Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Apr 2310:00 AM EDT
-10:30 AM EDT
Admissions committees evaluate the GMAT/GRE in context — your background, your representation in the applicant pool, the strength of everything else in your file. The same score works for one candidate and falls short for another with identical numbers.
Apr 2312:00 PM PDT
-01:00 PM PDT
Inquire for a free profile evaluation and guarantee statement for possible admits and scholarships!
Apr 2408:30 PM IST
-09:30 PM IST
Join us for a Live Coffee chat with Jenifer Turtschanow where we talk about enhancing your MBA profile and fixing gaps in just 4 months.
Apr 2511:00 AM EDT
-01:00 PM EDT
Looking to secure a coveted spot at a top business school? Our team of seasoned MBA admissions consultants, including top B schools alumni and industry leaders, is here to help turn your dreams into reality. Let’s kick-start your journey to success!
Updated on: 21 Jun 2018, 20:23
Originally posted by MBADecoder on 19 Jun 2018, 10:14.
Last edited by MBADecoder on 21 Jun 2018, 20:23, edited 5 times in total.
Last edited by MBADecoder on 21 Jun 2018, 20:23, edited 5 times in total.
Kudos
Bookmarks
Joining MBA in Fall Intake? Or in Spring intake?
“But I really must join business school this year”.
We hear this sentiment from eager b-school applicants every year, after they have missed the deadlines for MBA programs starting in Fall, or have been unsuccessful in their Fall applications.
While a Fall intake is prevalent in most business schools, there is a small list of programs that also start in January or March. This is more common in Europe as opposed to the USA where only Columbia Business School has two intakes.
In this article, we have attempted to create an exhaustive list of MBA programs that have two intakes:
Columbia Business School, New York: CBS offers intakes in January and August every year. The two intakes are identical in the admissions process and the academic rigour. What differs is the lack of summer internship in the January intake and hence the duration of the MBA.
The January MBA is best suited for students whose career goals do not demand a summer internship and hence they can complete their MBAs in 16 months. This attracts students who wish to remain in the same industry, entrepreneurs, and students in family businesses.
70% of the CBS students enter the August intake, which is of 20 months' duration. The August entry track is like any regular US MBA that begins in Fall and has a 3-month internship in the summer of next year (during the third term).
The January track students join during the spring and fast track their core curriculum by completing it during the summer when the August Entry class is doing their summer internships. They join this August entry class in the fall of the second year, and then onwards the two tracks become one.
From the application standpoint: CBS has a rolling application deadline. You can apply for both intakes once the application opens in June. However, the January intake applicants can apply no later than the October deadline and they are not eligible for the merit fellowship. August Entry applicants can apply early decision by the October deadline or regular decision by the January deadline.
The INSEAD MBA is a short, 10-month program. In this supercharged, accelerated MBA program, the January intake will give you a breather as it features a two-month summer internship that is not built into the September intake. An internship can be crucial for effecting an industry change – for certain industries such as consulting and financial service, an internship plays an important role in getting a post MBA job offer.
From the application standpoint: INSEAD has 4 deadlines for each intake. The September intake deadlines begin a year ahead- in the September previous to program commencement and end in March. The January intake deadlines start in the previous March and end in August.
At HEC Paris, France there is no difference between the two intakes.
From the application standpoint:: January intake deadlines open in January the previous year and go on until November. For the September intake, deadlines open in June and close by November. The window to apply for the September intake is only 5 months, whereas its 9 months for the January intake.
Edhec, Spain: At Edhec while students of both intakes study exactly the same curriculum, the order is different. September students join the January students and study with them until the latter complete their course in December. They are then joined by the new January class and study together with them until they graduate in June. In effect there are always two cycles of students in rotation in a class (there are 150 per class). The advantage is that you build a network with double the number of students.
From the application standpoint: Apply by June 30th for September intake and November 15th for January intake.
IE MBA’s two intakes are identical in program structure. What differs is some of the electives available as they are subjective to the demand. Also, if you are interested in taking the IMBA in practice during the lab period, January would be a better option. The other difference would be the dual degree options and timeline will be different for September and January intake.
From the application standpoint: IE has rolling deadlines, so you are likely to catch some deadlines through the year. Once admitted, you can defer your admission to another intake, which could be an advantage if your plans change for some reason.
At Schulich, York University also there is absolutely no difference in the two intakes expect for a different start date. Winter is a smaller intake and the adcom accepts less than half the number of students in Fall intake.
