Hi,
I recently took GMAT and plan to join an MBA in 2005 fall. Now, I know that I am joining an MBA next year, but the problem is the plethora of options available around the world and I would really appreciate if you bright guys can help me a little bit.

I m pretty sure that I m not the only one around with this profile,

1. 4.5 yrs in IT more than half of it in USA (still here until I get into a B School in 2005).

2. Consistently among the top rankers, BE grad from REC Rourkela.

3. 710 GMAT score.

4. Married with a CA/CS, no children.

I am in a major dilemma regarding the choice of destination and school and have a few questions that I would really appreciate someone to answer,

1. I would prefer a 10 to 14 month course, is it at par with the standard 2 yr courses ? Example, ISB, HEC Paris, INSEAD, other European MBA's.

2. Finance is a major problem, so I guess I would prefer Indian B-school ? ISB ?Is it a good idea?

3. For some reason I believe that there are better Scolarship opportunities in France, is my feeling right ? Does anyone know of experience at HEC or INSEAD, Paris?
How easy is it to get a visa and Jobs for the spouse?

4. ISB ranks high in the list of schools where I am going to apply, but 15 lakh is not an amount that I could spend just to get an international experience in India, I would like to know if it is worth going to ISB rather than Europe or USA ? Worth as far as the leap in the career and salary is concerned.

I would appreciate if you could participate in the attached poll as well.

Hey,

Here is a view...

1) While 10-14 month programs are significantly better in terms of time, they may not be very different from the longer programs in terms of fees. The one year Sloan masters program at London Business School (only offered by MIT, Stanford and London Business School) costs as much as the 2 year full time MBA program. So do keep that in mind. The advantage will however certainly accrue through cost of living savings.

2) The choice of MBA should rely heavily of your proposed work destination. If you intend working in the US I would advise you not to rely much on European schools and even less so on ISB.

3) Several top ranked schools have financing arrangements with commercial banks or through their own endowment funds. It may help to identify schools which provide loans to international students.

4) I may not be the best person to advise on Scholarships in France but you should look at the websites on individual schools to identify the scholarship sources. More often than not, scholarships in themselves may not cover the entire tuition fees leave aside your cost of living.

5) Visa for a spouse is fairly easy if you can demonstrate that you have the capacity to support both self and your spouse. It is fairly easy for spouses to find work in the UK but not US, though I am not sure about France.

6) If you have any intentions of working overseas especially Europe or the USA, I would not advise you to go to the ISB.

Finally, as a current student at London Business School I would not be objective in participating in your survey. ISB is part sponsored by London Business School in addition to Wharton and Kellogg. The Sloan progam is a unique mid-management level program and draws students from across the world. Hope this clarifies my position.

Atul Monga
Forum Moderator

a_k150,

Atul is right. You should know that your wife, especially IF she's well-qualified, CAN WORK in the UK. IF your career interests mean the UK as a choice of future work-place, the best school that will really work those for you is indeed LBS. I'm not going to LBS so no conflict of objectivity here. IF you're working in the US and earning well, you might also qualify under the HSMP program to gain a work-permit independently, without having an employer sponsor your permit.

You are at the right age, your GMAT is good, and provided you show zero debt and, good earnings evidenced from your past, you should qualify for the HSBC loan program. Have a confirmed Plan A for your career and a close to fixed Plan B.

Among other schools, INSEAD is probably the world's best known really international business school, and you'll be happy to know Indians seem to do fairly well out of INSEAD. Evidence - 44 out of 50 Indians who graduated from INSEAD in Calendar 2003 ended up working outside India. IMD is very small, very specialized and places heavily into Industry (Non-MC / IB / PE / VC type roles), you've got to do your own research on the school, and attend the MBA Tour events in order to get a feel for it.

If your heart & mind are set on working in the US, shoot for the US Top 10. Nearly ALL of the Top 10 offer some sort of loan/financing scheme for Internationals. Remember though - that you will NOT qualify just because you're admitted to a Top 10. You'll have to provide them sufficient documentation to get the loan. In short, like all other loans.

Good luck.

Thank you both of you for your detailed and informative response. Would you be able to provide on some insight about ISB as well? All the responses that I find on the web kind of look biased and more of a fight between the ISB and the IIM guys.
I just want to know if you think it is worth going to ISB for someone with my profile, as far as placements and quality of lectures are concerned. I would appreciate if you could confirm that the much hyped ISB faculty are indeed international figures or just part time visitors and most of the lectures are covered by some mediocre faculty members?

Thanks in advance,
Aditya.

HI

ISB is not discussed at this Forum as this is specially for foreign Bschools. ISB related queries are answered by ISB alumni. chk following

http://coolavenues.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18

also see ISB related articles in Placements 2002, 2003 & 2004 section

presume you would have completed your mba by now. what did you finally decide and which school did you join finally? my spouse is considerign a 1 year international mba. I am planning to find a job in the same city. I have a few queries regarding the same.