The present article is aimed at helping you to pick the right B-school. This article is not meant for those who plan to go abroad for management education. Similarly, this article is also not meant for those MBA aspirants who manage to get admission offer in the premier B-schools of India. The list is well-known to all of us. We would like to only congratulate such students and wish them excellent professional life. However, a vast majority of MBA aspirants in India are not fortunate enough to make it to top grade B-schools. These students have to settle for self-financing private B-schools. Over the past 15 years, there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of B-school in this category.

Step One: Ask yourself: ‘Why do I want to do MBA / PGDM?

This is the most repeated FAQ in any personal interview. Most of you must have been trained by coaching institutes to handle this question in different ways. Please do not start giving these answers. We are asking you to make an introspection and address this question to yourself all alone. A vast majority of students want to build their professional career, knowing full well that they cannot make it to the top league. As you belong to this category you have to be very careful in picking up the right B-school as it is a question of your career.

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Step Two: At what price: Make a Cost-Benefit Analysis

There is a large difference among the private sector self financing institutions in terms of the fee charged. The fee for a two-year full time course of most of these B-Schools varies from as low as Rs.3 Lac to as a high as Rs.10 Lac. In India, in majority of cases, it is the parents who bear the burden of fee even at PG level. A small section of MBA aspirants avail bank loans as well; however, that too is guaranteed by the parents. So in this context, you must not only consult your parents, but also make an objective assessment of your parents’ capacity to pay. Even if your parents have the capacity to pay, do not just go for a high-fee charging B-School if the benefit does not match the cost. Most of you do calculate your ROI (return on investment) these days. Sometime, it is better to settle for a marginally ‘inferior’ B-School if the fee difference between two B-schools is too large.

Step Three: From Home or Away from Home?

This is another major issue which you must sort out in your quest for the right B-School. As in case of the fee, you must seek the advice of your parents in this regard. The benefits of being a day scholar are that you do not have to incur an extra hostel fee and other expenses which may be a little over Rs. 2 Lac or so during the entire study period.

Step 4: How do I verify the claims of B-schools?

This is perhaps the most difficult part. Every B-school flaunts the standard six parameters – state-of the art infrastructure, well-=stacked library; excellent computer labs; experienced faculty; most updated course curriculum and 100% placement. Education and healthcare are such services where we have information asymmetry i.e. the ‘seller’ knows more than the ‘buyer’ in these cases.

® Check the approvals and affiliations of the B-School thoroughly.

® Various popular magazines, newspapers, news channels and websites are also rating / ranking theses institutions.

® As far as possible visit the institution, particularly by public transport system.

® Check the website of the institution.

Step Five: Admission Cancellation and Fee Refund:

As per AICTE guidelines, an institution is bound to refund the entire fee (after deducting a nominal amount not exceeding Rs.1000/-) in case a student withdraws from the course BEFORE its commencement. The AICTE guideline is, however, silent on the time period within which this refund must be paid. In case, a student withdraws his admission after the commencement of the program, the fee refund becomes very tedious.

Compiled by – Dr. J. K. Goyal, Director, Jagan Institute of Management Studies Rohini, Delhi

Note: This is a sponsored article and has NOT been written by the PaGaLGuY Editorial Team. It is intended from an informational perspective only and it is upto the readers to research and verify the claims and judgements in the article before reaching a conclusion.