After taking CAT, XAT, IIFT, NMAT, SNAP and CMAT, the aspirants face the daunting task of choosing the right B-School for themselves, lest they face the Hobson’s choice of grudgingly accepting what is offered to them in the end. Therefore it is of paramount importance for you to choose a B-school that is the best fit for you, for it can make or mar your career trajectory. Here the candidate needs to know that our country houses more than three thousand B-schools all of whom cannot boast of a great quality of management education or being a bouncy springboard for launching a career in management. So it becomes imperative for the candidates to apprise themselves of the parameters for selecting the right B-School and evaluate these institutions accordingly. For the benefit of our students at KINGS EDUCATION some of these parameters are being discussed here:

1- CAREER PATH: A candidate needs to give some thought to the career path that he wants to tread or a particular professional area he wants to specialize in. This would make it easy to choose the b-schools that specialize in that domain. For example, if you are interested in foreign trade then IIFT could be the place of your choice. For media and advertising MICA would be the most suitable place. A B-school should ultimately fit to one’s unique needs and demands and aspirations.

2- PLACEMENTS: Practically speaking it is the very raison d’être for entering a business school. Understandably, candidates are interested in the job prospects, job quality and remuneration that an MBA degree entails. Salaries at the time of campus placements can be used as an indirect measure to judge the MBA programme. But there is a need for caution here! Quite a large number of B-schools resort to statistical jugglery while reporting the salary figures, and therefore, they should be scrutinized very closely by the candidates. Hidden behind the silken brochures are many half-truths and some trickery. Thus the claims about placement numbers, visiting recruiters, highest salary and average salary, etc should be taken with a pinch of salt and should be cross-checked with alumni, students, and staff.

3- CUT-OFF PERCENTILE: It is a no-brainer that high cut-offs will attract the best students and the brightest students would go to the best schools. The quality of students directly impacts the quality of learning. Studying and interacting with a top-class peer group ensures a rich learning experience. In a B-school most of the projects and assignments are done as teamwork and group task and this creates a lot of scope for peer learning.  

4- REPUTATION / BRAND VALUE: Older and well-managed b-schools are able to build for themselves a certain brand value which opens many corporate opportunities for its students and enables them to attract not just higher salaries but also a much better variety of job roles. A B-school with a great reputation will attract not just good students but also top recruiters and the best faculty.

5- LOCATION: There is no denying the fact that B-Schools located in metro cities will avail themselves of a greater industry interface than those in the smaller cities. However, the brand strength of an institute can offset the effect of the location to a very large extent. B-schools with a good brand value can draw faculty and industry even to a relatively less popular location. A case in point is the new IIMs. But it is equally true that the strength of brand value ebbs for lesser-ranked colleges and then location as a factor gains precedence. In such cases, it is a trade-off between the reputation and location of the institution.

6- COST:  ROI is a concept that you should know even before you embark on your MBA journey. It means that unless you get a fat salary package, an expensive programme fee doesn’t make any financial sense, especially so if you move down the B-school rankings and start considering the lower-ranked schools. Funnily, you will find that the programme fee doesn’t reduce as sharply as the average salary package. But one should also understand that fee is not a direct indicator of the quality of a school. Many top ranked schools charge hefty fee upto 20 lakhs while a few government-funded top ones also charge only around 3-5 lakhs. So the fee factor should be considered only in conjunction with other factors like brand value and location.

7- FACULTY: Ultimately, you are going to be trained by the faculty and therefore you should definitely take some interest in finding out the quality of the teaching staff. One should crosscheck the claims about the number of PhD faculty, visiting faculty, full-time professors, part-time professors etc. even if numbers don’t have any direct bearing on the quality of teaching. Here again, you must try to get some feedback from current students and those who have passed out recently.

8- INFRASTRUCTURE: Availability of infrastructure will make your MBA journey smooth, productive, and fulfilling.  A top class b-school would definitely have all the necessary infrastructure but the same cannot be said about the lower-ranked schools. Therefore one has to check out if the school has the necessary infrastructure like a computer lab, hi-speed internet, library, hostel, sports facilities, auditorium etc. Otherwise, your MBA experience would leave you feeling dissatisfied and short-changed.

9- ALUMNI NETWORK: The alumni network not only helps you with placements but also helps build the brand image of the school in the mind of the recruiters. You will realize it once you leave your college and join the corporate sector.

Once you have considered the above-discussed parameters you can easily figure out the most suitable college that would perfectly fit with your needs, wants, and aspirations. So narrow down your list and get going!!!