Break the mba admissions barrier, 2nd edition

Break The MBA Admission Barrier: Making It To The World''''s Best Business Schools provides a simple yet comprehensive approach to coaching in the workplace. It uses a step-by-step process, and in addition, it explains many of the supporting skills su

1 Why an MBA Degree?2 The MBA Programmes3 Choosing the School4 Business School Rankings

5 The Basics: Application and Admission Procedure6 Managing Timelines

7 Present Yourself: Understand the Principles8 Ten Commandments of a B-School Application9 Essays: Dos and Don’ts

10 Recommendations: Reinforcing You and Your Application11 Ace Your Interview

12 Expect the Unexpected: Common Problems13 Accepting the Acceptance

14 Financing Your Studies15 Get Going with the Visa

16 Women in B-Schools: A Perspective

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Break the MBA Admissions Barrier is mainly the result of the personal experiences of the

authors, gathered while cruising through the admissions process and, hence, more of a personaltake on the entire admissions process It has been written as a resource book using facts gatheredfrom university Web sites, mailed materials and brochures, official records, and the voluntarilyprovided experiences of successful applicants.

The authors believe that following the outlined strategies would be of significant help to anyapplicant However, they agree that this is not the only way and many other techniques might beequally effective, leaving the final decision in the hands of the reader This book is neitherassociated with nor represents any college or university mentioned, and does not guaranteeadmission into any particular institution All the information presented on a particular institutionis available in the public domain and has been provided with suitable references to protect thecopyrights of those concerned.

While every effort has been made to provide the most up-to-date information on all aspects ofthe admissions and other processes, the applicant should still ensure they hold true at the time oftheir application, given the frequent revision of rules and directives by educationaladministrations.

Finally, neither the authors nor the publisher:

1 can be held responsible for any consequences of actions or decisions taken on the basis ofthe information provided in the text or the text itself;

2 shall be liable in any way if the reader reproduces, verbatim or in part, any of the essays,sample recommendations or other such material from this text;

3 shall be liable for any violations of copyright by the contributors to the book or thosecontained in information gathered from a given reference;

4 shall be liable for any claim, loss, damage or expense of whatever nature resulting from,relating to, or arising out of the reliance on, or use of, any materials contained in thisbook.

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An MBA programme, especially from a leading international institution, teaches you manymarvellous things, but most importantly, it teaches you to learn to be an inquisitive student forlife The programme teaches you not only to systematically analyse and gain mastery over, to theextent possible, the chaos and complexities that surround business situations but also to make themost optimal decisions in the face of risks that cannot be eliminated It is indeed a noble calling,and those who emerge from the programme are, without doubt, more effective managers andleaders No wonder then that every year, hundreds of thousands of hopeful aspirants from acrossthe globe apply to the hallowed institutions of business education Limited supply and ample

demand make for intense competition, and only a fraction of those who apply get in Clearly, themost talented of the applicants have a better chance to make it, but the best prepared applicantscan, and do, dramatically swing the odds in their favour, and win at this brutally competitivegame.

In October last year, I had the privilege of being the alumni speaker at the Stanford GraduateSchool of Business (GSB) admission conference at the magnificent ballroom of the Taj Mahalhotel, Mumbai After the GSB admissions officer had run through her presentation about theSchool and its admissions process, it was my turn to field questions from the audience and toanswer them from the vantage point of someone who had successfully negotiated the myriadpitfalls associated with applying to a top US business school.

Most of the questions went along expected lines, but there was one that I found ratherprovocative but quite relevant It went somewhat like this, ‘What chance does a normal personlike me, who is not an IIT graduate, have of getting into one of the top five business schools?’

The question was greeted with a fair amount of good-natured and polite laughter, not in theleast, I suspect, because the vast majority of the aspirants in the room were indeed IIT graduates.

If you too, dear reader, are an IIT product, then let me assure you that you have a clear causefor joy Even though the MBA admissions process is very competitive and calls for systematicand sustained hard work from each applicant, no matter how qualified, it is my personalobservation that the odds are somewhat in your favour (for those statistically inclined, I ammerely implying a correlation, not causality) I am yet to undertake a scientific study on this butfrom my subjective, personal experience this is what I have found—if you meet an Indian whohas secured admission to a top MBA school, you can safely assume that s/he is an IIT graduateas well.

And I am not alone in my belief During my first week at Stanford, the one phrase that Iinvariably heard from classmates and the faculty when I introduced myself was ‘Oh! You arefrom India? How wonderful! So, which IIT did you go to?’ It will also be of great comfort to youto notice that both the very accomplished authors of this wonderful book are also IIT graduates.

But what if you, dear reader, like the inquisitive aspirant from the Taj ballroom, does not havea pedigree to boast of? Do you give up hope? Do you pre-conclude that a top school is beyondyour reach? Do you make more productive use of your time applying to lesser schools?

Heed my reply well: If I could do it, so can you Consider this—I graduated from a ratherunknown college of Kerala Even there, I was not the best student in my class After college,until I started my MBA programme five years later, I worked as an IT professional, one among amillion other Indians who could claim the same distinction Neither of the two firms I worked atduring this time was considered the top IT company even within the country And even then, Icould count many among my peers who were ahead of me at what I did Turning now to myMBA application, the first time I hurriedly put together an application package, even I found itso dishearteningly mediocre that I decided against sending it, choosing instead to spend another

year polishing it Probably the only thing I had going for me was a rather decent GMAT scorebut these days an acceptable GMAT score is little more than a hygiene factor.

So what makes the difference? Surely some amount of providence; but in these matters, youhave to make your own good fortune, and work yourself into a position where luck has a chanceto help you out In addition, it takes a lot of personal commitment, thorough preparation, blindoptimism and tons of good advice.

You have surely heard by now that the secret to a strong MBA application lies in the fact thatevery applicant is truly unique And this is true Each individual is the owner of unique talents,strengths and experiences—a unique story—that can potentially differentiate the applicant in theeyes of admissions officers from the best of schools The beauty of the US MBA admissionprocess is that it offers each applicant, especially through the MBA essays, an opportunity to telltheir story in their own style An opportunity to let their personality shine through A chance tohighlight their strengths and to explain away shortcomings To market To influence Topersuade.

A story well told can make all the difference, but it takes deep introspection, infinite patienceand a good measure of writing skills As I am fond of pointing out to all those who seek myadvice—I spent just one night writing my Stanford essays, but I spent six months prior to thatagonizing over what to write.

In 1998, when I was putting together my application package, for the most part, I had to findmy own way around the MBA admissions landscape and there were not many signposts out thereto show me the way I clung to every book that I could get my hands on, to every Web site that Icould Google up, and to every word of advice that was handed out to me Also, over time, I wasable to build up a rather effective support group—from friends and friends of friends, who hadgone through the process before (with mixed results) and were extremely candid and generous insharing their experiences, to distant cousins in the US who recommended books, to familymembers who spent long hours brainstorming about my essays.

In the final analysis, my approach may have yielded results, but looking back, it was veryinefficient as well Sadly, even today, I find that most applicants go through the very samewasteful process of discovery that I went through years ago.

Why hasn’t someone distilled all the information, learnings, experiences, checklists,motivation, optimism, advice and signposts into a single, handy reference manual?

At long last, a couple of enterprising authors have done just that Together, Mohit andHarindran have pooled their own successful experiences and those of other successful applicantsto produce a book that will take you right from the ‘Why?’ of applying to a top MBA programmeto a detailed analysis of the ‘How?’ And they have done that in a crisp and lucid style that makesfor compelling reading They speak with informed authority and every foreign MBA aspirantwill do well to pay close attention to what they have to say.

Kiran ThomasMumbai, India

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In 2005, when we embarked on the journey of putting this book together, we had the simple aimof sharing our experiences with others, telling them our story and showing that a top businessschool is within reach, if the approach is planned well We explained the process in detail, theway we saw it And we were happy to be of some help to fellow applicants.

