Is the meaning of MBA abroad gradually changing for Indian MBA applicants?

Those in the thick of the business think so. It is not just US b-schools that Indian applicants target now, but they are also exploring destinations closer to home. An increasing number of candidates are opting to take the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) after having tried their luck with the Common Admission Test (CAT). These candidates look for admissions into b-schools at Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Philippines apart from their application cocktail to Indian b-schools.

Those with work experience are increasingly weighing b-schools in US or Europe with studying at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad or the PGPX programs of IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore (if they have that much more work experience). These b-schools use the same GMAT score for admissions that US b-schools accept.

Sunil Vidhani, an IT professional working with Tata Consultancy Services in Mumbai has four years of work experience up his sleeve and after several attempts at CAT, Sunil has finally made his decision. My first preference is ISB Hyderabad. If I am not able to crack that, it is the b-schools in Singapore that I am going to pursue. The application process for them will begin soon, he says.

Why Asian b-schools? Sunil says, If I compared Asian b-schools with US b-schools, the cost is considerably lower in Asian schools. Secondly, the term of the course is longer in the US (2 years) but in Asian schools, the courses usually finish in 15 to 18 months. The schools in US might offer better jobs, but the money that one saves studying in Asia covers up for that.

The destinations in Asia that have emerged as the most popular among Indian applicants are the National University of Singapore (NUS), China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) – Shanghai, Asian Institute of Management (AIM) – Manila, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) – Singapore and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).

The Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC)Asian Geographic Trend Report for GMAT Examinees of 2009 reveals some interesting facts. According to the report, in 2005, 74.56% of the total GMAT takers from India had sent their score reports to schools in US. This percentage dropped to 55.97% in 2009. Whereas a considerable increase was recorded in the number of Indian candidates sending their scores to Indian institutes which was 8.44% in 2005 and 16.34% in 2009. The number of Indian candidates sending their scores to schools in Singapore also increased from 2.27% in 2005 to 6.71% in 2009.

Another interesting discovery of the report was that the list of top 10 b-schools to which Indian citizens sent scores to comprised ISB hyderabad, seven top US b-schools, London Business School and INSEAD – Singapore in 2005. In 2009, the list of top 10 schools included ISB Hyderabad, NUS, INSEAD – Singapore, LBS, four US b-schools and the IIM Ahmedabads PGPX.

Biruda Vikrud, a counselor for education abroad from Bangalore says that people are exploiting the similarity of the syllabus for CAT and GMAT to their advantage. There are candidates who have taken dates for GMAT right after the CAT testing window is over. This way they get to keep their options open in India and abroad, he explains.

Top among the reasons given for growing interest in Asian b-schools is the lower cost of the course. ISB charges Rs 22 lakhs for a one-year MBA programme while the IIMs charge around Rs 20 lakhs for their PGPX (but need higher work experience). At any of the popular b-schools of Asia, the fees for the entire course including the living cost is in the vicinity of Rs 20 lakhs. An MBA from a top school in the US would cost around $65,000 per year which would be close to Rs 60 lakhs for the entire programme.

The demand from Indian students is definitely on the rise. In my opinion, the demand is increasing because schools like ours are providing a global experience to students very close to their homes. Singapore is a global city and in our MBA programme which has an intake of 100, there are students from 27 countries, says Narendra Agarwal, the Director Public Affairs, NTU. He adds, Besides, connectivity to their home country is great. Singapore has around 150 flights to India every week.

Biruda adds, Looking at it from the job point of view, studying abroad gets you an international tag, which becomes an important part of your CV. With Asian markets becoming extremely important, global recruiters are responding well to these schools and Indian students get an advantage as they belong to one part of the continent and studying in another.

Arvind Lal, another applicant who will send applications to some of these b-schools soon says, I think the schools in Asia offer lesser cultural shock to Indians than those in US or Europe.

Do Indian b-schools consider the Asian b-schools as competition? VK Menon, Director – Admissions at ISB Hyderabad says, “Of course they are competitors, but they also complement us. ISB has a tie-up with three other business schools in Asia – CEIBS, NTU and HKUST. Under this tie up we do our marketing activities together. The reason for this is to capture as much international market as possible. The outreach cost abroad is very high and so is the cost of travel, PR exercises and advertising. Thus we join hands, share these costs and reach the target audience. Each of these institutes is strong in their home country and try to reach out to students in the other countries.