From the application standpoint: The January intake opens in August and there is a deadline every month, until November (4 deadlines). The September intake has 3 deadlines in January, February, and April.
The two intake format gives applicants the chance to join business school at their convenient time. It also allows them an opportunity to double their network by studying half the MBA term with a new set of students.
There is an important factor you should keep in mind while deciding upon the timing of your MBA. Certain industries recruit at specific times of the year only, so hitting the application submit button at the right time will ensure you are riding the right bus to career greatness.
“But I really must join business school this year”.
We hear this sentiment from eager b-school applicants every year, after they have missed the deadlines for MBA programs starting in Fall, or have been unsuccessful in their Fall applications.
While a Fall intake is prevalent in most business schools, there is a small list of programs that also start in January or March. This is more common in Europe as opposed to the USA where only Columbia Business School has two intakes.
In this article, we have attempted to create an exhaustive list of MBA programs that have two intakes:
Columbia Business School, New York: CBS offers intakes in January and August every year. The two intakes are identical in the admissions process and the academic rigour. What differs is the lack of summer internship in the January intake and hence the duration of the MBA.
The January MBA is best suited for students whose career goals do not demand a summer internship and hence they can complete their MBAs in 16 months. This attracts students who wish to remain in the same industry, entrepreneurs, and students in family businesses.
70% of the CBS students enter the August intake, which is of 20 months' duration. The August entry track is like any regular US MBA that begins in Fall and has a 3-month internship in the summer of next year (during the third term).
The January track students join during the spring and fast track their core curriculum by completing it during the summer when the August Entry class is doing their summer internships. They join this August entry class in the fall of the second year, and then onwards the two tracks become one.
From the application standpoint: CBS has a rolling application deadline. You can apply for both intakes once the application opens in June. However, the January intake applicants can apply no later than the October deadline and they are not eligible for the merit fellowship. August Entry applicants can apply early decision by the October deadline or regular decision by the January deadline.
The INSEAD MBA is a short, 10-month program. In this supercharged, accelerated MBA program, the January intake will give you a breather as it features a two-month summer internship that is not built into the September intake. An internship can be crucial for effecting an industry change – for certain industries such as consulting and financial service, an internship plays an important role in getting a post MBA job offer.
From the application standpoint: INSEAD has 4 deadlines for each intake. The September intake deadlines begin a year ahead- in the September previous to program commencement and end in March. The January intake deadlines start in the previous March and end in August.
At HEC Paris, France there is no difference between the two intakes.
From the application standpoint:: January intake deadlines open in January the previous year and go on until November. For the September intake, deadlines open in June and close by November. The window to apply for the September intake is only 5 months, whereas its 9 months for the January intake.
Edhec, Spain: At Edhec while students of both intakes study exactly the same curriculum, the order is different. September students join the January students and study with them until the latter complete their course in December. They are then joined by the new January class and study together with them until they graduate in June. In effect there are always two cycles of students in rotation in a class (there are 150 per class). The advantage is that you build a network with double the number of students.
From the application standpoint: Apply by June 30th for September intake and November 15th for January intake.
IE MBA’s two intakes are identical in program structure. What differs is some of the electives available as they are subjective to the demand. Also, if you are interested in taking the IMBA in practice during the lab period, January would be a better option. The other difference would be the dual degree options and timeline will be different for September and January intake.
From the application standpoint: IE has rolling deadlines, so you are likely to catch some deadlines through the year. Once admitted, you can defer your admission to another intake, which could be an advantage if your plans change for some reason.
At Schulich, York University also there is absolutely no difference in the two intakes expect for a different start date. Winter is a smaller intake and the adcom accepts less than half the number of students in Fall intake.
From the application standpoint: The January intake opens in August and there is a deadline every month, until November (4 deadlines). The September intake has 3 deadlines in January, February, and April.
The two intake format gives applicants the chance to join business school at their convenient time. It also allows them an opportunity to double their network by studying half the MBA term with a new set of students.
There is an important factor you should keep in mind while deciding upon the timing of your MBA. Certain industries recruit at specific times of the year only, so hitting the application submit button at the right time will ensure you are riding the right bus to career greatness.
Updated on: 21 Jun 2018, 20:12
Originally posted by MBADecoder on 19 Jun 2018, 10:18.