We are glad that our book came out just at a time when the tide was turning There has beenan unprecedented surge in applications from India and the number of admissions to the topbusiness schools has increased like never before in the last 2 years People of Indian origin nowaccount for 5 to 15 per cent of the total intake at the top 5 business schools of the world Ofcourse, we were not the cause of this upsurge, but we surely happened to be a part of this Andwe would like to remain a part of this trend by helping more aspirants achieve their dream ofstudying at a top business school through this book.

This new and updated edition strives to emphasize that there is no one answer to the question:How to break the MBA admissions barrier and make it to the world's best business schools? Ittries to show this through additional essays from successful applicants in the current classes atbusiness schools like Harvard, Wharton, Michigan (Ross) and so on This book also stresses onthe belief that you can strengthen your profile and overcome your weaknesses if you plan welland execute them with sincerity It points to the fact that one can still make it against all odds, bybeing spectacular in at least one part of the overall requirements, be it academics, communityactivities or work experience There is no substitute for the quality of time and effort in puttingtogether all the pieces required for a successful application Finally, it is all about a belief inyourself and your ambition to get there We would only like to emphasize that every situation isunique and there is no right answer, just the right approach.

We got great feedback on the first edition from both current and future applicants This hashelped us a great deal in improving this edition We hope to get the same response this time as

well We would like to engage with you, the readers, as much as possible, and would try and

incorporate your feedback and suggested changes towards making the future editions moreenriching and helpful You can write to us at mh.pearson@gmail.com

We wish all of you great success in your endeavours, and hope that you make it to one of thetop business schools and make us proud And when you do, write to us and let us know; wewould love to hear from you.

Mohit JainM Harindran

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Why an MBA Degree?

It seems that the more civilization progresses, the wider the gap becomes between the haves andthe have-nots in terms of the relevance and importance of higher education, which is gettingcommoditized everyday At the time when our parents were still students (the 70s and early 80s),a bachelor’s degree in arts or sciences was considered enough for practical purposes like gettinga well-paying government or a private job, marrying the girl one liked, and living happily everafter People with a master’s degree, including those with an engineering or a medical degree,made up the intellectual elite of the country, and let’s not even discuss the MBAs and the Ph.Ds,who were few and far between.

Fast forward to the current times, and you can barely hope to get good job with a master’sdegree in arts or sciences Engineering and medical degrees have replaced the minimumqualifications required for most well- paying jobs, not in letter but in spirit MBAs are availabledime a dozen with little knowledge of business or its administration Specialized education hasbecome the mantra of the new age For a high position in an organization, you need to have amaster’s degree with relevant specialization, sometimes from an overseas university Mostmanagerial positions require the candidate to possess an MBA and it is difficult to convince thehiring manager that your experience makes you suitable for the job, even in the absence ofnecessary qualifications In times like these, when talking about the relevance of an MBAdegree, one needs to emphasize the quality of this education and the reputation of the instituteoffering the degree much more than the degree itself.

Apart from the reputation of an MBA institute, many other factors add to the rush for the topseats at major business schools Training fresh recruits by putting them through an intensive in-house training programme that will give them the specific skills required for the position is nolonger widely practised MBAs are expected to have learnt it all at the programme and be able todeliver from day one Soft skills such as the ability to influence people, manage teams, negotiatewith clients are as much required to be learned beforehand as the technical skill sets of finance ormarketing functions Finally, people are being left to fend for themselves in the new age, which

means that you need to look after your own career interests—the cozy days where corporatesappointed mentors to groom their carefully chosen ‘stars’ are long gone These days, stars needto be born at business schools and hence, it is all the more necessary that you go to a place whichoffers you the right kind of environment for personality development, imparts the required skillsets, and puts you in touch with the people who look out for stars.

Having said all this, it is not, of course, mandatory for everyone to have an MBA degree Mostpeople involved in business and trade do not study beyond a basic degree, for they learn the rulesof running a business on the job and are able to do a good job of it Then, there are entrepreneurslike Bill Gates who have that one idea which is able to break out of the clutter and which allowsthem to call the shots, with or without a degree.

An MBA degree is viewed by a lot of people as a springboard to success as it helps one infinding gainful employment and a good lifestyle It offers an opportunity to work either formultinational corporations in positions of influence or even take one’s own business to heights,and allows one to be respected and be recognized in society.

WHAT’S YOUR REASON?

MBA degree is a flexible degree and can be moulded to suit one’s particular requirements suchas developing managerial skills or specialization in a function such as finance or marketing.There are many reasons which are most commonly used and abused to justify the need to do anMBA Some of the common reasons to do an MBA are:

Career change, to a different function, in a different company/country

Advancement in current line of work in terms of position or pay or both

Shift from being on the managed side to the managing side of the company

Requirement of a well-paying job which needs an MBA

Acquirement of skills to start and run one’s own business

Building network to expand own business and to build credibility

To get the brand name of the programme as a measure of intellectual capital

Of course, the list is far from exhaustive, but it includes the most common reasons There areother ways to classify these reasons such as those given by some of the business schoolsthemselves—‘developing the leaders of tomorrow’ and ‘helping one to identify the innercalling’—which present a different perspective to the degree seekers.

A TOP MBA PROGRAMME: WHATTO EXPECT?

Consider a top MBA programme to be a boot camp It will keep you on your toes; load you withseemingly never-ending amount of study material (through an innocuous list of recommendedreadings) on top of regular assignments and projects, which in turn ensure that you operate thenext two years in a constant state of sleep deprivation You will be forced to participate indiscussions and be prepared for the occasional embarrassment You will need to learn andappreciate the importance of interpersonal skills and dynamics through study groups where youwould collaborate with people from all over the world and all walks of life, who, by design,

maintain a point of view usually different from yours Finally, while doing all this and more,such as going out and attending parties, drinking copious amounts of coffee and beer and arguingabout the pros and cons of still being single, you are supposed to look out for summer internshipsor final job opportunities, network with recruiters and alumni, attend lectures and get-togethersand, of course, attend all the classes The overall effect is of living life in a state of suspendedanimation or virtual reality where everything seems to have speeded up so as to test your abilityto cope with it What comes out of the boot camp is a human product, easily recognizable by hisor her specific skills and attributes and the affable charms of a survivor.

Among the specifics, a good business school programme would cover most of the keybusiness-oriented topics like finance, accounting, statistics, economics, marketing, which cannotbe mastered in any one job, except in the instance of running your own business The programmealso helps students to learn, in a short span of two years, advanced skills that can otherwise takeyears on the job It allows the students to experience and understand the different functions of abusiness process in their entirety and as parts of a related and interdependent system It helps thestudents learn the different strategies employed by companies and their response to successesand failures The programme readies the student to make informed decisions and to leadbusinesses in a global economy while also providing the benefits of mentoring and careerguidance through a network of alumni spanning the globe.

A good MBA programme is identified by the following attributes:

A well-established admissions process ensuring top quality talent with superior intellect as aregular feed into the programme.

A motivated and confident student body with a tremendous will to succeed.

A strong emphasis on concepts developed through theoretical simulations and aided withpractical experience through projects and internships, ensuring that people are able to putknowledge into practice when required.

A focus on personality development through coaching in communication and interpersonalskills, and development of ability of people to work well in teams and collaborate with eachother for larger success.

Development of a global perspective, an understanding of how various business functions worktogether for the smooth functioning of an organization, and an ability to analyse the causes andeffects of business decisions.

Ability of the students to deal with time and performance pressures and to deliver the bestperformance in a highly competitive and driven workplace.

High expectations of students with regard to pay packages, designation, and career growth afterthe completion of the degree.

A very strong focus on advancement of one’s own career, with a strong emphasis on work ethicsand code of conduct.

