Ask Sameer Kamat | Author of 'Beyond The MBA Hype'

MBA
165
I have arnd 3 years of wrk experience rite nw..I am a 2012 fall aspirant..Have given Gmat and scored a 720(q49,v40)...
:
i am aiming for colleges..ISB,Stern,Ross,Anderson,Tepper,Emory..and to be on the safer side HEC,and Rotman...Is this list achievable ???

Just a little confused with your plans Suchit bhai.

Your comment on the How to finance your MBA PG post says you are trying for the CAT again.

Kya ho raha, sirji? Ethho clarifaai kijiye na gurudev.

- Kanphoojan?
166

Hi sameer,
I want to know about your views of Said Business Schools's MBA program.
Goal: To be part of an investment bank in sales and trading (preferably).
Profile: 3 yrs work ex in derivative trading, B.Tech IIT

167

Hi Sameer

You are doing a great job out here! keep up the good work! :)

Just a Basic Query regarding Letter of Recommendations... When is the ideal time to get a LOR from ur immediate supervisor/manager? For me getting LOR from the manager from previous organisation is not an issue but getting LOR from current manager without informing him that i am going to do an mba would be an issue. (Although getting LOR is not a problem as i share a great rapport with him. Its Just that i don't know if it makes sense to get a LOR first and then apply to colleges..) ...Kindly help me out with this Issue and brief me on the LOR process.

Thanks and Regards

My Profile:
GMAT Score:720
Work Ex: 3.5 Years in Finance Industry (Roles include Assistant Manager and Credit Analyst)
Acad Qualification: BE Comp Science CFA Level 1
B-Schools Target: ISB, HKUST, Tepper, Stern, Booth, Duke-Fuqua, Rotman

168
Just a little confused with your plans Suchit bhai.

Your comment on the How to finance your MBA PG post says you are trying for the CAT again.

Kya ho raha, sirji? Ethho clarifaai kijiye na gurudev.

- Kanphoojan?


Just thinking every possible avenues...will surely join any Bschool abroad if I will get some financial aid...40 lakh kahan say laauu :)..therefore asking you my chances..IS this college list realistic??
169
Hi sameer,
I want to know about your views of Said Business Schools's MBA program.
Goal: To be part of an investment bank in sales and trading (preferably).
Profile: 3 yrs work ex in derivative trading, B.Tech IIT

Double posting not needed, Aman-ji.

Oxford MBA is a good program. Strong Univ brand, many centuries of existence yada yada. The bschool is relatively new compared to many of the other established brands.

London is about an hour away from Oxford (just like Cambridge). So you'd have access to the big city opportunities. Having said that, the top bulge bracket investments banks are always tough to break into.

- Oxbridge Aspirations?
170
Just a Basic Query regarding Letter of Recommendations... When is the ideal time to get a LOR from ur immediate supervisor/manager?
:
Kindly help me out with this Issue and brief me on the LOR process.


The recommendation process is usually integrated with the MBA application process. Most schools have online applications and the recommendations can also be managed online. Also, each school will have a different format for the recos - some include ratings, some have subjective sections.

So it would not be advisable to rush into getting a standard recommendation at this stage.

Do it after you've shortlisted schools, figured out the deadlines and become familiar with the recommendation format.

- Referral woes?
171
suchit.pandey Says
Just thinking every possible avenues...will surely join any Bschool abroad if I will get some financial aid...40 lakh kahan say laauu :)..therefore asking you my chances..IS this college list realistic??
Factors such as age, experience levels and post MBA plans will rule out one of the two options.

So rather than spreading yourself too thin, you'll have to take a call and focus on one - either CAT or GMAT based programs.

- Des ya Pardes?
172

Hi Sameer,
I'm very confused and annoyed by my decisions. I think I have screwed up my life. I would be grateful to you if you could help me. My profile is 700 GMAT, Econ graduate, and 2 years economic reporting experience.
University of St Gallen's Masters in Finance program was my dream option. It has excellent industry tie-ups and career fairs. I was sure that with my CFA level 2, I will have an excellent career from there. Luckily, I was admitted to the program.
I contacted the current students and careers office to find about the placements and they informed me that in order to work overthere, one needs to speak German fluently. On going through job posting of UBS, CS, DE etc. I realized that not even a single job is available for non-German speakers. I felt dejected and helpless as i dont have a job now(Preparing for CFA June full-time) and I can't wait till next year. I cursed myself for not applying to a English-speaking country (my other application is Mannheim business school in Germany). I'm not in a position to take any decision and feel like a loser. I would really appreciate If you could advise me how i can get out of this situation.
( P.s: I know learning German is an option-but in 3 months I can only acquire basic skills whereas native-fluency is required).

173

Hi Sammer,

I am working in Capgemini, total workex around 26 months, BE 2008(69%) after BE there was drop for one year due to recession. 10th-72%, 12th-75%
I scored 88.61%tile in Cat11, got admission in FORE School (PGDM)New Delhi, but the problem is fees 11 lacs tution fees only, Tapmi waitlisted,
My dream was to get into top Bschool in INDIA but cud not able to make it.
Please suggest me should I go with FORE option, or should I drop the Idea of doing MBA and look for some certification like FRM,CFA..inorder to changfe my profile.I am very much confused , as I have to take decision in this week only.
Please help me out asap..

174
ronnie987 Says
I'm very confused and annoyed by my decisions. I think I have screwed up my life.
I can believe the first sentence, but you do realise that your second claim is technically impossible, right? Unless you have a really big and effective screw-driver.