Last edited by MBADecoder on 21 Jun 2018, 20:12, edited 3 times in total.
Last edited by MBADecoder on 21 Jun 2018, 20:12, edited 3 times in total.
Kudos
Bookmarks
INSEAD's ‘50 Years, 50 Women, 50 Ideas’ aims to Celebrate, Build, Enable
Not many of us would have heard of Hélène Ploix or Solange Perret, the first female students to graduate from INSEAD in 1968. Fifty years later, INSEAD is honoring them through a landmark initiative, “50 Years, 50 Women, 50 Ideas” by celebrating women who are leading academic excellence and advocating gender diversity. It’s achieving this by promoting ideas of 50 women scholars who have been thought leaders in their academic fields.
The iW50 initiative aims to achieve several objectives through a series of events that kick-started in September 2017 and will culminate on June 29th, 2018. High on the agenda is increasing representation of women students at INSEAD. At present only 33% of the MBA class is comprised of women. There is a plan to offer more scholarships for women to swell their ranks.
With 2000+ published cases, INSEAD is at the forefront among business schools for its Case Publishing and the iW50 plans to leverage this expertise by publishing more women-centric cases.
Any dialogue on gender diversity has to be inclusive and should encourage male participation. The iW50 aims to achieve this by directly engaging with men on women’s issues.
INSEAD already has a number of student clubs that support women’s causes. The INSEAD Women in Business Student Club (iWiB) carries out 'Women in Business Conference' and 'INSEAD Women in Business Mentoring Programme' to create more opportunities for women. Manbassador comprises male students and teachers who take a stand to promote gender equality. The Women in Business Global Club consists of students and alumni of 13 club chapters across the world and works to connect global INSEAD alumni.
INSEAD’s deep commitment to gender issues is visible through a center of excellence dedicated to gender issues: the Gender Initiative aims to enable women and help them become leaders that can instigate change. The initiative engages with men as well as women for creating dialogue on gender parity, and also works with organizations for advancing their commitment to gender balance. Further, academicians - psychologists, sociologists, economists and management scholars - drive research on women’s impact on business and society.
In 1967, INSEAD became one of the first business schools to admit women into its MBA programme, making a strong statement about gender in the male-dominated MBA world. Fifty years on, a lot still needs to be achieved. According to an alumni survey carried out in 2017, 91% alumni wanted to work towards increasing the representation of women in high impact leadership positions.
By harnessing this change in mindsets, INSEAD can pave way for more and more women to become impactful leaders.
Not many of us would have heard of Hélène Ploix or Solange Perret, the first female students to graduate from INSEAD in 1968. Fifty years later, INSEAD is honoring them through a landmark initiative, “50 Years, 50 Women, 50 Ideas” by celebrating women who are leading academic excellence and advocating gender diversity. It’s achieving this by promoting ideas of 50 women scholars who have been thought leaders in their academic fields.
The iW50 initiative aims to achieve several objectives through a series of events that kick-started in September 2017 and will culminate on June 29th, 2018. High on the agenda is increasing representation of women students at INSEAD. At present only 33% of the MBA class is comprised of women. There is a plan to offer more scholarships for women to swell their ranks.
With 2000+ published cases, INSEAD is at the forefront among business schools for its Case Publishing and the iW50 plans to leverage this expertise by publishing more women-centric cases.
Any dialogue on gender diversity has to be inclusive and should encourage male participation. The iW50 aims to achieve this by directly engaging with men on women’s issues.
INSEAD already has a number of student clubs that support women’s causes. The INSEAD Women in Business Student Club (iWiB) carries out 'Women in Business Conference' and 'INSEAD Women in Business Mentoring Programme' to create more opportunities for women. Manbassador comprises male students and teachers who take a stand to promote gender equality. The Women in Business Global Club consists of students and alumni of 13 club chapters across the world and works to connect global INSEAD alumni.
INSEAD’s deep commitment to gender issues is visible through a center of excellence dedicated to gender issues: the Gender Initiative aims to enable women and help them become leaders that can instigate change. The initiative engages with men as well as women for creating dialogue on gender parity, and also works with organizations for advancing their commitment to gender balance. Further, academicians - psychologists, sociologists, economists and management scholars - drive research on women’s impact on business and society.
In 1967, INSEAD became one of the first business schools to admit women into its MBA programme, making a strong statement about gender in the male-dominated MBA world. Fifty years on, a lot still needs to be achieved. According to an alumni survey carried out in 2017, 91% alumni wanted to work towards increasing the representation of women in high impact leadership positions.
