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What students should look for in a B-School- 4-Nov-2009
- Ramesh Venkateswaran
This is the time you begin your preparation for the test which will change your course of life Common Admission Test, widely known as CAT. But this is also the time when you begin evaluating your strengths and set your expectations and goal in terms of the selecting the right B-school for you. With hundreds of options and a few dozen tempting names, the decision definitely gets tougher every year.
One has to be really careful about the B-school you choose since this will be the foundation of your professional life. Therefore, I suggest that instead of relying on a third party report on B-schools, you should do your own homework and determine the right match for you. In my opinion, the key factors one should look at should definitely involve the following.
Faculty
You are going to a B-school to learn, so it is critical that you have the best minds to teach you. You would reap the maximum benefits of a B-school when you interact with an experienced teacher. It is always better to have a good number of full time faculty as well as guest faculties from various industries to enhance the learning to maximum. The educational background of the faculty and their work experience could give a lot of insights for you to judge them on.
Your choice of B-school should be in line with the subject you want to specialize in. MBA is an umbrella degree that covers a number of specializations and streams. If you want to pursue a career in marketing, look for institutes which has a strong faculty for marketing, the industry perception and their laurels students have won in marketing related industry projects and inter college competitions.
I would suggest that you undertake a through research on the institutes offerings and decide which one suits your requirement. A B-school can be very well reputed and still might not be the best choice for a particular stream if compared to others. Compare different B-schools in terms of course content and teaching method and see which one is more in line with the industry requirements.
Placements
Most of you are joining the B-schools to sculpt successful careers. Generally a Bschools success is measured from its placement records. Although it does seem to justify the two years of hardship, there is more to it. Look at the pattern in the placements over the years. The number of companies visiting campus for placement year after year clearly indicates their faith in the quality of managers the school trains. The profiles of the companies and the industry they are in and the designations offered to the students, gives a clear picture of the institutes real strength in the market.
Alumni
The students who have passed out from an institute are their brand ambassadors. Most of the reputed B-schools around the world are well respected because of their alumni and their achievements as business leaders in their fields and their contribution to the economy. A strong alumni network also helps the institutes to grow and help their juniors to get good placements and worthy careers.
In the end, I would suggest that while short listing the B-schools, be realistic of your capabilities, strengths and limitations. You have to be clear on what you are capable of and what your course of action should be. Set your goals according to these factors and decide where you can grow and build an enriched career.
(The author is the Director of SDM Institute for Management Development, Mysore)
