When you have decided to pursue Masters of Business Administration or MBA courses and have involved yourself in exploring the options, then it is a must for you to compare the prospects of doing an MBA in India with pursuing an MBA abroad.
However, for this, you need to compare many things like cost of study, placements, growth of salary, entrance examinations, etc. You need to observe several parameters while selecting the MBA course as well as the nation.
The positive aspects related to MBA
MBA is viewed as one of the highly sought-after courses that are globally acclaimed and also viewed as a highly reputed business degree. An MBA graduate is greatly demanded and so, for establishing a fulfilling career after pursuing an MBA, it becomes important for students to select the appropriate B-school.
The majority of the MBA aspirants or candidates happen to be confused regarding pursuing MBA in India or abroad. However, there are pros and cons attached to both choices and so, before you choose one, you need to consider some vital factors and also see how these MBA degrees do stack up against one another.
Comparing MBA in India with an MBA abroad
The detailed comparison of pursuing an MBA in India with an MBA abroad helps students in making concrete decisions that can do a lot of good to their career:
- Entrance examination for MBA – The highly prevalent entrance examination for MBA in India happens to be CAT or Common Admission Test. Numerous topmost Business schools in India, like the well-known IIMs, do accept students who have impressive CAT scores. After students have finished their written examination, they need to go through Group Discussion as well as Personal Interview. When students learn about the CAT notification, they observe important dates for CAT. Besides CAT, students can also sit for some well-known entrance examinations, like XAT, SNAP, NMAT by IIFT and GMAT. Students sit in these exams for studying PGDM and MBA programmes in the top Business schools in India. Students should go through the comprehensive schedule of MBA entrance examinations for the year 2019 academic session too.
Nonetheless, when students wish to take admission in a foreign university for pursuing an MBA course, they need to sit for GMAT and GRE that gets conducted based on rolling and provides aspirants a choice for choosing the examination data according to their convenience.
- Personal development and worldwide outlook at the time of pursuing an MBA – When students study abroad, they come across many benefits, like getting exposure to novice lifestyle and culture and they can get many opportunities also. It helps students to observe issues from various perspectives. Students will get an opportunity to learn an unknown language and have an interaction with various other international students. Additionally, students will also turn confident and independent and these things will end up broadening their horizons. These aspects also help students in diversifying their thoughts and so, students prefer to study MBA abroad as they won’t experience these things while they pursue an MBA course in India.
- The fees of MBA and price of study – The fees for pursuing an MBA is a significant factor that students never fail to remain mindful while they choose a B-school in India or abroad. When students pursue an MBA from India, then it becomes less costly than pursuing an MBA from nations, like Canada, the UK, and the US. For pursuing an MBA in India, students are needed to spend somewhere between INR 7.5 lakh and INR 25 lakh. On the contrary, an MBA abroad might cost students somewhere between Rs. 20 and 70 lakh. However, the cost of the study is largely dependent on the college or university where they have taken admission. Again, the living expenses in a foreign country will be comparatively higher in comparison to India. In this matter, students prefer to take education loans as they help students a lot. This is also important for students to access the ROI (return on investment) and select their MBA college well that is within their capacity.
- Work experience to pursue MBA – Many B-schools in India do accept students who have little or absolutely no experience of work in comparison to many universities abroad. However, many students who have impressive work experience can get admission to some reputed B-schools in India, such as IIM Ahmedabad, ISB Hyderabad, IIM Bangalore, etc. But, not every school does comply with this idea. Contrarily, the United States Universities prefer to have candidates who have work experience of nearly 2-3 years. Similarly, the top Canadian Universities too opt to take candidates or aspirants who have work experience of nearly 2-3 years. When students decide to take admission in the Australian MBA colleges, they require having a couple of years’ work experience. Hence, based on their point of life, students plan to pursue MBA courses either from India or abroad.
- The course structure of MBA in India and abroad – When students focus on the structure of the MBA course in India as well as abroad, they come across many similarities and differences. The course curriculum of abroad MBA takes a highly practical approach and there, students are provided with case studies involving different business identities. Additionally, they are also asked to propose their reviews on them. It aids students in understanding the method of applying things that they have already learned theoretically into the actual business practice. It becomes a highly engaging and interesting method in comparison to the many MBA programs that students learn in India. This is because the MBA programmes in India lay stress more on the theoretical features. However, with time, many business schools in India are making huge changes to their curriculum and also familiarizing students with new courses and concepts.
- The opportunities for placement – The process of placement in B-schools in India is comparatively easier because students get a chance to get interviewed with the reputed companies on campus. The interesting thing is some toppers get multiple offers at a few of the B-schools. But when the matter zeroes on the process of placement abroad, then things work pretty differently. There, students aren’t guaranteed a job. In abroad, students put their best efforts to get in touch with networks of their dream companies for bagging their desired jobs.
- The average salary of candidates after pursuing an MBA – When the matter comes to the candidates’ average salary, then you will find many differences between the packages that some top B-schools, like IBS, IIMs offer, and the top B-schools abroad. When a student passes out from ISB, he draws an average salary of INR 23 lakhs while students who pass from IIM-A can hope to get close to INR 25 lakh. Again, the alumni of the few reputed and prestigious universities abroad, like Wharton and Harvard might get INR. 78 lakh as their average salary.
| Parameters | Pursuing MBA in India | Pursuing an MBA abroad |
| Examination | IIFT, CAT, NMAT that GMAG offers, SNAP, GMAT, XAT, | GRE, GMAT |
| The fees of the course | Between INR 7.5 and INR 25 lakh | Between INR 20 lakh and INR 70 lakh |
| Average salary per year | Approximately Rs. 18-19 lakh | Approximately Rs. 45 lakh |
Note – The above figures are just estimates as they might differ from one college to another and based on candidates’ performance in academics.
Reputed Colleges for pursuing MBA in India
Below are mentioned few colleges that are popular for their courses on MBA in India
| College | The average package of salary for MBA 2020 (Approximately in INR lakhs) |
| IIFT (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade), Delhi | 20.48 |
| FMS (Faculty of Management Studies), New Delhi | 25 |
| SJMSOM (Shailesh J Mehta School of Management), Mumbai | 19 |
| XLRI (Xavier Labour Relations Institute), Jamshedpur | 24.30 |
| MDI (Management Development Institute), Gurgaon | 19 |
| NMIMS (Narsee Monjee Inst. Of Management Studies), Mumbai | 17.79 |
From where can students pursue an MBA has emerged as a pertinent question as it decides their future. Hence, before students enroll for any exam, they must observe the universities that are abroad and make comparisons with the B-schools in India before weighing their options.
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