By harnessing this change in mindsets, INSEAD can pave way for more and more women to become impactful leaders.
Updated on: 24 Jul 2018, 06:08
Originally posted by MBADecoder on 19 Jun 2018, 11:02.
Last edited by MBADecoder on 24 Jul 2018, 06:08, edited 1 time in total.
Last edited by MBADecoder on 24 Jul 2018, 06:08, edited 1 time in total.
Kudos
Bookmarks
Factors to Consider, When Researching Business Schools
We recently wrote a blog on ways to research business schools. But before that, you need to know which factors should you take to account when selecting your perfect list of b-schools.
Here are some criteria that can bring method to your research:
Job related Factors:
1. Employment opportunities: The main reason why people do an MBA is to increase their employability skills. Therefore going through the employment reports of business schools is a key step in your research. These reports will provide you a lot of data: percentage-wise breakups of the industries and functions where students got a job; names of recruiters; figures for internship recruitments and some hard facts on how many students found employment in the first three months of graduation, how many students made use of on-campus recruiting and how many converted their summer internships into full-fledged jobs. If your post MBA interests lie in energy and utilities for example, and a particular b-school’s employment report shows a chunk of people getting jobs in that industry, you know you would want to apply to that b-school.
Another way of selecting business schools is by finding out about target employers who visit there and the roles they hire students for.
It's also worthwhile to find out about the resourcefulness of the career services of your target b-schools. Niche industries like media, energy, real estate, government may be hiring only a tiny percentage of the class population, but don’t let this deter you from applying. Most often, the career services teams and the industry related clubs will go out of their way to help you network with the right recruiters.
2. Industry hubs- Some regions are hubs for particular industries and studying in those regions may just as well increase your chances of finding the right recruiters. For instance, the Texas-based programs such as McCombs, Jones School of Business (Rice) and Texas A&M are located in the largest energy hub of USA and getting a job with a Chevron or Exxon is going to be relatively easier in this region. Canada is another energy hub and B-schools like Schulich will help you target the right employers. Similarly, New York, Paris and London are the places to be if you have your eyes fixed on fashion to going to Stern, LBS or HEC Paris/ INSEAD will offer you the right opportunities in luxury. Check out our previous blog on the research triangle park which houses b-schools like Duke (also an energy industry filler) and UNC Kenen Flagler.
3. Clubs and other resources- Most clubs at any business school are student-led. Its therefore in students’ interest to keep these really active. Industry (real estate/ media and entertainment/ private equity etc) and function (consulting/marketing/operations) focused clubs hold career treks, seminars, competitions and talks by industry bigwigs, all of which go in adding to your MBA experience. Typically every club has its own website – trawl through this and reach out to the Club leaders to know more about the club’s activities.
Academic Factors:
4. Electives and Concentrations– A specialization/major/concentration basically means the minimum required electives/credits you are required to take in a subject to make it a concentration. Although it's not mandatory to take concentrations/specializations, if you want to deep dive in a subject, they can be a good way to do it. At business schools like Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Ross, you can only take electives and not a “specialization”.
Most business schools allow you to take two or more concentrations in subjects as diverse as strategy, marketing, data analytics, finance and leadership, to name a few. Some b-schools also have a tie-up with the CFA Institute, so you have the option of completing your CFA along with the MBA.
In general, different b-schools have different formats for electives/ concentrations and certifications, so closely look at what your target b-schools have on offer.
5. Star faculty on campus- Some b-schools have management gurus, some have research mavericks and some others have Nobel laureates as their faculty. They may be the single-most reason you want to go to a particular b-schools. However, we are not talking about an awe-struck, starry-eyed you applying to a program, because a marketing guru you have heard about is teaching there. Nobody wants a teenager-like gushing about a faculty member! There has to be a more intense reason for you to study there – you may have a deep interest in his subject or the research he is doing and think it will help you in your career.
Some b-schools allow graduate/research assistantship, where you can work with a particular professor to assist his class or his research work. Also, you may want to take an independent project under a faculty member and gain from his insights.
6. Flexibility in the curriculum– Do you want to go to Harvard because you study a fixed curriculum for your entire first year, or would you rather prefer Chicago Booth, where you can select all your courses save one, and completely customize your curriculum? B-schools vary in the flexibility they offer on the course content, although all of them allow you to take electives in the second half of the program.