You gain a lot throughout your career by associating with a top-ranked MBA programme Itgives you access to multiple career resources and to the alumni network at all times, both ofwhich provide significant help in the advancement of your career interests The contacts youbuild during your time at school will provide a lifelong support, both in your career as associatesas well as in life as friends Finally, it allows you to be a part of the intellectual elite, the few whohave attended a top-ranked programme, which is a proclamation of your varied abilities.

The aspects mentioned below highlight as to how, in many ways, it helps to have attended atop-ranked programme.

Brand Value Recognition

An association with Harvard or Stanford gets you immediate recognition as a capable personbecause of the reputation of these programmes, known to admit the best and the brightest fromaround the globe These universities are known across the world and it is easy for people to makefavourable impressions of their alumni based on the brand value.

Alumni Network

A top programme that attracts students of high calibre also develops a wide alumni base withpeople in positions of power and influence in all business sectors such as public, private and non-profit as well as government bodies and organizations These people, more often than not, turn tothe same institute when they need to hire people or scout around for top talent because they areconfident of the quality of students at the institute It always works to one’s advantage to be apart of a reputed institute with a strong alumni base.

Career Choices

A reputed MBA programme is a guarantee that the most sought-after organizations such asinvestment banks, consulting firms and others would be open to your application These optionsare not available to everyone, for these firms look for the best and consequently hire only at top-notch colleges and universities They usually have limited opportunities for lateral placements,since they like people to grow within the organization Again, a top programme provides theflexibility of a career change at a later stage in one’s life with the help of contacts and alumninetwork along with the fact that a degree from a top institute endorses your ability to succeed inany field.

Finest Education

A top B-school not only attracts the best students but also the best faculty and researchers owingto the superlative intellectual standards Schools like Stanford and Chicago GSB boast of Nobellaureates as faculty, which attracts bright students Students benefit from the current researchbeing carried out by the faculty while the faculty gains by having access to some of the bestbrains to test a lot of their theories through simulation exercises and class discussions.

Higher Pay

It can be seen from the placement statistics of various business school Web sites that thedifference between average salary of the graduating class of a top school and a school rankednear the fifties is between 50 to 100 per cent Add to it, geographical factors and the impact ofeconomic cycles (which surprisingly have had almost no effect on the top five business schoolsin the last twenty years) and it is crystal clear that top business schools are a considerably safeinvestment, proven to deliver better results than their peers.

JOB PROSPECTS AFTER MBA

As an MBA, you can be hired anywhere and everywhere, from a general manager’s position to aspecialized role in analysing derivate yields However, traditional employers at top businessschools have been the Fortune 500 companies, investment banks and firms in diversifiedfinancial services and consulting firms In recent years, there has been a significant change in theprofiles of employers with the entry of technology companies, start-up firms and non-profitorganizations A significant number of graduates are also venturing out with their own businessplans funded by a stream of venture capitalists MBAs are also being hired by government bodiesto manage their operations efficiently and sometimes to even manage the election process Theoverall mix of employers varies from year to year, depending upon the state of the industryconcerned, with the major share of hires still taken up by the financial services and consultingfirms Increasingly, people are looking at opportunities to relocate to their home countries,particularly developing nations such as India and China, where the promise of economic growthand hence, career advancement is higher than that in the developed nations such as the US.However, as various surveys on recent hiring trends in the industry have shown, it is largely thesalaries and the work profile that determine the decision of an MBA to take up a certain positionover others that are on offer.

DO YOU REALLY NEEDIT?

We have discussed the most common reasons for getting an MBA as cited by prospective andcurrent students If you identify with one or more of those reasons, then by all means go and getone for yourself It is an investment in yourself, which will only help you, no matter what line ofwork you chose as a career It will help you make informed choices throughout your life and youwill develop skills and abilities which will help you keep on top of your work and life at alltimes.

We suggest that you reflect in isolation, without any external influences If you decide to joina programme because it is the ‘in’ thing to do and everyone else you know has an MBA, thenyou might be making a very big mistake because it reflects a clear lack of understanding aboutyour individual strengths and weaknesses as well as goals in life Getting the degree has got lessto do with things happening and more with making them happen If you do decide that it willhelp you with your career progress and add to you as a person, then please continue to explorethe various types of programmes and choose the one that best fits your lifestyle and yourrequirements Make sure that you make an informed decision for it’s a significant investment,mostly to be made only once in your life It would help to gain the maximum out of theprogramme and the experience.

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The MBA Programmes

The MBA degree is offered in many variations depending upon your specific needs, such asMaster of Business Studies (MBS), Master of Business Economics (MBE), Master ofInternational Business (MIB) and so on However, the original MBA is offered mainly in threekinds of formats The first is the full-time MBA, which typically takes two years at mostAmerican business schools and one year at most European business schools Variations to theabove are offered, for example, by the one-year MBA at Kellogg School of Management atNorthwestern University in the US and the two-year programme at London Business School inEurope Then there is the part-time MBA more suited to those people who want to study for anMBA degree while they continue working These degrees are usually funded by their employers.Finally, there is the executive MBA for senior managers who want to gain a deeper knowledgeof a certain function and, hence, require a very focussed and short-term course aimed at fillingthe need-gap between current knowledge and required skills Specialized MBAs focussed onmarketing or finance are not much in vogue these days but have been discussed in some detail inthis chapter Lastly, slowly catching the fancy of people in developed countries is the onlineMBA programme, which concludes the discussion in this chapter.

FULL-TIME MBA INTHE US OR CANADA

This is the most popular and traditional MBA programme Many universities in the US offer thisand the student bodies in these schools are relatively young, with the average age of the enteringclass being around 27 to 29 years (We know that is not exactly ‘young’ by Indian B-schoolstandards, but relative to other programmes around the world, they surely are.)

Students in these schools have typically worked for four to five years after graduation Thereis also a portion of students with advanced degrees (mostly a master’s, and on rare occasions, aPh.D as well) Though most of these programmes used to admit students directly aftergraduation a couple of decades ago, the trend is now towards admitting students with greaterwork experience However, this does not rule out admission for a younger candidate—some topschools believe that talent can be spotted early and encourage even college seniors to apply.

Owing to the intensity of the programme, life during a full-time MBA is hectic and brings atwo-year hiatus in one’s career This could mean reverting from a cushy corporate lifestyle to atougher student life, running up a substantial education loan and probably sacrificing family lifefor the sake of education.

However, on the positive side, a two-year full-time MBA offers significant interactionbetween the students and the faculty This could be a boon if one is thinking of changing one’scareer path The second year in most of the US full-time MBAs is highly flexible and you canchoose the subjects that you want, thereby honing your skills in the areas that you want (about

half the total number of courses in a typical programme are elective) This is one advantage thatother MBA programmes cannot match.

The professors who normally teach full-time MBA classes in the US also do a fair bit ofresearch Some of them are consultants to the industry, and spend time working withcorporations on industrial research projects This exposure to the latest management ideas worksto a student’s advantage.

The total cost of attending a two-year MBA programme could range from USD 80,000–130,000 Hence, financial aid and scholarships can be two of the most important criteria forIndian students More information about this would be available in Chapter 14 which deals withfinancial aid and other related aspects.

Table 2.1(a) Basic Information on Select MBA Programmes in the US

Table 2.1(b) Basic Information on Select MBA Programmes in Canada

FULL-TIME MBA IN EUROPE

The European version of the full-time MBA is mostly of shorter duration (typically a year,though there are exceptions such as the London School of Business which offers a two-yearprogramme) and is, therefore, more intense than the US one Bulk of the coursework that ishandled during the first year in the US is rushed through in a semester of three months This isbecause most of the students are more experienced and have a better understanding of thesubjects before they enter the programme The average age in these European MBA programmesis around 29 to 31 years.

These programmes are known to teach more of soft skills (courses on leadership, teamworkand interpersonal skills) than hard skills such as accounting or finance These schools also have ahigher percentage of international students as compared to an American MBA programme.INSEAD in Fountainbleau, France, for instance, has more than 85 per cent of its class comingfrom countries other than France As against this, a typical US MBA programme has only about30 per cent of non-US students.

