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Around 2,29,000 students registered for CAT 2021 out of which 83.4% took the test. The total number of seats across the Top 25 MBA colleges is roughly 10,000 meaning 1 seat for every 19 students. It is well understood that not everybody will get a Tier 1 MBA college and ~95% of students would have to either rethink or settle for a Tier2/3 MBA college. I decided to write up an article to help students make a more informed choice. To be honest, there is no right decision when it comes to deciding to settle or to take a drop year, the decision is highly personal and nuanced. The goal is to give you a general direction to start thinking. Let’s start.

Possible Decisions

There are 3 possible decisions which you can evaluate:
  1. Taking a Drop Year: This one is pretty obvious if you feel you can improve your score to get into a better college. You can take a drop year to prepare again and re-appear in CAT, XAT, NMAT, SNAP etc. Here are some pointers around drop year:
    A. Make sure you first analyse your CAT results thoroughly to come up with a new study strategy focusing on your strong & weak areas. Build a 10-month plan to ace CAT.
    B. Not all drop years are the same. If this is your first drop year it’s fine but multiple drop years can project a negative perception in some cases plus one needs to be realistic about the number of drop years they can afford to take.
  2. Considering International Programs: One can also consider international MBA colleges to pursue their masters. You can prepare for GRE & GMAT to get into some of the world’s top colleges like INSEAD, London Business School, Yale, Harvard, MIT Sloan etc. Here are some pointers if you’re considering international programs:
    A. You have time to prepare, generally, enrolments for these programs start around September so you can appear for GRE & GMAT and become eligible to apply. You don’t have to wait till next year.
    B. Not all programs are good. Just like one should target Tier 1 MBA colleges in India, you should only target top international MBA colleges. Most people who get stuck in the trap of Tier 2/3 international colleges have to take up low paying jobs because they have already made huge sunk costs.
    C. Make sure you don’t only rely on online reviews, YouTube videos to evaluate colleges but reach out to current students & alumni to get a much more real picture of placements & other opportunities.
  3. Re-thinking MBA: A lot of you might be asking yourself “Is MBA right for me?”
    This is a very genuine question to ask. MBA in our country has been more of a brand tag than anything else. Pick any MBA aspirant and ask them- what will they learn in MBA, how MBAs make you more employable etc. I can bet 90% would have no clue as most of them are just chasing a degree that they/parents think will help them get a job.

    I am not at all against MBA, I am an MBA myself but now more than ever I realise that one doesn’t need an MBA to get a high paying job. Education now is not what it was 5 years ago, you can learn any skill you want online in the comfort of your home. Ed-tech has democratised high-quality education.

    Now you can enrol in online courses on Product Management, Brand Management, Digital Marketing, Product Design, Sales from some of India's top ed-tech companies like AltUni By InsideIIM, UpGrad, Simplilearn, Kraftshala, Great Learning etc. and get a higher quality education than most MBA colleges. Here are some pointers if you’re re-considering MBA:

    A. Corporate doesn’t treat each MBA specialisation the same. If you want to build a career in Consulting, Finance and HR then doing an MBA is highly advised. Top consulting & investment companies like BCG, McKinsey, Bain&Co, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan etc. only hire from top MBA colleges.
    B. Careers in marketing, product, design, operations can be cracked without MBAs. Either you need really good experience or specialised education which can be achieved via online courses.If you're looking for a career in Digital Marketing from India's largest Consumer Goods company - Hindustan Unilever, you should check this course!

Bonus Tips

To help you further here are a few more detailed guides:
  1.     How to plan your CAT drop year effectively? | Top 4 Hacks
  2.     Top In-Demand Careers in 2022 That Don’t Require an MBA

Conclusion

I hope this article gave you some sense of direction and possible alternatives. Do note that there is no right decision for everyone and neither am I advocating that you only choose from the above possibilities. The goal was to make you more aware and get you to start thinking about different possibilities. If you liked the article do drop a like and share your thoughts/suggestions in the comment section below. If you want to connect, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn. All the best!