International MBA versus Indian MBA – I

Before you start with the preparation, the first thing to understand is what are the things involved in an international MBA and whether it is suitable. Given the vast number of schools both in India and abroad let me be more specific about the range and ranking of schools that I am considering. For the Indian B Schools, it would be the ones in the IIM leagues while on the other hand for the international schools, it would be those ranked below top 25. Here are the arguments for why you should pursue an international MBA. Also, note that these are strictly my views and in no way proclaimed to be absolutely correct!

1. Diversity: You would be on a study group with a painter from Turkey, a consultant from a top-shot consulting firm in US, an investment banker, a serial entrepreneur in Israel and a writer from Russia. Imagine the arguments, the discussions, and team issues cropping up. Something seemingly trivial would seem very important to your teammate. You would be exposed to working with people belong to different cultures, nationalities, languages, industries, hobbies, genders and finally different mindsets and attitudes. The experience would break you free from your shackles and limitations of thought process and enrich your experience beyond the classroom. This great learning curve that happens beyond the classroom is a stepping-stone to your experiences as a future successful manager.
2. Alumni Connections: Needless to say, alumni of top international B school are very strongly connected. The schools view their alumni to be their biggest assets. Infact, one of the criteria during selection would be how well the student would contribute as alumni. One of the criteria for rankings (Nope, I don’t remember which of the several rankings) of international B-schools measures the maximum gift amount that has been given to the school by alumni. Because the students themselves are diverse, choose several fields, are spread across several nations and most importantly have a sense of community, you can tap into the network easily.
3. Brand Recognition: It’s quite obvious that you can use the brand of a top school for a lifetime. A few top schools may not be so well recognized in India as they are in US, but believe me, schools are doing a great deal to promote their brand in India. In a few cases, alums are taking up initiative in doing this. Even if a person in India does not recognize the name of the school, you tell him the rank of the school and a few contacts you know, you would get your job done (all right! It’s an exaggeration, I agree, but I hope you get my point).
4. Global Exposure: The global exposure that you gain would be immensely valuable. Please note that this is different from diversity. Diversity is more about what you learn because of your fellow mates, while global experience is related to your future career. The top schools would generally be in Europe or in US and these are the biggest investors in India. Several of them in today’s globalization want to shift or outsource things to India while some of them want to tap Indian market. For some of the IT companies, these nations themselves are the potential markets. On the other hand Indian companies want to acquire several companies in these developed nations and build a brand (you got it, for example Mittal). For these, you would be the best person. You have international experience with a solid Indian background. You would also be visiting different nations on field trips or in your internships. You would be able to understand the working culture, build important contacts and network and get insights into markets and trends, which would not be possible if you are in India. For those, who want to become Entrepreneurs, I guess you realized the importance.
5. Strong Industry Connections: In several of the top schools, their alumni who are now CEOs of several leading companies would discuss their cases with you. Its not just limited to alumni, but even several other CEOs. I know you are going to tell me who said it does not happen in Indian Schools. Well that’s why I said “Strong”. Indian B Schools need to improve a lot on this front.
6. Cultural Aspects: Please read my entire point before accusing me that I am undermining Indian Culture. I am proud to be an Indian and of course love India. What I mean to say is the culture out there does not “discourage” those taking risks. In India, you take a risk; you are viewed with skepticism and sometimes looked down too. (I am not taking sides, just giving my honest opinions). It’s changing, I agree, but long way to go. After MBA, you turn down a 12 lakh per annum offer and start your own firm - people wonder what is wrong with you. More so, with all the colleges publicizing their highest-paid salary each and every year, which is viewed as “the factor” for evaluating Indian B schools. I am not saying it does not make sense to earn well, because you want to lead a happy life. But taking risks on the way is discouraged by several social factors. In US, specifically, people take more risks. Although you would not be looked high and admired, you would definitely not be out-of-box.
   
   Having said all the positives, you must be wondering where is the caveat. Here it comes-
   

1. Cost: The biggest and probably the only factor would be the cost of an international MBA. Scholarships are very limited unlike in MS/PhD. You do not have time to take up assistantships or part time jobs. At the same time, the cost of an international MBA would be around 40-50 lakh (in some of the leading schools might stretch over 50 lakh too). Son of a Birla, cool. No? Are you wondering how old you would be while accumulating the money? Don’t go into the hassles of calculations. Many schools, typically below 15, have tie-ups with banks for loans and act as a guarantee for your loans. You do not have to go through the process of finding your far relative and sending him gifts and cajoling him to co-sign your loan. You get admission into these schools; you need not search for loans. For the remaining schools, you need a US co-signer to act as a guarantor for your loan.
   
   The other caveat is that the schools prefer experienced people. The average experience at the top schools is around 4-6. Also, scoring high on GMAT alone would not ensure that you get a seat in a top school. You need to have a good application in its entirety. You need to have a coherent application - a clear view of your goals, good career growth, good extra curriculars, social activities etc… It’s basically a risk/reward strategy. The more you can contribute to the school by adding to the diversity, you are preferred. At the same time, you should not be a risk to the school as in they should not worry about whether your quantitative skills are good enough and whether they can place you post mba. The lower the risk and the higher the reward, you are in. So, if you are a painter or an artist, great, prove that you have good quantitative skills, you have a greater chance than an Indian IT engineer with 750 GMATs. They look at you as a person, your interests, your team skills, your leadership qualities, your contribution to the community etc… The effort to prepare a solid application takes a lot of time – in fact could go to a couple of years too. But remember, in the entire process, you understand yourself better and are getting better organized and concentrated towards your goal. That is the beauty of the process!
   
   One point that I believe is worth mentioning, if you want to do an MBA internationally, do so from a reputed one (typically below 25) unless you have scholarship or you have been given a waiver or an institute is famous for a particular concentration specifically. The reason is you would be making a huge investment, which if you intend to take a loan and finish the loan by taking a job after your MBA, you need to get a well-paid job (at least the salary should be greater than that given for a technical entry job typically $60K). For the colleges ranked above 25, the placements are not that good and would take a long time to repay the loan. The average post-mba is very low; forget about your dream companies and your options. In India, you would be wasting a small amount of money. Additionally, if you go for schools ranked very higher (numerically), I have heard you might get into visa problems. I am not sure, but do check that out. Also, if you intend to go into specific fields such as strategy consulting in a company like McKinsey or gain entry into VC field, you might not be able to do so in second–rung colleges.
   
   
   Do check this site too as it mentions some of the points mentioned here (and a few different). Sowmya, the authoress, has explained several things further. An International MBA - Part 2