A drawback of these programmes is that functional specialization or a change in career (e.g ifyou want to move from marketing to finance) is very difficult, mainly on account of the shortduration of the course However, for professionals with significant work experience, this couldbe a great option as it means lesser time away from work as also lesser total cost Most of theseinstitutes have excellent connections with the industry—making placements a very successfulaffair This is a very good option for those who wish to take up jobs with European companies.US firms with significant international presence such as some banks and consultant firms alsorecruit in large numbers from these schools.

Table 2.2 Basic Information on Select MBA Programmes in Europe

Source: BusinessWeek, 2006 and Financial Times, 2007

PART-TIME MBA

A part-time MBA, as the name suggests, allows students to hold a fulltime position at theirworkplace and attend the MBA classes over a period of three or more years However, it haslesser number of subjects per term than a full-time programme A part-time MBA allows you tohold a job and earn money as you study If you are lucky enough, you could get your employerto fund your MBA studies as well.

These advantages are however offset by the demands placed on your time—handling both afull-time job and the workload of an MBA programme could be too much for the less initiated.Your classmates would be from the same area as you and this reduces the diversity of the classand, therefore, the learning experience Networking through your fellow students for jobs isdifficult as little time apart from the classroom time is spent together.

Placement services, again, pose a problem as most of the schools focus on their full-timeMBA programmes rather than on the part-time ones.

Table 2.3 US—Part-time MBA Programme Rankings

RankPart-time MBA Programme

1New York University (Stern)

2University of Chicago

3Northwestern University (Kellogg)

4University of California, Los Angeles (Anderson)

5University of Southern California (Marshall)

6Georgia State University (Robinson)

6University of California - Berkeley (Haas)

8DePaul University (Kellstadt)

9University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Ross)

9University of Maryland - College Park (Smith)

Source: U.S News & World Report, 2005

In the context of Indian students, the returns from a part-time MBA programme are not worththe effort if it is not from one of the top ten to fifteen programmes Else, you would be better offattending a full-time course; the commitment would definitely be greater, but so would be thereturns.

EXECUTIVE MBA

These programmes are for those who cannot leave their current jobs and have location-relatedconstraints It offers flexibility by way of weekend classes and a course schedule that can betackled along with a full-time job The average age of students entering these programmes isaround 32 to 38 years The acceptance rates in these programmes are higher, in the range of 20–40 per cent.

For prospective students from India, this is a very distant option as most executive MBAprogrammes are not considered to be full-time courses and do not lead to a degree The mainpurpose of these courses is improvement in skill levels and qualifications within the context ofcurrent job Most of these programmes also require sponsorship and letters of support from youremployer Apart from being very heavy on the pocket, executive MBA programmes are notusually associated with good placement services or a good choice of electives So unless you arewith an organization you would love to work with in the future and which is ready to sponsoryou, an executive MBA becomes a very difficult proposition.

Table 2.4 US—Executive MBA Programme Rankings

Source: Financial Times, 2006

The more reputed universities and their respective programmes are listed in Table 2.4 Manyof the popular rankings rank executive MBA programmes separately These rankings can be usedin the same way as the full-time MBA rankings (refer Chapter 4 for interpreting rankings).

The executive MBA is a fast-growing field and many universities have established tie-upswith management schools in other countries to cater to the requirements there For instance,Kellogg conducts joint executive MBA programmes with local management schools in Israel,Germany and China It makes good sense to check the latest developments in this field beforechoosing a particular programme.

SPECIALIZED MBA

Specialized MBAs are being increasingly offered by some B-schools to cater to the needs ofstudents who have already made up their minds about their area of specialization after MBA.While most of these schools offer specialization in the second year of the curriculum, some

schools have combined regular MBA curriculum with special courses in other fields Examplesinclude the dual degree MBA programme offered at CMU (the two-and-a-half-year MBA-cum-Master of Science in Computational Finance) or the three-year JD/MBA programme at Yale.

Table 2.5 US—Specialized MBA Programme Rankings

Source: U.S News & World Report, 2005

Areas of specialization offered by various universities include finance, entrepreneurship,marketing, technology and non-profit Various MBA rankings give a separate list of the topMBA programmes For candidates who know clearly the area of specialization they want, it is agood idea to look at the specialization rankings rather than overall rankings The differencebetween the two can be stark, as is evident in the comparison in Table 2.5.

ONLINE MBA

Nothing can replace the gruelling schedules of classes, compelling arguments during casediscussions as well as the study-group assignments and the fun-filled years of attending abusiness school in person It’s an experience of a lifetime, where people make friends, learnskills, develop themselves and go back, equipped to handle the toughest of problems, handlemergers and acquisitions and lead corporations However, with the paucity of time and the needfor qualifications taking up most of the mental space, the format catching on really fast is theonline version of the programme, offered by several well-known universities around the world.Notable among them are the MBA programmes offered by the University of Phoenix and theUniversitas 21 Global MBA, which is a consortium of 17 top MBA programmes around theworld Rankings have recently been compiled for these programmes as they gain in popularityworldwide You should check these programmes out in greater detail to find out more about thecourses offered and the costs as well as the timelines for completing the course This format

offers an easy route for those looking for a global certification obtained without theaccompanying hassles of relocation to another country for obtaining the same.

Table 2.6 Online/Distance Education MBA Rankings

Source: Financial Times, 2006

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Choosing the School

The decision of choosing the right business school is not easy to make but it can be simplified bythe process of elimination An MBA is a once-in-a-lifetime investment It is, therefore, vital thatyou select the best possible school and, that too, one that ties in with your specific needs.

The above two reasons, though seemingly alike, are at the core of the process of making theright choice The first reason would be dictated by the well-known objective parameters used by

various publications such as BusinessWeek and U.S News & World Report to compile their

rankings of top business schools around the world These include perceived reputation, therecruiters’ choice, starting salaries, number of jobs offered to students, the quality of education

and so on We will discuss the same in detail in Chapter 4 The second reason is much morequalitative in nature and depends mostly on your ability to judge your specific needs andexpectations from an MBA programme We will discuss these aspects of the decision-makingprocess in this chapter.

KNOW YOUR EXPECTATIONS

Before you progress any further, it is very important to answer the question: Have you foundyour own reason for getting an MBA degree? In Chapter 1, we discussed some of the mostcommon reasons for getting an MBA We suggest you to go back to Chapter 1 and go throughthe reasons given in it, once again It is not important for you to conform to any of those listed;you might have your own reasons guiding you towards your goal.

Once you have a convincing reason, use it as your looking glass to determine the programmesthat best suit your needs A very simple but effective method is to write down the various reasonsin their decreasing order of importance on paper List only those factors which are important toyou in specific detail They could be anything from starting your own business in technology(and if possible, more specifically, like in IT or biotechnology), or living in the sunny weather ofCalifornia or going to Harvard because your family has a history with that school and it equalsprestige as well as tradition Whatever they are, once you list them down, you will have a veryclear idea of the most important factors which will then help you to arrive at a prioritized list ofbusiness schools for yourself Keep this list with you throughout the process as a guide to avoidgetting caught in the rankings game or in making a wrong decision influenced by the look ofbeautiful Web sites, well-designed brochures and admissions presentations.

Finally, it pays to remember that as a qualified applicant, you are an important prospectivestudent to all good business schools They will try their best to attract you and, in the process, allof them will appear more similar than different in their class composition, average GMAT scoresand other such statistics It is, therefore, up to you to carefully research the schools to be able tolook beyond the obvious clutter of statistics and arrive at a list which fits your reasons Once youstart the search, you should embark on an iterative process The better you understand yourneeds, the more relevant will be your search through the programme descriptions and studentprofiles to understand the intrinsic nature of the business school and its students The better youunderstand the cultural differences, the more will you identify with one set and hence, will suitand modify your reasons to pursue an MBA accordingly In the end, you will come up with veryspecific needs based on your personality and a list of programmes that best serve your needs,which is the intended goal of the process.