My profile is 700 GMAT, Econ graduate, and 2 years economic reporting experience. University of St Gallen's Masters in Finance program was my dream option.
:
I contacted the current students and careers office to find about the placements and they informed me that in order to work overthere, one needs to speak German fluently.
Just trying to get the sequence here.

You left your job for CFA prep (and for Masters apps?) --> You found out about the language requirement after getting an admit

Is that correct?

I'm not in a position to take any decision and feel like a loser.
I'm not familiar with either, so can't specifically comment on them.

But if you haven't started the program yet, and if you are convinced that neither of the two masters degrees have much of a value for you, then you still have the option of taking up a job rather than be forced to take up either of those degrees.

That would be a much better option that going through the course hoping there'd be a miracle and then getting disappointed further because what you had heard from current students, careers team and from your own research were all true. Then you are deep in liability, and have no job.

I know learning German is an option-but in 3 months I can only acquire basic skills whereas native-fluency is required).
I worked for a German company after my MBA, and had a German crash course. I can tell you that 3 months is hardly sufficient for anyone to be fluent in a new language.

If you haven't decided whether you should go or not, focus on that rather than worrying about the decisions that have already got you into this situation.

- Sprechen sie Deutsch?
175
bhaveshdada Says
Please suggest me should I go with FORE option, or should I drop the Idea of doing MBA and look for some certification like FRM,CFA..inorder to changfe my profile.
Couldn't respond earlier. And considering I don't know much about this specific bschool (and in Indian bschools in general), my inputs wouldn't have mattered in this case.

Also not a good idea to rely upon discussion forums if the need to get a response is urgent.

You had to take a decision in a week's time. Which way did you go?

- Non-urgent decisions?
176

Hi

I am in a dilemma regarding which college to go for.

BACKGROUND :
3 years work ex in Ericsson and Nokia
BE in Electronics and Telecommunication from University of Pune 2009 pass out with First Class 64 %
75 % in 12th
91 % in 10th
670 GMAT

OPTIONS

IMT Ghaziabad Full Time : Established College with proven track record.
IIM Shillong PGPEx (Global MBA) : First Batch. 6 months in India, 6 months in China. Looks promising but uncertain.

Please help me decide.

177
I am in a dilemma regarding which college to go for.

BACKGROUND :
3 years work ex in Ericsson and Nokia, 670 GMAT
I don't have any experiene with these schools, as most guys who come to us aim for the Financial Times top-50 schools.

But ranking isn't eveything and there are tons of good schools beyond that range too, just that my knowledge is limited.

So you'll have to reach out to current students of these programs to find out more.

- Aiming for ranked schools?
178

Hi Sameer,

This is my first post. I normally don't really check out forums online when in need.
But this time I need some advice.
I am worried about the financial aspect of doing an MBA abroad. I need to know the ground reality as the expenses will be purely covered on loan.

As you have seen the other side and experienced it I would like to know it from you.

PS: I will read the book.:)

179
Hi Sameer,

This is my first post. I normally don't really check out forums online when in need.
But this time I need some advice.
I am worried about the financial aspect of doing an MBA abroad. I need to know the ground reality as the expenses will be purely covered on loan.

As you have seen the other side and experienced it I would like to know it from you.

PS: I will read the book.:)


You can also read this article... Might help.

The Mother of all International MBA FAQs: How to finance your MBA | PaGaLGuY.com - India's biggest website for MBA in India, International MBA, CAT, XAT, SNAP, MAT
180

Hi Sameer, my dream is to start a business on my own apart from my family business. Currently I am working in IT field and my age is 24 years. Now the point is that which way will be suitable having an MBA degree and then go to the market or directly go to the battle field?

181
pooja a Says
I am worried about the financial aspect of doing an MBA abroad. I need to know the ground reality as the expenses will be purely covered on loan.

Lunaticguy (dhanyavaad sirji) has shared the article which will give you the ground realities of funding.

The risk associated with an international MBA will always be several magnitudes bigger than a domestic MBA. So don't stretch your financial resources too thin.

Have a worst case scenario in place (e.g. if you have to get back to India, will your INR salary help you service the loan?).

If it means changing your choice of schools to those that offer more financing options, then do include those in your shortlist.

PS: I will read the book.:)
That's not a pre-requisite to post on this thread. So don't worry about it :-)

- What's tougher - getting an admit or financing?
182
Hi Sameer, my dream is to start a business on my own apart from my family business.
:
Now the point is that which way will be suitable having an MBA degree and then go to the market or directly go to the battle field?

How about launching your dream right now (on a small scale), learning the ropes and then thinking about an MBA if needed?

- Shortest, sasta and tikaoo route to dreamworld?
183

Hi Sameer ,

This is my first post in PagalGuy :)

I have almost 6 yrs of exp in Telecom industry as a Java Developer.
I want to change the stream.
Please let me know if writing GMAT and applying for ISB next year( by then I will hve 7 rs exp) is a good option or Can you suggest me some other options?

Thanks in Advance! 😃

184

Hello Sameer,

I've done my pgdm in marketing from IIM L. Got into an averagish job in Media. Watched my friends go into consult jobs. Now wondering if there is merit (meaning can I salvage my situ) and get a head start by doing a course in ivy league colleges abroad.
Decentish background
5 yrs work ex in media
Electronics engg. 80+ all my life - except L where i became six point someone
given my prev 99.65 in CAT - Confident (or complacent?) about getting reqd gmat scores
good extra currics - done a movie and stuff
financing will be through personal wealth (inheritance from newly found loved ones)

So big question is about pursuing an mba abroad. I should, should I?

Thanks in advance.