot of money to earn my PGDM or MBA after which I will throw myself open in the business market for hiring by the big corporates or if some good sense prevails during the course period may opt for start up.

How do I come to know before-hand whether the particular MBA/PGDM programme of a particular B-school will equip me with all the great learning and career opportunities for which MBA is renowned? The only way to choose the right B-school is to first know the facts, analyse the USPs of the MBA programme at the B-school then proceed to go for the comparison with other B-schools and choose the most appropriate among them.

Are the good MBA options still open? Check now
Yes! Good admission options are still open based on your scores in any of the MBA entrance exams like CAT/XAT/CMAT or MAT. However, if not grabbed in time, you may also slip the good opportunity and will have to wait for one more year. The wait may not guarantee a very good improvement in your score and next year also you may end up with the same dilemma.

Since the B-schools with good learning, moderate fee structure and good RoI are available to explore admission opportunity in MBA 2016-18, choosing the right B-school based on various facts should be the first step and how to get into it should be the next one.

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 declaration of written exam result. You may still explore admission opportunity in BIMTECH, Asia Pacific, NDIM, Accurate, Jaipuria, JIMS, JayPee, FLAME, IFIM, UPES among others who offer not only good learning but are going through good campus placements.

Decide the right MBA after due analysis
If you have scored a percentile in the range of 50 to 70 and even your sectional percentile scores are also not as per the minimum prescribed qualifying scores of IIMs and other B-schools, you have the opportunity to pursue your MBA from a good B school.

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.

Key facts you need to know about the B-schools

How old is the MBA institute
The truth that Old is Gold has not yet gone wrong when deciding on the B-schools. The legacy not only reflects its position on placement year after year but also proves the sustainability and growth of the institute over a period of time. The learning experience from well learned experienced faculty is another advantage that students of an older B-school get according to changing market trends.

The older the B-school, higher is its alumni base that leads to great placement. How true it is, you will know simply by comparing the 19 IIMs where the older ones have completed their placement 2016 with high salary packages and newer ones are still way behind the process. FMS Delhi the oldest B-school offering MBA has a legacy of more than 60 years. It alumni base is spread all over the world. Candidates get placed within a few days when campus placement starts. Same can be said about MDI, IMI, IMT, BIMTECH, SPJIMR, TAPMI among others.

How good is the Infrastructure
Poor infrastructure, crammed and space wanting class rooms may not offer good learning environment. The institute can claim to have state of the art campus featured with many USPs but the fact could be, it may be running courses in hired campus. Even many new IIMs do not have their own campuses and are operating from small hired campuses with no on-campus hostel accommodation. Their campuses are neither ready nor operational till date although you may find great pictures of these campuses on their site. This fact can be ascertained by visiting the site of the institute and reading the mandatory disclosure available there.

Good management institute is supposed to have good, well equipped class rooms, library, auditorium, residential accommodation for the students on campus so that they can make best use of the library, labs and get mentorship from their professors when they feel like.

There is no point running for the brand, but choose the one B-school where you can expand your wings not looking at your average scores but making it big in good learning environment.

How much do I pay for the course?
If I have to pay Rs.20 lakhs to pursue MBA at IIM Ahmedabad, I may go for it despite bearing the burden of education loan from a bank, but if I have to pay Rs.15 lakhs even to a 3rd or 4th tier B-school, which is yet to prove its standing, I may be the last person to think about it. A moderate fee structure with good placement that can assure me about my career prospects is what I might be looking for. So, better will be to compare the fee structures of different B-schools and the benefits of learning arising out of it before finalizing your MBA admission decision.

Teacher student ratio
Core faculty at the B school decides the learning experience in imparting the education at the institute and is the main factor in providing adequate mentorship to the students. The better is the teacher student ratio, the better will be the mentorship at the institute.

A teacher-student ratio of 10 students mentored by 1 teacher could be considered as good one. If there are fewer good faculty members and the ratio does not remain good enough, it may affect adversely the learning experience at the B-school.

Career after 2 years?: Check now
In fact MBA aspirants move one step forward and take 2 steps back whether they should invest lakhs of Rupees to study MBA where Return on investment may not be so good. There are number of B schools who have better corporate interface than many IIMs and over the years have built up a reputation of offering good return on investment. The placement data is also available on their site. You may check before taking admission decision to the preferred B school.

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, FORE 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.

With admission process still open in many of the B-schools, it is advisable to choose the right one and make sure that you apply in time to avoid disappointment in admission.

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