RESEARCHINGTHE PROGRAMMES

We suggest the following methodology to be followed by prospective applicants for researchingthe various MBA programmes:

1.Develop a general understanding of the various types of MBA programmes (Chapter 2) and readabout the MBA programmes, school classifications and rankings, available from various sources,

a few of which are BusinessWeek, Forbes, U.S News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal A

discussion on them in Chapter 4 will help you understand how to use the information given inthem better A list of recommended readings is also given at the end of this chapter However,for the sake of convenience, we recommend the above publications as they are easily availablethrough Internet subscriptions and provide a wealth of information.

2.Once you develop an understanding of the various programmes, we suggest that you use the listof reasons for doing an MBA compiled earlier to help you select a few schools at first glance.This selection would be governed by the strength of your reasoning as well as your conviction inthem However, you should be able to shortlist a few schools at this stage at a more generallevel, conforming to your expectations We suggest writing to all the schools in this list at thisstage asking for information brochures to be sent to you to help in your decision-makingprocess.

3.Now go through the criteria listed below to fine-tune your list of programmes Not all the factorsmight be important for you but you would find that some of these would apply to your selectionprocess and would help you refine your thoughts A few other factors are not considered byapplicants, which is a mistake because they are equally important They include theeffectiveness of career services of business school in placing its international students as well asthe diversity of student body which aids significantly in the overall learning experience You willneed to consult the Web sites and brochures sent out by the schools in your preliminary list atthis stage.

1. There are some factors, which are applicable to all business schools that you need to

take care about, and these are also among the first to be used for differentiation evenby the institutions.

Brand Recognition and Reputation The school should be reputed in the field that

you want to specialize in or otherwise in general management It helps to look atrecruiter surveys presented by the publications mentioned earlier, to determinewhich schools are preferred by companies of your choice.

Class Size Small schools are highly selective, offer a close-knit atmosphere and

are preferred by students Larger schools offer a greater selection of optionalcourses, expert faculty with a larger number of tenured professors, access to largernumber of recruiting companies and are preferred by prospective employers.

Location Depending upon the type of programme you choose, you would want a

location suited to your lifestyle and convenience For part-time students, thelocation should allow easy commuting from their home as well as workplace Forfull-time students, it is a choice between big city or a small town, the weather,proximity to industry clusters for choice of employment opportunities and livingcosts, all of which also have an implication on the quality of life For somepeople, the location also needs to offer employment opportunities for theirspouses, good schools for their children as well as an acceptable level of sociallife One also needs to consider the location with respect to the safety offered bythe neighborhood for oneself and the family This information is best supplied bythe current students attending the programme and living in or near that locality.

Infrastructure On-campus housing that offers both dormitories and apartments,

transportation for commuting to the convenience stores, parking, exercise and

fitness facilities, a well-developed library, online services with exhaustivesubscription to reputed journals, Wi-Fi or Internet access on the campus,computer centre and printing facilities are the typical considerations a candidateshould bear in mind.

2.The programme needs to be analysed in detail, using the points mentioned below, tounderstand if it offers all that you need and more, or is it more of show and less ofactual substance.

Design of Programme This has been discussed in detail in Chapter 2 during thediscussion of the types of programmes, which are one-year, two-year, part-timeand executive MBA However, the number of terms offered in a year should alsobe considered because higher number of terms allows a greater range of coursesto be taken Besides, they have the added pressure of examinations and lack of in-depth course coverage This decision is usually based on personal comfort leveland the need for practical training or live projects in case of those who areplanning to change their careers or gain advanced knowledge in specific areas.Finally, the guest lectures, lectures by visiting faculty and talks by seniorexecutives from the industry, whether built into the programme or organizedthrough various clubs and student bodies, are important considerations to build arelevant perspective for some students The MBA programme at the ColumbiaBusiness School refers proudly to the accessibility of industry leaders and theirinvolvement with the students enrolled in the programme as one of its importantfeatures.

University Advantage A big university offers the advantage of courses offered in

other departments, like the life sciences or biotechnology department, which canbe taken as electives It would greatly help a person to opt for such courses inorder to build a career in a particular field However, the business school itself isthe final authority on such courses that can be taken and usually puts a limit onthe total number of credits allowed.

Joint Degrees Many business schools, especially university-led ones, like The

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Kellogg School ofManagement of Northwestern University, offer a dual degree option for MBAstudents The preferred combinations are JD-MBA offered with the law school ofthe university, MBA-MD with the School of Medicine, MBA-MS with the schoolof engineering and MBA-MA with the faculty of arts and sciences Furtherresearch on these programmes is left to the students who wish to pursue the same.

International Scope Courses with relevance to international business practices,

emphasis on learning a foreign language, visits to other countries and meetingswith business leaders and government officials, industry-led projects andexchange programmes with other universities are the various methods by whichthe programme assumes international character and allows its students to take upjobs in different locations around the world Specific MBA programmes like the

one offered by the Thunderbird School of Global Management offer a degree ininternational business while others stress the international nature of theirprogramme through any or all of the above offerings Again, one needs tounderstand the scope and evaluate a personal fit to decide on the programme inthis case.

Curriculum Some programmes offer preparatory courses in calculus, statistics,

computer proficiency and languages to help you get to pace before the programmebegins Core courses are required to be taken in most schools, but some schoolsallow you to opt out by taking electives and completing the credit requirements,on showing proof of proficiency in the course at some level during your studies.The advantage of compulsion comes during cases when those who know thesubject well are able to lead the discussion and help others appreciate the finerpoints A few programmes offer courses aimed at developing soft skills likecommunication, teamwork, and so on Leadership skills and ethics are two suchcourses and their variants are to be found at all top business schools One mightwant to look at the electives offered in greater detail in case one’s interest istowards building depth in a particular concentration or even a generalmanagement focus with an exposure to a wide variety of topics It is alsoworthwhile to see if the school allows you to take enough number of credits fromnon-business courses with other departments at the university Finally, theintegration of live projects, guest lectures and industry exposure through visitsand meetings with executives, into the curriculum makes for a far more enrichingand intensive business-school experience.

Learning Experience Teaching methods vary between schools Harvard and

Darden have been known to favour predominant use of the case method whileschools like Chicago are more tuned towards lectures, projects and classdiscussions Most schools, however, use a combination approach of all thesemethods Teaching quality is a reflection of the experience of the faculty and theirinvolvement in research which allows them to share new information withstudents and sometimes even involve students in some of the ongoing projects.Most schools allow students’ feedback on the teaching skills of the faculty, anddecisions like tenure and promotion of the faculty are affected by the quality ofthis feedback Some schools, like Kellogg, allow for student initiatives andinvolvement in improvement of existing course structure and even introduction ofnew courses Top schools typically involve substantial workload and it is higherat those involving case-based teaching, simply because looking up thebackground material is left to students and is not factored in the teachingschedules Eighty-hour work weeks are common in the first year in most businessschools, also because people take time to get used to the culture and to settledown It is comparatively relaxed in the second year as electives are suitedaccording to need and allow for an easier pace A difference exists between thosewith good pre-skills such as quantitative skills and others, the so-called ‘poets’,who struggle to find their feet in such courses Hence, one needs to analyse one’sstrengths carefully before choosing a programme which is intensive on

quantitative skills and requires a basic level to do well in classes Lastly, a smallerclass size would allow you more time to air your views and get more time withprofessors Larger class size allows greater interaction between students andhence, more scope of learning from others’ experiences and helps to develop astronger personality as they vie for airtime to present their views on any topic.Most students prefer small to medium-sized classes for the opportunity it offers tointeract more frequently in classes.

