Ten Important Factors To Consider While Deciding A B-school

MBA Admissions for 2021-23 batch have started with many top B-schools releasing their final list for admission. As a matter of first importance, one needs to choose the Management specialization, and afterwards, the choice of the B-school follows. This choice includes careful examination of every B-school and the specialization it offers. Other critical factors that should be considered are subjects offered, alumni network, placements, faculties, infrastructure, clubs, committees, etc.

Points to be considered while taking the admission in B-school:

• PGDM vs MBA: Decide whether you want to opt for PGDM or MBA. Many B-schools in India offer PGDM instead of MBA. It's much not of a difference in India, but an MBA degree in foreign countries is mostly preferred.
• Specialized or General MBA: Decide whether you want to do a specialized MBA or General MBA.
• ROI: Measure the ROI for the B-school to check whether doing an MBA from this B-school is a viable option or not? Make sure you include the total fee and expenses for the two-year program at the B-school and not just the tuition fee, as it only accounts for 60-70% of the B-school's total expenses. If you add boarding and lodging expenses, laptop expenses, other security deposits, etc., the B-school's overall fees will be much more significant.
• Placement Status: Doing an MBA/PGDM in India is a significant investment for many. So, check the summer and final placement reports of the past two years, mean and median CTCs, and the top recruiters that visit the campus. Check whether your dream company visits the B-school for placements or not?
• Corporate competitions: Check whether big corporate competitions are open for the particular B-school or not? In some B-schools, many big companies don't come for placements but offer a PPI/PPO chance to the winners of the corporate competitions they conduct.
• Ratings & Accreditations: Check various accreditations and ratings awarded to the B-school. To name a few, AACSB, AMBA, NBA are of the known accreditations.
• Faculties: Check whether the faculties teaching at the B-school have a relevant mix of business and academic exposure or not? Faculties with only academic exposure may not be able to deliver relevant and up-to-date examples of the industry.
• Location: Will the location of the B-school, will matter or not? B-schools that are located near to the commercial or business area have better future job prospects, and even the recruiters find it convenient to visit the B-school for hiring. Hence, the location of the B-school matters as well.
• Alumni Network: Alumni are the heart of their B-school. Alumni of the B-school help build a network with corporate and help their alma mater get better live projects and placements. The higher and stronger the alumni base, the better it is. Check the alumni network and legacy of B-school.
• Accommodation & Infrastructure: Check whether the B-school has the capacity to accommodate the number of admissions? Generally, many B-schools provide hostel and mess services within the campus premises, but a few B-schools don't have enough infrastructure or space to accommodate them. Check whether the B-school has a library, well-equipped classrooms, common rooms, and an auditorium.

Chalk out all the pros and cons of joining a particular B-school based on the above-mentioned factors and talk to students of B-school of the previous batch to list the correct facts about the B-school.

I hope this helps you in making the right decision.

Best of Luck!

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