How to choose the right MBA institute?

Management courses in India were synonymous with IIMs, this was the scenario of mgmt. education, about 22 years ago. With time several good B-Schools have emerged to cater to the growing population of MBA aspirants but IIMs continue to be the best B-schools in imparting business education in India. The reason is that, these institutes offer innovative courses to satisfy the needs of all sections of students.

The well known management institutes of India i.e. Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), the management departments of various IITs, NITIE, and various other government universities offer MBA/ PGDM degree/ Diploma. Some other reputed and favorites of MBA aspirants are FMS Delhi, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) New Delhi and Kolkata, JBIMS (Mumbai University), Banaras Hindu University and University Business School, Chandigarh.

Majority of MBA institutes fall under this category. Some of the other leading private MBA institutes are MDI Gurgaon, XLRI Jamshedpur and IMT Ghaziabad. Some MBA institutes are also promoted by corporate houses like BIMTECH and NIRMA Institute of Management.

Besides the above, there are about more than 1600 management institutes in India. In the present scenario, the way by which a mushroom growth of MBA/PGDM institutes have occurred,  it has become very important to understand your needs and select the right institute. Since you will be spending a lot in your MBA, it is important for you select the right institute. How can we differentiate between these colleges? Here are some tips that you can follow to select the best B-School for you.

Now the question arises, how to search and choose the appropriate MBA institute for yourself.

So, come lets see, what experts say about this:-

What Should be the Criteria That one Should Follow:-

According to Dr. Rajeev, faculty of IIM Lucknow, certain parameters should be analyzed before joining an MBA institute. “The parameters should be unique pedagogy, code of conduct, updated curriculum, faculty, infrastructure, alumni and placements. These are the parameters you should judge before you choose an MBA institute.”

Visiting a campus before taking the admissions is a good idea. It gives you the idea whether the institute fulfills all the parameters or not. A good MBA institute teaches you how to think, cross functional competence, functional domain knowledge and team work.

“As for selecting an MBA institute, seeing is believing. Visit the campus. Talk to former and present students, not just the faculty or director. Do not get carried away by advertisements," advises a top MBA expert.

Some of the important factors students must keep in mind while choosing a B- school are: the reputation, faculty, curriculum, placements, fees, infrastructure and location of the B-School should not be ignored. Also, there should be no ambiguity in your mind with respect to your areas of interest vis-à-vis the courses offered by the school. Also your profile as a students is another factor that should not be ignored.

Reputation of the college: There are some B-schools, which already have a very good brand value and are very well recognized in the industry. Students of these well-reputed B-schools are sought-after by employers across industry. The brand value of the college adds value to the student's CV. If it is a new or upcoming college, then it is advisable to consult with somebody in the industry to understand the industry perception of the college.

Rankings, it matters: Every year, reputed newspapers, magazines and websites release B-school rankings. Although most of these rankings are not very reliable as they are biased but still they give some idea about the relative merit of the college.

Accreditation, consider it:  Check if the college is AICTE- approved or not. Check if the college have the requisite approvals or not. What other collaborations does the college have? It is very important to know what all accreditations your preferred colleges have. If your degrees are not recognized, they won't hold much value especially if you're seeking jobs in the public sector.

Placement records, go through it: One of the primary reasons why many students opt for MBAs is to get a well-paid job. It is for this reason that most students carefully study the official placement report of the college. When looking at the placement statistics, try and find out the job profiles offered. Also check out which companies hire from these institutes and for which ranking. What is the job responsibility and specifications of the employees in the market.

Alumni, the mirror of institutes:  People are the mirror of any organization. So, talk to the alumni of the preferred college, find out about the college and where they are placed. Try and get your doubts cleared about the quality of education offered and the facilities available.

Staff and Faculty: Try to figure out about permanent and temporary faculty members of the college. Find out about their qualifications and experience. A healthy mix of people with some industry exposure is preferred. This brings in insights from the industry and academics to the classroom.

Students, your future study environment: Try to figure out  some information about the students studying over there. As, they are the main part of your study environment of your college. Data such as the average CAT/GMAT scores, average age, average work experience and male-female ratio gives you a fair idea of the student mix of the college.

Internet, Use it to Help Yourself : For an aspirant, extensive research on the B-schools of your choice is a way out - which means one should actually visit institutes websites and interact with concerned people.

With the help of the internet, you can easily search the websites of various Indian as well as international management institutes. In the same way, you can also get information about the alumni: these guys are important because they studied in that particular institute and would be more than happy to share their experiences. They should visit the websites, talk to the faculty, the alumni and recruiters.

Now the question arises….

Will the right MBA institute choose you?

Getting admission to an MBA institute is not one way but a two way process. Along with you choosing the best MBA institute, the institute should also choose you. As each and every institute wants to have the best brains. All of you have been dreamed about and would like to join the top MBA institute like the IIMs, XLRI, etc. but what if you don’t get selected by these institutes?

Dear aspirants, the fact is that, everyone wants to get through IIMs but the top MBA institute doesn’t have enough number of seats to cater to all the MBA aspirants of India so, if you can’t make it to IIMs, it would be a wise decision to join a good MBA Institute, which is AICTE approved and have good ROI and proves to be good on the above criteria.

Your questions and suggestions are invited. You can put them in comments column.

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