Take out any random minute of the day, and you will still have thousands of MBA aspirants across the country wondering which B-School is best for them.
Given that it does not take much to sway between choices, a ready reckoner that could help aspirants with choosing the B-School that could change their life would be helpful. From my exploits as an aspirant and thereafter, I have compiled a list of things one must look into, before joining a B-School. These are both based on my personal experience, as well as knowledge gathered online. Please do your own research after going through this list, it will help you better educate yourself:
1. Placements: What is MBA but for Placements? Sometimes people think that placements do not really matter. But in reality, for 80% of the people, that is all that matters. In such a case, thoroughly go through all the placement reports published on the websites of the college. Although you might feel that the reports are inflated, most of the times, companies inflate the salaries from their end by showing the CTC and not actual in hand salary. Since all B-Schools publish CTC, you need not worry about the inflation. While comparing the placement records of two B-Schools, always think of other related factors, some of which will be discussed as we move on. Give due weight to the offers made, the sectors and companies visiting the campus. Check atleast 3 reports to know the regular recruiters.
2. Batch Size: There are not enough words in the dictionary for me to emphasize on this. Depending upon your batch size, there are many other factors that will either become lucrative, or sadden you to your core. Ideally, the batch size should be medium. It should not be as high as 500-600 people, but should be as low as 30-60 people. A batch size of 150-300 is ideal. This will lead to healthy competition, peer learning, but also mean that most of the people in the batch end up getting great final offers.
3. Infrastructure: Some of your B-School friends will tell you that these two years spent at a B-School will be the best of your lives. Others will lie. But the truth is, it is an experience that will not come back. To ensure that you get the maximum out of this, find out the kind of infrastructure the college has, the kind of peers you will have, how many faculties have PhDs, the hostel, the mess, and whatever else you can find! You get brownie points if the college is in a serene location. (Read God’s own country, a hilltop in Pune or Goa!)
4. Alumni and Legacy: Alumni are sacrosanct, Period. No college can have good placements if they do not have a great alumni base. No college can win corporate competitions if they do not find the right mentors. No PPOs will be given to students of colleges that are not very well known. The placements are the heart of a B-School, the alumni are the blood vessels. A 40-year old B-School will have better placements than a 5-year old B-School, no matter how big the tag.
5. Culture: A hidden aspect that will make or break your two years at a B-School. If a B-School has a sarkaari culture, things will move slowly and classes will not run nicely. You will have a lot of time on your hand, but you will also have to figure too many things out on your own. Many B-Schools in India will claim to have a student-driven culture. Find out all you can about the student councils, their working and initiatives before believing them. If a college is truly student-run, you will be able to witness it during their admission process. If it is so, the experience will really be enriching!
6. Corporate Competitions: If placements are an airplane, corporate competitions are the business class in it. More than the money you earn, the jobs you bag, the bragging rights and pride after winning a national corporate competition are unparalleled. But behind every successful competition story, there is a B-School with pedigree. Since most of the competitions are conducted by multinational corporates, they are really selective on whom to have a crack at it. Thus, it is very important to find what corporate competitions open for the B-School of your dreams, have they won any of them recently and so on.
7. Rankings: Although rankings are very subjective, they do give an overall impression of the college. Always take them with a pinch of salt, but if you are confused between two B-Schools (and all the other criterion are similar), it does not harm to go with the one that has better corporate perception, and rankings.
All in all, tread carefully. Make a report with these factors on 5-6 B-Schools that you think you want to make it to, with at least 2-3 of them being very realistic targets. Hope to see you running in the rat race soon!