3. Understanding and taking into account the importance of your suitability to the cultureand the people of the business school of your choice can make a huge difference

between two thoroughly enjoyable years leading to career success and greatrelationships; and two years spent wondering what made you do what you are doingand wondering about the higher purpose of life.

Faculty It is difficult to expect all universities to be loaded with Nobel laureates.

Stanford and Chicago boast of 3 each among current faculty It is even moredifficult to find a professor who is able to manage high-quality research and lotsof publications in journals of international repute; consulting assignments withleading industrial concerns in his/her area of expertise; and spending time withstudents engaged in intellectual discussions and clarifying their doubts regardingthe course-work Desirable as it may be, students should be realistic in theirexpectations and understand that with star faculty, they would get considerablyless time to interact Hence, one should never base a decision of attending anyparticular school because of a few noted researchers, for if it is not possible foryou to enroll for their classes due to any reason, then the purpose of joining theschool will get defeated You should discuss the situation with the currentstudents in any school and take their feedback with regard to accessibility of thefaculty as well as their teaching prowess Also look at the faculty to student ratioof your choice schools because the lower the ratio, the better are the chances offrequent interactions with faculty as well as close friendly relations like thosefostered by smaller schools, like Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.We advise applicants to make the effort and not completely rely on the publishedstatistics on Web sites and brochures.

Students This is the single most important factor for you to consider, in our

opinion, when selecting any particular school You learn more outside the classesduring discussions with your fellow students, who come from all walks of life andall types of professional backgrounds, than during the lectures It is important toconsider if your background fits when applying for a technology-oriented schoollike Krannert School of Management at Purdue University or Tepper School ofBusiness at Carnegie Mellon University, for you might find it difficult to adjust tothe technical discussions compared to those with a technology background whofeel at ease during classes and outside them If you are from a liberal artsbackground, generalist programmes such as Duke might be a much better fit witha higher proportion of ‘poets’ The more diverse the student body, the higher theexperiential learning during the course of the programme and, hence, you mustlook at the percentage of women, minorities and international students along with

the countries they represent Their average age, GMAT scores and number ofyears of work experience is indicative of whether the person next to you in theclass would be able to add to your knowledge or not Pay close attention to thenature of coursework at school If it involves teamwork and you prefer to workalone, then you might not be a good fit for such a programme Some schoolsfoster competition between students through relative grading, forced curvegrading and grade availability to prospective employers Others prefer to cultivatea feeling of competitive excellence through case discussions, while maintaininggrade non-disclosure policies to alleviate the fear of students You need to feel atease with other students to get the maximum benefits in the long run, for thesepeople would be in your network and you would end up helping each other yearsafter passing out from the school Hence, it is very important to feel at home withthe predominant student body culture of your choice school.

Alumni As a future alumni, it is really important to understand the dynamics of

the alumni relations as maintained by the institute for it can be a source ofimmense competitive advantage, such as that claimed by Harvard BusinessSchool It is not just enough for a B-school to have a large alumni base, it is alsoimportant to maintain active interaction with them, for they can serve as guidesand mentors for students during their studies as well as career search and be linksto prospective employers or can be employers themselves To judge theeffectiveness of alumni relations of any school, look at the money raised by them,the percentage of alumni who donate and their active participation in mentoringcurrent students Tuck, for instance, has an alumni giving-rate upwards of 60 percent, more than the twice of any other top B-school.

Staff The career services centre at any school is managed by staff personnel at the

school as are the administration and other related departments It might beworthwhile to consider staff responsiveness as well as dedication to helpingstudents at your choice schools before making a decision It might help you avoida lot of frustration at a later stage, when you might be caught up in bureaucratichassles which might make it difficult for you to effectively manage your jobsearch or affect you in any other manner This information is again best collected

from the experiences of current students at any given school BusinessWeek uses

it as one of the factors in their ranking criteria and you might be able to get moreinformation by a close look at the results.

4. Career prospects at any school are also important to be analysed Some factors that

influence them are:

Recognition of the brand value of a school as one providing top-quality talent tothe industry which attracts top employers to hire graduates year after year fromthe same school.

Quality of students and their pre-MBA backgrounds, which provide a goodnetwork option to aid in your search and helps you to get in touch withprospective employers.

Well-known faculty and their involvement in consulting assignments withindustrial concerns of repute, which might be interested in hiring the graduatesof the programme.

A strong and active alumni network maintained by the school.

An efficient career services department at the school which helps students indeveloping résumés, mastering interview techniques, negotiating salary andbenefits package with employers, tapping the alumni database relating todifferent sectors and making information readily available on past trends onhiring by companies, which are regular visitors to the school This can also beknown by seeing which schools are rated high by recruiters for a well-managedrecruiting process.

Geographical location of a school allowing for a higher interaction withprospective employers (such as Stanford being based in the heart of the SiliconValley).

However, everyone—the students, alumni and the career services departmentpersonnel—agree that in any given year for any given school, the maximumnumber of job offers emerge by the efforts made by the students themselves withthe aid of networks and active search through the job listings given out by majoremployers Keep this factor in mind, which differentiates these business schoolsfrom the likes of the Indian Institutes of Management where campus recruitmentis the norm Some of the top schools do offer opportunities for campusrecruitment but they are limited in number as well as dictated by the perceivedspecialization, such as finance for Wharton.

2.You should now look at the final list of programmes that you have with you, which fit best withyour most compelling needs to get an MBA We hope that the analysis presented earlier wouldhave helped you in the process of fine-tuning your list to contain only those schools which, ifadmitted, you would be sure of attending At this stage, we recommend the following:

1.Speak to the alumni of the school, working or living near you The names of thesepeople can be easily obtained by contacting the respective schools.

2.Read all the articles available in various publications and on the Internet on the variousschools in your list.

3.Write to student organizations and clubs pertaining to your interests in these schools Itwill help you to get in touch with a few current students who would be able to give youan insider’s perspective and answer various questions that you might have about theprogramme as well as career opportunities.

4.Check the Web sites of your preferred employers and check if they are hiring at yourchoice schools Some employers like Mckinsey have special staff members dedicated tospecific schools This would take a lot of effort and hard work, but you would come outpretty sure about your chances of working with a particular employer hiring at theschool of your choice.

2.If you have the resources, we suggest you visit the campus of the schools of your choiceand get a feel of the culture, student body and academic environment of the place.However, given the hassles in getting visitor’s visa and the significant cost of such travel,

this is a discretionary option The Internet and publications, like this book, are resourcesintended to make the decision-making process much simpler and easier on the pocket.

THE IMPORTANCEOF ‘FIT’

The above discussion must have impressed upon you the various factors needed to be consideredwhen making the decision of which business school to attend On a closer look, you wouldrealize that all we have said above is that it is you who need to figure out what matters most toyou and look for the same amongst the various programmes The ‘fit’ factor needs to be over-emphasized here It is the most important criteria to make the decision which would take up twoof the most productive years of your life (opportunity cost) and a significant investment of yourpersonal resources It is more difficult for those who will attend school with their families andhence need to find an atmosphere conducive to the well-being of their loved ones Allprogrammes might offer a good degree, but would all fulfill your specific needs, focus on yourdevelopment and ensure a state of general well-being? That is the key question to which oneshould seek relevant answers and also avoid getting caught in the trap of great selling stories andbrand-name presentations You would benefit most from the place where you will be happy andwill have fun, where you will ‘fit’ in.

HOW MANY APPLICATIONSTO SEND?