The bigger MBA programs that are associated with universities also let you to select electives outside the business school. So you may land up taking a few electives in technology or in law or in public policy from another college affiliated to the same university as your target business school. This flexibility is great if you want to study offbeat subjects that don’t typically come under the ambit of an MBA education.
7. Mode of curriculum delivery– Some b-schools are known as the case method b-schools. Examples are HBS, Darden, Tuck (to an extent), Richard Ivey (Canada) and IE (Spain). Some b-schools are known for their experiential learning approach- MIT, Ross and UCLA come to mind immediately. Although most b-schools have a mixed format curriculum, yet some of them, such as those listed above are famously known for their approach. If you are not a case study enthusiast, joining a b-schools that uses almost 500 cases in the two years curricula may wreck your MBA experience. Its important to find out the b-school’s pre-dominant style of teaching and whether that fits your learning requirements.
Admissions related factors:
8. Eligibility criteria- double MBA/ 3 year education/ TOEFL requirement – Indian applicants sometimes face challenges regarding their eligibility. European programs accept a three-year undergrad degree. While most US b-schools also consider it as an equivalent to the US four year undergrad degree, some b-schools like Berkeley Haas don’t. If you have not done an MS or another degree course, there is no point applying.
Some b-schools do not allow a previous MBA; however, this criterion is best checked with the schools themselves, as the Indian programs offer a diploma (PGDBM), which is technically not an MBA.
Similarly, some b-schools, particularly the European ones, require a TOEFL/ IELTS score and you may want to take either of the two tests to make it to the target b-school, ask them for a waiver (on account of your good English, and “convent educated” background) or just swap that b-school for another one.
Having GMAT and GPA scores above the b-school’s average figures is another benchmark for the Indian applicants.
9. Financial aspects (Fee, scholarships, financial aid)- Not all b-schools are made equal and they definitely don’t cost equal. B-school fee can cost you anywhere from INR 25 lakhs as in the case of the top Indian MBA programs (ISB & IIMs) to upward of INR 1 crore as is the case with HBS, Wharton and the likes. Other hidden costs only take these figures up north! While there is always an option to take loan from your own country, some b-schools offer loans to Indian applicants. What you need to find out is whether the credit agency requires a US based co-signer or not. Unability to arrange loans has been a party pooper for many Indian applicants, despite getting admission.
Scholarships exist, but not in abundance. Some b-schools have more scholarship money to give out as compared to others. It will be worth the effort to find this out from the school website, current students and alums and apply for a scholarship where you need to submit a separate application.
And then there are others:
FIT : This is the most used word in the MBA circles. How exactly do you determine your fit with a b-school and how will this help you in selecting business schools? While all of the above factors play their roles to establish your fit with a b-school, there are some other uncategorizable ones that matter.
10. Small size v/s big size classroom– You may feel lost if you have 750+ students in the same class as you, as in the case of Wharton. And when you double this number to make room for second year MBAs then its definitely a big party. Do you find your place in this big party or a cozy get together, which you can find at, say Tuck, which has a class strength of 280. The size of the class also matters from the perspective of your alumni network- smaller classes will have smaller networks. For you as an international student, there may be still lesser alumni back home.
11. Big city v/s small city- Studying in a fast-paced city like New York may be among the biggest lure for you to select b-schools based in New York. Or as a first time international student, you may want to soak in the experience of a small town school, where your life is centered around the b-school, students and campus activities. Plenty options abound.
12. Network- Building a strong network is among the most important reasons for a person to go to business school. A lot of job finding happens through your alumni network, with alumni arranging for job interviews in their companies (off-campus recruiting) or alumni coming for the off-campus recruiting. From this perspective, its important to figure out if your target school’s alums work in your target companies.
You will have access to your b-school’s network for life. Hence try to understand how strongly bonded the community is.
13. Personal development- The one/two years spent at business school will help you develop your softer side. While a large part of the curriculum will help you build your leadership capabilities, negotiation, communication and time management skills, there are features like experiential learning programs, trips to global destinations and activities & events held by the social and diversity clubs that will have a huge impact on your personal development within a short two years. Attending business school is not called a transformative experience for nothing!
All of these are mentioned on b-school websites, and you will learn a lot more about these experiences by reading up student blogs, an important research tool while selecting business schools.
