What Do MBA Aspirants Want in a B-School?

Various B-Schools have an elaborate selection process where they look for specific skills, intelligence and knowledge base in the students they want to admit. These are generally in alignment with the industry expectations and hence have direct bearing on their placement in the corporate world. On the other hand, students also have their own selection criteria when it comes to applying to management institutes. While their expectations may not always be realistic, the students’ decision to join a B-School depends on various factors. These can be broadly categorized as under –

PLACEMENT – The first expectation that aspirants generally have is that they should be able to get a good placement at the end of their course. So, what exactly is a ‘good placement’? Is it salary package or job profile or career growth opportunities or brand or combination of all? Generally, there is a mismatch between the students’ expectations and ground realities. Also, many institutes have good placement programmes. However, some students fail to take them seriously and do not put in their level best to develop knowledge/skill set to be worthy of selection and shifts the onus of placement upon the B-school. Therefore, the focus should not just be on providing good placements, but also on maximizing the learning at B-School in order to get worthy of selection by the corporate.

COURSE FEES – When it comes to the fee structure of an institute, many students evaluate it from the perspective of ‘Return on Investment’ (ROI).

BRAND RECOGNITION BY INDUSTRY – This is again linked to ‘placements’. Aspirants like to get admission in a B-school that is well recognized and accepted by the industry for placements.

INFRASTRUCTURE – Students like to join B-schools where basic infrastructure is good. Infrastructure not just includes the class-rooms but also factors like IT infrastructure, availability of Wi-Fi connectivity, good library, access to online research databases, hostel, sports, gym etc.

FACULTY – Aspirants also look for quality faculty with a good mix of academic credentials and industry experience. Management is all about applying the theory to solve real life business problems. Therefore, factors like industry experience or consultancy assignments undertaken by the faculty in the industry are important parameters from aspirant’s point of view. In ‘Academic Excellence’ aspect, aspirants like to know the factors like ratio of PhD to Non-PhD faculty as well as Research Papers and books published by the faculty.

RANKING AMONGST B-SCHOOLS – Now-a-days, too many agencies are publishing the rankings of B Schools and at times, their rankings are at a great variance. This puts a question mark on the credibility of the ratings. Still, aspirants depend a lot on B-school rankings when it comes to short listing institutes for admission.

INDUSTRY INTERACTION – B-schools which provide more interaction with industry will be preferred by the aspirants. This interaction could be through guest speakers from the industry, industrial visits and participation in case study competitions thrown up by industry. Through these interactions, students are be able to get more realistic picture and exposure to industry issues and therefore become well-equipped to be successful in their corporate career.

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES – Aspirants always prefer a B-School which has a more vibrant culture. B-schools should provide students’ the opportunity to go beyond the curriculum and nurture their potential. CSR club, Entrepreneurship Cell, NGO’s Club, ‘Consulting Group’ etc. are the opportunities where students could develop their interest and hobby and they could involve more with societal issues.

Moral of the Story: B-schools must introspect and develop their strengths in the above mentioned areas if they want to attract the best MBA aspirants, who in turn, will take the institutes to newer heights.