All the effort made till this point to get that list of schools ready is your answer to the simplequestion in the heading to this portion of the text A good candidate typically would considerbetween five to eight schools based on his/her requirements The divide between the applicationsis such that generally two applications are made to ‘safe’ schools, another two to fourapplications go to ‘reach’ schools and one or two applications are made to the ‘dream’ schools.You would be sure of an admission at ‘safe’ schools with your GPA, GMAT and workexperience profiles being much above the average of the class At a ‘reach’ school, yourapplication would be competitive as your profile would be similar to the class average Dreamschools are worth taking a shot at even though your profile might not match up to the classaverage because everything depends on the execution of your application and a well-developedapplication might land that coveted admission into your pocket It is always better to apply to across-section of business schools so as to maximize your chances of getting an admission as wellas to utilize every possible opportunity of making it to a good school The factors that should beconsidered are:

1. The choice of schools in your list: If you have a strong profile, then applying to only the top five

schools might be a good idea However, if you are sure that you want to start the programme inthe coming session then it’s better to apply to some reach and safe schools along with thedream ones.

2. Quality of applications: It is important to devote time to each of your applications to have a

realistic chance of making it through to a programme at a good business school If you startearly, you can prepare a framework which might help you through the entire process and dojustice to five to six schools Bear in mind that most applicants need to complete the entireprocess while working full-time.

3. Cost of applications: Applications require a fee to be submitted along with them and it might

become prohibitive to apply to a large number of schools Atop-rung school has an applicationfee upwards of USD 200 these days.

4. The start date: The timing of your decision to apply will have a bearing on the number of

applications that you can make to the schools of your choice The deadlines may have passed forsome of the top schools or you may only be able to squeeze through round three, which mightnot necessarily be the best idea.

THE POINTSTO REMEMBER WHILE MAKINGTHE DECISION

Summary of the above discussion on the selection process to apply for choosing your ‘type’ ofbusiness school is given here.

1. Start early: If you wish to attend business school in fall 2009, we suggest that you start the

process in March 2008.

2. Know your reasons: Understand the reasons for doing an MBA and be as specific as possible.

Write them down.

3. Shortlist schools: Based on your reasons, select the schools that best ‘fit’ your needs and your

4. Use rankings carefully: Do not read too much into the rankings Look at past trends and

collectives to identify programmes high in prestige as well as those best suited for yourrequirements.

5. Information about schools: Use brochures, Web sites, information sessions with admissions

staff and news articles as a means to gather information about schools and substantiate theknowledge by checking with current students Do not draw hasty conclusions.

6. Be flexible: As you go through the process and understand it better, your reasons to do an MBA

might change through your exposure to the information This should lead to a change in yourcriteria for assessing the schools and should lead to a change in the final list of schools Be open-minded and flexible about the process as it is an iterative one.

7. Make efforts: Find out about the career services department at your choice schools and

compare their efficiency as well as track record at helping international students Look at yourpreferred recruiters to see where they are headed for prospective employees.

8. Find the best fit: The top rankings, the best faculty and the brand value become inconsequential

if you are not happy and comfortable with the culture of the programme that you are attending.Look at fellow students, curriculum, class profile, and so on, to make an informed choice aboutyour ability to become a part of the culture of the place.

The final decision about how many and which schools to apply to, rests with you Ourrecommendation is to make an informed choice, keeping in mind factors which are important toyou from a long-term perspective The immediate or short-term gains of attending a low-ranked,cost-effective programme vis-à-vis enrolling at a top-ranked programme are lost in the mediumterm itself, as you realize that this is one degree which travels with you and speaks more aboutyou than the person introducing you at a conference of business leaders Plan to spend these twoyears at a place which will provide you the maximum return on your investment in terms of jobs,brand value, alumni network and a great life on the campus As we said earlier, look for theproverbial ‘fit’ and go with it.

Recommended Readings for Further Information

 Richard Montauk, How to Get into Top MBA Programmes

 Omari Bouknight and Scott Schrum, Your MBA Gameplan

 Alan Mendonca and Matt Symonds, ABC of Getting the MBA Admission Edge

 Alex Chu, The MBA Field Guide

 George Bickerstaffe, Which MBA?

 John A Byrne, Business Week’s Guide to the Best Business Schools

 Godfrey Golzen, The Official MBA HandbookRecommended Web Sites

The Internet is a storehouse of information but one needs to learn to use it well Be sure of thesource of information so that you get a complete and accurate picture of the admissions processas well as the various programmes Given below is a list of some Internet Web sites whichprovide the most reliable information related to MBA programmes.

Discussion Forums

Various discussion boards are active on numerous chat-rooms, a feature provided by many Websites, where prospective applicants, current students and admissions officers interact on a regularbasis However, one needs to be careful regarding the use of information presented in theseforums Most of the times, the information reflects subjective views, which might not relate toactual facts, but still give vital information These forums have been known to create panicsituations with regard to the admissions process and most recently, have been used as a means tocommunicate a method to access admissions information posted by various schoolsat www.applyyourself.com, before the formal announcement by the schools This led to a well-publicized controversy, details of which can be easily obtained We, therefore, advise a cautioususe of, both, judgment and restraint in using this particular resource The most popular forumsamongst the student community are listed below:

‘Wharton s2s’ is maintained by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Business school forums maintained by www.businessweek.com

The forums at www.mba-forums.com, www.pagalguy.com and similar other ones.

Student Blogs

Blogging is the new-age mantra for MBA wannabes You may or may not know the identity ofthe blogger but quite a few people have written extensive guidelines for applications to businessschools on their blogs You can access most of the business school-related blogs

through http://mbaleague.blogspot.com, which is a list of all the current blogs relating toapplicants or current students at business schools around the world Again, judgment as well asrestraint is required to be exercised, since the blog would predominantly contain the views andexperiences of the writer which might not necessarily be related to actual facts in all cases.table of contents

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Business School Rankings

There is a lot of data available in the form of the brochures of business schools, Web sites,articles from various publications as well as books and you need to start from somewhere inorder to make sense of the information overload This is where you need to look at the suggestedrankings of business schools by various renowned publications mentioned in Chapters 2 and 3.These rankings serve as a guide to understand how the various programmes stack up against eachother on various parameters You can make your own rankings by combining the results of thevarious parameters that are important to you from the figures quoted by some of the surveys

conducted by BusinessWeek, U.S News & World Report, and others You will also be able to see

the rankings of programmes all over the world such as those in the US, Europe, Canada andAsia However, sometimes it might be inappropriate to directly use the rankings and arrive at aconclusion, let’s say, between the US and the European programmes which are of differentdurations and involve different costs Another factor, which is usually considered for theunofficial ranking of programmes across the world, is the prestige or the brand value of theprogramme as understood by people We advise you to talk to a lot of people (friends,colleagues, current students, even bosses) to get their perceptions about the top programmes It isall the more important for international students planning to return to their country in future, tounderstand that some programmes have a higher brand equity than others and would stand themin a good stead in their own country due to better recognition of the programme.

RANKINGS: WHAT DO THEY REALLY MEAN?

A number of rankings for business schools are published every year While these rankingsinfluence the overall opinion about the programmes, one must recognize that they are not thefinal word It is wise to take into account what these rankings have to say, and also use your ownresearch and judgment to plan your strategy for applying.

Rankings from the following publications are the most widely used ones:

 BusinessWeek (www.businessweek.com)

 U.S News & World Report (www.usnews.com)

 Financial Times (www.ft.com)

 Forbes (www.forbes.com)

 The Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com)

Any ranking is determined by the criteria that are ultimately driven by human judgment—including who to survey, which criteria to include and how to accord weightage to each of these.Rankings change from time to time and the ranking lists that are mostly referred to are general innature, that is, they do not separately rank schools for different criteria While this presents anoverall picture of the school in question, it may not help answer specific questions that you mayhave It is better, therefore, to supplement overall rankings with functional rankings (such as

those in BusinessWeek and U.S News & World Report) as well as conduct in-depth research of

the programme to see how well it suits your needs.