Most important! No Indian can leave this one out.....
14. The quintessential Indian relatives– last but not the least is the Indian relatives, who are omnipresent, no matter where you do your MBA from. While some are happy with the arrangement of having guardians within the same city, others may not apply to the business school, just because their extended family stays in the vicinity. You take your pick!
We recently wrote a blog on ways to research business schools. But before that, you need to know which factors should you take to account when selecting your perfect list of b-schools.
Here are some criteria that can bring method to your research:
Job related Factors:
1. Employment opportunities: The main reason why people do an MBA is to increase their employability skills. Therefore going through the employment reports of business schools is a key step in your research. These reports will provide you a lot of data: percentage-wise breakups of the industries and functions where students got a job; names of recruiters; figures for internship recruitments and some hard facts on how many students found employment in the first three months of graduation, how many students made use of on-campus recruiting and how many converted their summer internships into full-fledged jobs. If your post MBA interests lie in energy and utilities for example, and a particular b-school’s employment report shows a chunk of people getting jobs in that industry, you know you would want to apply to that b-school.
Another way of selecting business schools is by finding out about target employers who visit there and the roles they hire students for.
It's also worthwhile to find out about the resourcefulness of the career services of your target b-schools. Niche industries like media, energy, real estate, government may be hiring only a tiny percentage of the class population, but don’t let this deter you from applying. Most often, the career services teams and the industry related clubs will go out of their way to help you network with the right recruiters.
2. Industry hubs- Some regions are hubs for particular industries and studying in those regions may just as well increase your chances of finding the right recruiters. For instance, the Texas-based programs such as McCombs, Jones School of Business (Rice) and Texas A&M are located in the largest energy hub of USA and getting a job with a Chevron or Exxon is going to be relatively easier in this region. Canada is another energy hub and B-schools like Schulich will help you target the right employers. Similarly, New York, Paris and London are the places to be if you have your eyes fixed on fashion to going to Stern, LBS or HEC Paris/ INSEAD will offer you the right opportunities in luxury. Check out our previous blog on the research triangle park which houses b-schools like Duke (also an energy industry filler) and UNC Kenen Flagler.
3. Clubs and other resources- Most clubs at any business school are student-led. Its therefore in students’ interest to keep these really active. Industry (real estate/ media and entertainment/ private equity etc) and function (consulting/marketing/operations) focused clubs hold career treks, seminars, competitions and talks by industry bigwigs, all of which go in adding to your MBA experience. Typically every club has its own website – trawl through this and reach out to the Club leaders to know more about the club’s activities.
Academic Factors:
4. Electives and Concentrations– A specialization/major/concentration basically means the minimum required electives/credits you are required to take in a subject to make it a concentration. Although it's not mandatory to take concentrations/specializations, if you want to deep dive in a subject, they can be a good way to do it. At business schools like Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Ross, you can only take electives and not a “specialization”.
Most business schools allow you to take two or more concentrations in subjects as diverse as strategy, marketing, data analytics, finance and leadership, to name a few. Some b-schools also have a tie-up with the CFA Institute, so you have the option of completing your CFA along with the MBA.
In general, different b-schools have different formats for electives/ concentrations and certifications, so closely look at what your target b-schools have on offer.
5. Star faculty on campus- Some b-schools have management gurus, some have research mavericks and some others have Nobel laureates as their faculty. They may be the single-most reason you want to go to a particular b-schools. However, we are not talking about an awe-struck, starry-eyed you applying to a program, because a marketing guru you have heard about is teaching there. Nobody wants a teenager-like gushing about a faculty member! There has to be a more intense reason for you to study there – you may have a deep interest in his subject or the research he is doing and think it will help you in your career.
Some b-schools allow graduate/research assistantship, where you can work with a particular professor to assist his class or his research work. Also, you may want to take an independent project under a faculty member and gain from his insights.
6. Flexibility in the curriculum– Do you want to go to Harvard because you study a fixed curriculum for your entire first year, or would you rather prefer Chicago Booth, where you can select all your courses save one, and completely customize your curriculum? B-schools vary in the flexibility they offer on the course content, although all of them allow you to take electives in the second half of the program.
The bigger MBA programs that are associated with universities also let you to select electives outside the business school. So you may land up taking a few electives in technology or in law or in public policy from another college affiliated to the same university as your target business school. This flexibility is great if you want to study offbeat subjects that don’t typically come under the ambit of an MBA education.
