With shortlists coming out from left, right and centre along with the last stage interviews going on in a parallel manner, no wonder aspirants tend to panic and get confused. And it is not something one needs to be ashamed of - come January and every aspirant worth the number of tests solved is busy running helter-skelter, both figuratively and physically.
The first thing is, the aspirant needs to know what they actually want. Do they want a cushy job? Or entrepreneurship excites them? Or do they want to experience various cultures and incorporate them into their business? The main drama begins when the aspirants run blindly towards a goal without knowing their inner desires - what the world wants may not necessarily align with your thoughts. So it is important that one studies his strengths and weaknesses well and therefore determine what he wants to study.
The second thing is to determine which branch to pursue. Contrary to what others say, selecting the field of study is very important if one aspires to be a successful MBA. The four common branches that are on offer in most of the B-Schools are Marketing, Finance, Operations and Human Resources. Depending on what one wants to study, the selection of the institute is done accordingly. Some institutes specialise in certain fields and this needs to be taken into account while applying. Deciding the field of study on a whim or on peer pressure is the worst thing one can possibly do and this might end up damaging one's career. It is advisable that one should narrow down one's field of study during the time of interviews as these points can be useful when the interviewer asks questions.
The third thing is to understand the type of campus life the institutes you want to join have. MBA programmes are mostly residential in nature so the campus life plays an important role in shaping up your personality. Institutes like Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) Pune are famous for their student-driven culture where the students' council in conjunction with the administration helps in the daily activities of the institute. Some institutes focus on the old-school way of teaching while some institutes are known for their guest lectures and site visits. Know which method of learning appeals to you and apply accordingly. Some institutes do not have on-campus residence and therefore someone who wants to enjoy an immersive campus life might feel disadvantaged in such a scenario.
The final point an aspirant needs to keep in mind is the manner in which he wishes to pay the fees. Most banks offer comparatively lower interest rates for education loans and these rates might vary from institute to institute. During the admission process, one may receive mails from the banks that have tie-ups with the institutes which state their entire payment schedule. The aspirant should research well in advance about the bank policies and their processing time as the time-window offered by the institute to pay the fees upon conversion is very short.
Going through and completing an MBA programme is a life-changing phenomenon. One learns a truckload of stuff which perhaps would have seemed impossible a year ago. It is fast and at times may seem frustrating, but it is worth it. The only thing one should do is to keep on moving forward.
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About the Author:
Srijita Sarkar is a first year student at SIBM Pune majoring in Marketing and is a member of the Information Systems and Media Relations Team, the PR Team of the Students' Council. She has completed her graduation in Civil Engineering from Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad. Her hobbies include reading novels, writing prose and poetry, playing badminton and basketball and watching movies, TV series and Japanese anime.