Popular rankings from the sources mentioned above have demonstrated inconsistencyovertime and more so, across different sources Consider the top five schools in these rankings:

U.S News & World Report Ranking (2008)

1.Harvard Business School

2.Stanford Graduate School of Business

3.The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania4.MIT Sloan School of Management

5.Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University/Chicago Graduate School of Business

BusinessWeek Ranking (2006)

1.Chicago Graduate School of Business

2.The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania3.Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University4.Harvard Business School

5.The Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

Financial Times Ranking (2007)

1.The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania2.Columbia Business School

3.Harvard Business School/Stanford Graduate School of Business4.London Business School

Wall Street Journal Ranking (2006)

1.The Ross School of Business, University of Michigan2.Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College

3.Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University4.Columbia Business School

5.Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

Forbes Ranking (2005)

1.Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth

2.The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania3.Chicago Graduate School of Business

4.Columbia Business School5.Yale School of Management

A total of 13 schools have been ranked in the top 5 by various business school rankings! Thisis only one pointer to the degree of variation that exists in the process of rankings.

U.S News & World Report and BusinessWeek—the most well-known rankings—have beenpublished for more than ten years Rankings from the Financial Times, Forbes and The WallStreet Journal have come out recently U.S News & World Report’s ranking is generally

considered the best ranking because their system is the most transparent and their rankingsalways come closest to peoples’ perception of relative prestige There are three schools which

have been ranked at Number 1 by U.S News & World Report in the last ten years—Stanford

Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School and the Sloan School of Management atMIT.

Yet, none of these three schools have ever been ranked Number 1 by Business Week Instead,

the only schools to achieve the top position in its ranking are the Wharton School of theUniversity of Pennsylvania and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

While the Financial Times has only been publishing rankings for the past three years, it also uses

relatively transparent criteria, and is respected as a ranking (with some caveats) The onlyschools to hold the Number 1 position in its ranking have been Harvard and Wharton.

It would not be a wise idea to rely too much on the numbers that are published by oneparticular source The ultimate purpose of ranking is to help you target the right B-schools andthe right kind of MBA programme for you and not to decide for you which B-school is the bestand which not.

The best strategy is to supplement rankings with your own research about the schools.Remember, a better-ranked school need not necessarily get you a better job or a higher salary.

UNDERSTANDINGTHE SYSTEMOF RANKINGS

The key reason why prospective applicants need to be a little wary of rankings is the sheer rangeof criteria that go towards determining why a school should be at the top and why another shouldbe at the 27th.

However, there are some common determinants of rankings, such as GMAT scores, earningpotential, recruiters’ views, and yield rates, which act as great aids in directing us to our dreamschools.

For instance, Financial Times combines around 20 factors in ranking the world’s top 100

programmes, notably, students’ career paths, diversity of experience and research quality of theschool While these serve as good indicators, especially when comparing schools acrosscontinents, there are certain inherent risks as well.

For example, salary comparisons across regions are standardized by considering the relativepurchasing power of the various currencies However, the sizeable differences in tax structures inthese locations are not considered Similarly, other subjective factors like alumni satisfactionlevels are considered Conversely, some other factors like diversity indicators (women andinternational students, percentage of alumni working abroad, etc.), qualifications of faculty(doctorate/research publications) appear to be too objective and may not contribute significantlyto the quality of education, image or recruitment profile of the school The weightage accordedto the factors is also unscientific and open to debate.

BusinessWeek’s bi-annual ranking of top B-schools is an eagerly anticipated event because

their methodology is simpler, with a clear focus on the two critical target groups—the studentsand the recruiters A third measure used to round off the surveys is an index of the intellectualcapital of the schools, evaluated by the number of publications by faculty in leading journals andmagazines However, low participation by a school in the survey would significantly impact itsrankings; conversely, using current students to evaluate their own school intrinsically means thatthe responses are subjective.

U.S News & World Report’s annual rankings offer a more scientific method of ranking—a

fact borne out by the degree of consistency in the rankings themselves over the past few years.The publication essentially looks at three main factors—reputation, placements and keyadmissions criteria for the schools These further consist of sub-factors like average salaries ofthe graduates, percentage placed within three months of graduation, student GPAs, GMATscores, and yield Perhaps the major scope for potential bias lies in the reputation factor.

The Wall Street Journal is a relative newcomer in the rankings business April 2001 saw the

first WSJ rankings published However, this has yet to gain real credibility among prospectiveapplicants, primarily due to the large variances seen between schools’ rankings year on year.More importantly, rankings like No 10 for Stanford and No 13 for Harvard while CarnegieMellon’s Tepper School of Business swept in at No 2, do much to further the sceptics’ point ofview.

Forbes uses a focussed mechanism for ranking schools—return on investment They compile

data on the graduates’ salary over a five-year period since they left B-School This is thencompared against their investment-cost of tuition and the opportunity cost of the pre-MBA salaryforegone with assumed increments The discounted return is then used to rank the schools Thisis a good thumb guide, but then by this logic, it would almost always make sense to go to aEuropean school with a one-year programme rather than a Harvard or Stanford.

DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH

This section enables objective evaluation of certain aspects to create a sort of ranking from theavailable data across various sources to arrive at a list which speaks for itself In Chapter 3,something similar has been discussed but it helps you research the business schools based onyour priorities from a subjective point of view, according to your specific needs.

2.Alumni Presence

oSome American schools such as Wharton have a more active alumni presence in Indiaand hence a better local reputation Researching the strength and influence of thealumni network in the location that you would like to work in is definitely useful andwould help you avoid decisions that you might regret a few years after graduating.

oDiscussions with alumni from the schools you are considering is a good starting point forthis.

2.Faculty and Curriculum

oTypically the top 10 US MBA schools have faculty who are reputed in their respectivefields.

oSome schools offer specialized major options or are stronger than other schools in aparticular major For instance, Chicago GSB is reputed to have better specializationoptions in finance than other schools with similar reputation.

2.Teaching Method and Learning Environment

oDifferent schools have different methodologies Look for what you are comfortable with—e.g Dartmouth is more collaborative while Chicago is more individualistic; Harvard ismore case-based and MIT Sloan focuses more on underlying principles rather than oncases themselves.

2.Class Composition

oUp to half the class in Harvard has a liberal arts or social science background Likewise,MIT has a strong presence of engineers—up to 40 per cent This can help in ascertainingwhether the programme is the right ‘fit’ for you.

2.‘Selectivity’ and ‘Yield’

o‘Selectivity’ is the percentage of applicants that receive offers of admission at anyschool ‘Yield’ is the percentage of students who accept offers of admission These twomeasures when used together give a good idea of the quality of a programme Whileinterpreting these numbers, one needs to remember that some less prestigiousprogrammes have high yields because of a highly targeted audience and that the top

MBA programmes are definitely competing with one another for many of the samestudents In other words, the single biggest reason for someone turning down an offerof admission from any one of the top schools is an offer from another top school Sincethese sought-after candidates receive more offers of admission, their choice of schoolscan be used to assess the quality of each programme.

DETERMINETHE BEST SCHOOLFOR YOURSELF

There are a few ways to temper the wide variations that exist in the popular rankings We shalldescribe two of them here.

The most commonly used is averaging of ranks of business schools, as brought out by variouspublications Table 4.1(a), (b) and (c) explains this method.

One of the most apparent advantages of this method is that it evens-out advantages andactually produces a consolidated ranking Another is that if you include newer rankings such as

that of Forbes or The Wall Street Journal and construct a more exhaustive table, the results will

not be too different from what they are right now for the top 10 schools.

The other method is to identify how many of the major rankings have included a particular

programme in the top 5 or top 10 or top 15 For example, if we take BusinessWeek, U.S News &World Report, Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal, the results are as follows:

The top 5 schools in three or more of the five rankings:

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Harvard Business School

Stanford GSB

Chicago GSB

Columbia Business School

The following schools feature in the top 10 of three or more rankings:

Kellogg School of Management

Table 4.1(a) ‘Selectivity’ and ‘Yield’ Figures for Some US B-Schools

Table 4.1(b) ‘Selectivity’ and ‘Yield’ Figures for Some European B-Schools

Table 4.1(c) ‘Selectivity’ and ‘Yield’ Figures for Some Canadian B-Schools