Choose right Business School

Know about how to choose right business school for you.

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Self-assessment

While selecting the right business, it is important to do some self-assessment first. Talk to alumni and current students to understand the selection process for the school. Make a practical assessment of your skills and aptitude.

• Will you be able to score the required marks in entrance exam? A good way to learn about your potential score is to take a mock entrance test.
• Will you be able to sustain the rigor of the program?
• What will you do if you do not get selected this year?

It is equally important to bear in mind that only because an institute has higher cutoff does not mean that such institute is a better option. Conversely only because an institute has a lower cutoff does not mean that it would be easy to get admission into that institute. Many institutes like SP Jain place prefer experience candidates over freshers. This might result into candidates with lower score but some work experience getting into such institutes.

Short term and long term goals

It is important to know what your short and long term goals are before you select a school.

• Why is MBA a right option for you?
• What are my strengths and weaknesses?
• Which industry do you want to work in?
• What profiles are you targeting?
• What is approximate salary you expect?
• Where do you want to see yourself 10 years down the line?
• Are you looking for a career shift? Or you just want to advance your career in your current industry?

Once you know your strengths and weaknesses, your future plans try to explain to yourself how an MBA will help you achieve your goals.

Once you have made a self-assessment and come up with a short-term and long-term career plan it is time to research the schools.

• Location - Some recruiters visit schools located in particular region. E.g. if you are targeting Finance jobs then it makes more sense to get into a school located near financial centers like Mumbai or Delhi. If you are looking for a placement in Information Technology then going to regional IT hubs like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad or Pune will benefit you in long term. If you are looking for placements in manufacturing or operations then looking for schools located near manufacturing hubs like Pune or Noida will help.
• Electives - Does the school offer many electives your prefered area of specialization? If you are looking for specialized courses like retail, hospitality and healthcare then you should shortlist the schools that offer these courses.
• Placements - What is average and median salary offered? Bear in mind that average salary can be at times misleading. Median salary is a better indicator of placement performance of a school as it is not much affected by highest or lowest salary offered on the campus. It also makes a lot of sense to look at the lowest salary figures. Also check the recruiters that visit the campus. Do you see only small scale local companies visiting the campus? Large multinational corporations have stringent recruitment process. If such firms visit the campus, it invariably indicates good quality of the students at the school and reputation of the school.
• Selection Process - Which test scores does the school accept? What are the cutoffs? Compare your scores in mock tests with the cutoffs for that school the previous year.
• Reputation - Check the ranking or rating of you school on various national survey of top business schools. These surveys rank the schools on various parameters like infrastructure, faculty, placement and admissions among others. The rating of the school in these parameters will help you understand where school stands vis-a-vis various other schools in the market. It should also be kept in mind that some recruiters especially the multinational corporations might visit only top-ranked schools.
• Infrastructure - If the school is located in remote part of a city, then you might prefer schools providing accommodation and mess facility. This may not be  an issue for those schools located in the city.
• Teaching methodology - Does the school follow a semester pattern or it has more regular tests? How is your performance measured? Does the school encourage in-class participation? Some industries like consulting and finance lay a great importance on grades of a student. So if you are targeting consulting or finance it may make sense to look at how school awards grades and whether you will be able to cope up with the system.
• Specializations - Does the school offer the specialization you are looking for? What other specializations does it offer? Does it also attract the right recruiters for those specializations?
• Cost of education - What is fee for the entire MBA program? What are the charges for other facilities like accommodation and dining? Talking to current students will give you more accurate understanding of expenses involved. Also check if the school has tie-ups with banks for education loans. Most of the MBA programs in India cost more than 5 lacs and bank loan becomes necessary for a student from middle class background aspiring for these schools. Some schools offer scholarships to deserving candidates. It might be worthwhile to look into them as well. Do note the deadlines for applying to these schools.
• Faculty - What is teacher-to-student ratio? What is the average level of education of the faculty? Do they faculty conduct any research in your target area. How well connected is the faculty with the industry? If you want to pursue a doctorate program after an MBA, you might find it useful to connect with a faculty who can guide you for your PhD studies. Do check where the faculty got the doctorate degree. If it is the same as where the faculty is teaching, then you need to be alert. Some schools encourage their faculty to pursue their own PhD programs.
• Alumni - Are there any alums working in your target industry and company? What positions are they employed into? Does the school offer opportunities for networking with alumni? Alumni have already been through your target school so they will prove to be a great source of information. Make it a point to talk to as many alms as you can before you take admission to any institute.
• Class profile - Check the profile of the students school attracts. Remember that your network is one of the most important parts of your MBA degree. So choose the school which offers you an opportunity to learn from peers as well as contribute the discussions in the class. Also check how many of the alums are working in your target industry. They would be really helpful in your job hunt post-MBA.
• Specialized MBA programs - Certain programs are specialized and focus on a particular sector and have stringent eligibility criteria. For example MBA in Operations management at NITIE is open only to engineers. Before you get into such programs ensure that you udnerstand the field really well and know all the opportunities available in that field.

Research

Selecting a right business school is a demanding task. There are various resources available to you -

• School websites
• You can find a detailed profile of various schools on our website. Use find school tool to search the schools.
• Talk to alums and current students.
• Though it may not be easy to talk to a recruiter, recruiters sometimes can give valuable insights into the reputation of a school and performance of its alumni in the industry.