The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has not deterred students from pursuing graduation in Management. The current year has sown hopes for B-school admissions. A Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) survey has reported that over seventy-six percent of respondents would carry on with their graduation plans.
One would imagine people shying away from traveling during a pandemic. However, have MBA aspirants given up on admissions in their dream B-schools?
The ongoing pandemic has kept students away from their schools/colleges. The education sector recovered quickly by taking to virtual teaching/learning. Educational institutions across the globe have taken to conducting their lessons online.
However, aspirants in India do not view online learning kindly for an MBA program. The GMAC survey has shown that more than three-fourths of respondents would stick to their original plans for their management graduation.
The COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country seems to have worked favorably for MBA hopefuls at home. They feel confident of traveling safely to pursue their graduation in a B-school of their choice.
Where would MBA aspirants in India pursue their graduation?
The number one choice destination continues to be a B-school in the US. If travel restrictions continued, which location would students in India consider for their graduation in Management?
Please wait for it.
India is now the top destination after the US for MBA aspirants at home. Students in India have expressed their desire to study in a B-school in India, which is now the number two destination after the US for an MBA program.
While the one-year tenure of MBA programs in the UK had gained popularity for its short tenure, it has fallen out of favor for fear of losing on-campus time if the pandemic were to extend. Students have shown their preferences for residential or classroom-based programs to virtual ones.
India’s MBA aspirants have shown their location preferences in the GMAC survey thus:
|
Destination |
Preference percentage |
|
The USA |
32 |
|
India |
19 |
|
The UK |
16 |
|
Canada |
13 |
|
France |
7 |
How did the respondents react to the changing situation?
- One in three respondents worldwide is unlikely to alter their course, for example, a virtual program or a local institute.
- About 13% of the respondents prepared to travel would consider an alternative like an online program.
- 30% of those ready to study at home would look at online learning for their MBA.
- Some 68% of the respondents are eager to pursue their management graduation one way or another.
- 41% of the international respondents and 27% of the ones at home have expressed their concerns about the novel coronavirus’s ramifications on their graduate programs.
- 28%f of respondents in India would give online learning a thought.
- 30% of respondents in the country would instead study at a B-school in India this year.
The GMAC survey consisted of July to December 2020 data among 2515 aspirants worldwide, with 335 from India looking at the GME (Graduate Management Education) 2021 admission cycle.
- The demographic group in the survey had 35% female and 65% male aspirants.
- The survey had segregated three age groups – (1) under 24 years; (2) 24 to 30 years; (3) above 31 years
- Most respondents represented the STEM stream, followed by business/economics, and very few from humanities.
- Many of the respondents were looking at full-time one-year, or full-time two-year programs in Management. A few were seeking Masters, Executive, PGP, and Data-analytics.
The government’s vaccination initiative has sown a ray of light for MBA hopefuls who aspire to pursue their graduation in the US. Sangeet Chowfla, the GMAC CEO, praised girls pursuing MBAs despite the demanding rigors owing to the current pandemic in management graduation.
- 44% of the respondents would instead work for organizations that give them the freedom to travel across the world.
- 41% of those surveyed would look for work in a place other than the resident country.
- 40% of respondents sought senior positions in organizations.
- 38% of respondents were willing to reside in a foreign land.
- 36% of respondents sought executive-level positions in organizations.
Which domain did the respondents seek after their MBAs?
57% preferred working in consulting, followed by 48% technology, 29% financial services, 35% investment banking and asset management, and 27% consumer products.
The MBA aspirants’ sanguineness in overcoming the pandemic’s hurdles has brought much good cheer to the education sector. Let us hope this sunniness spreads across all sectors.
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