7. Mode of curriculum delivery– Some b-schools are known as the case method b-schools. Examples are HBS, Darden, Tuck (to an extent), Richard Ivey (Canada) and IE (Spain). Some b-schools are known for their experiential learning approach- MIT, Ross and UCLA come to mind immediately. Although most b-schools have a mixed format curriculum, yet some of them, such as those listed above are famously known for their approach. If you are not a case study enthusiast, joining a b-schools that uses almost 500 cases in the two years curricula may wreck your MBA experience. Its important to find out the b-school’s pre-dominant style of teaching and whether that fits your learning requirements.
Admissions related factors:
8. Eligibility criteria- double MBA/ 3 year education/ TOEFL requirement – Indian applicants sometimes face challenges regarding their eligibility. European programs accept a three-year undergrad degree. While most US b-schools also consider it as an equivalent to the US four year undergrad degree, some b-schools like Berkeley Haas don’t. If you have not done an MS or another degree course, there is no point applying.
Some b-schools do not allow a previous MBA; however, this criterion is best checked with the schools themselves, as the Indian programs offer a diploma (PGDBM), which is technically not an MBA.
Similarly, some b-schools, particularly the European ones, require a TOEFL/ IELTS score and you may want to take either of the two tests to make it to the target b-school, ask them for a waiver (on account of your good English, and “convent educated” background) or just swap that b-school for another one.
Having GMAT and GPA scores above the b-school’s average figures is another benchmark for the Indian applicants.
9. Financial aspects (Fee, scholarships, financial aid)- Not all b-schools are made equal and they definitely don’t cost equal. B-school fee can cost you anywhere from INR 25 lakhs as in the case of the top Indian MBA programs (ISB & IIMs) to upward of INR 1 crore as is the case with HBS, Wharton and the likes. Other hidden costs only take these figures up north! While there is always an option to take loan from your own country, some b-schools offer loans to Indian applicants. What you need to find out is whether the credit agency requires a US based co-signer or not. Unability to arrange loans has been a party pooper for many Indian applicants, despite getting admission.
Scholarships exist, but not in abundance. Some b-schools have more scholarship money to give out as compared to others. It will be worth the effort to find this out from the school website, current students and alums and apply for a scholarship where you need to submit a separate application.
And then there are others:
FIT : This is the most used word in the MBA circles. How exactly do you determine your fit with a b-school and how will this help you in selecting business schools? While all of the above factors play their roles to establish your fit with a b-school, there are some other uncategorizable ones that matter.
10. Small size v/s big size classroom– You may feel lost if you have 750+ students in the same class as you, as in the case of Wharton. And when you double this number to make room for second year MBAs then its definitely a big party. Do you find your place in this big party or a cozy get together, which you can find at, say Tuck, which has a class strength of 280. The size of the class also matters from the perspective of your alumni network- smaller classes will have smaller networks. For you as an international student, there may be still lesser alumni back home.
11. Big city v/s small city- Studying in a fast-paced city like New York may be among the biggest lure for you to select b-schools based in New York. Or as a first time international student, you may want to soak in the experience of a small town school, where your life is centered around the b-school, students and campus activities. Plenty options abound.
12. Network- Building a strong network is among the most important reasons for a person to go to business school. A lot of job finding happens through your alumni network, with alumni arranging for job interviews in their companies (off-campus recruiting) or alumni coming for the off-campus recruiting. From this perspective, its important to figure out if your target school’s alums work in your target companies.
You will have access to your b-school’s network for life. Hence try to understand how strongly bonded the community is.
13. Personal development- The one/two years spent at business school will help you develop your softer side. While a large part of the curriculum will help you build your leadership capabilities, negotiation, communication and time management skills, there are features like experiential learning programs, trips to global destinations and activities & events held by the social and diversity clubs that will have a huge impact on your personal development within a short two years. Attending business school is not called a transformative experience for nothing!
All of these are mentioned on b-school websites, and you will learn a lot more about these experiences by reading up student blogs, an important research tool while selecting business schools.
Most important! No Indian can leave this one out.....
14. The quintessential Indian relatives– last but not the least is the Indian relatives, who are omnipresent, no matter where you do your MBA from. While some are happy with the arrangement of having guardians within the same city, others may not apply to the business school, just because their extended family stays in the vicinity. You take your pick!
(applying only for US universities)
