Written by Sameer Kamat

What is the average age for MBA in India, USA, UK, Singapore (add your favourite MBA destination here)? Apart from the statistical relevance of the question, there’s also an introspective aspect. The first one is easier to answer as most MBA portals and business school websites list this in the MBA Class profile section along with the other data like average GMAT scores. The other part is what that might mean for you, as an MBA applicant to a specific category of MBA colleges.

Let’s tackle the two separately.

Written by Sameer Kamat

The University of Oxford has been at the forefront of academics for over eight hundred years. Management education wasn’t on the menu till the Said Business School was established in 1996. Now this 1 year MBA in UK is considered among the best in the world. It has an average GMAT score of 690. At the average age of 29 years, the typical Oxford MBA students has around 6 years of pre-MBA work experience. 93% of the class is from outside the UK.
Earlier we published the story of a million dollar business owner (based outside India) who chose a European bschool (read the story here –> IE Business School MBA Spain). This time we have the story of Pawan Kesarwani, another Indian entrepreneur (based in India) who also decided to put his multi-million dollar business on hold to head off to Europe. He chose the Oxford MBA (Said).

Written by Sameer Kamat

IESE Business School in Barcelona (Spain) offers an 18 month program that has been ranked high consistently by Financial Times, Forbes, BusinessWeek and the Economist.
After the first year, students get the opportunity of a corporate internship. The IESE Career Services team plays a key role in helping students.

Students also have the option of taking up international elective offerings in USA, Brazil, China or Kenya. For those keen on a longer stay abroad, the International Exchange Program allows students to complete a whole term at another top MBA program.
In this guest post, IESE MBA student Savita Hinger shares her experience.

Written by Sameer Kamat

MBA re-applicants have a tough ride compared to those who are applying for the first time. After going through the tedious MBA admissions process once and facing rejection, it requires a stronger determination and an unwavering focus on the ultimate goal to shake off the memory of what happened earlier and get back into the ‘game’.

Ajay Karajgikar has an interesting story to narrate that ends (we’ll break the suspense) with offers from the Fisher College of Business and W.P. Carey (Arizona State University – ASU). Both schools are strong in Supply Chain Management (SCM). During the process, Ajay also claims to have met an alien though we haven’t been able to find any traces of suspected UFO activity.

Written by Sameer Kamat

It’s the sweet dilemma most MBA applicants would love to have. As the top ranking business schools offering the best MBA programs start sending out the results, several of our clients have found themselves in this wonderful situation of getting multiple MBA admits (you’ll find some reactions on the MBA Crystal Ball reviews page). As the number of such cases has been increasing and the basic questions are more or less the same, we felt the topic deserved an independent blog post.

Written by Sameer Kamat

Cambridge University has an 800-year-old legacy that includes a huge list of Nobel prize winners, prime ministers, actors, writers and other famous alumni who have excelled in their fields. Within that awe-inspiring context, the Cambridge MBA is relatively new. But it has carved a niche for itself among the MBA rankings that are dominated by bschools that have been in existence for much longer.

When all the discussion forums were abuzz with paranoid MBA aspirants wondering how the recent changes to the UK work permit & visa rules would impact their post MBA career prospects, the Cambridge MBA added another feather to its cap. An impressive 97% of the graduating class had jobs in hand within 3 months of completing the program. And the cherry on the cake – over 50% of Cambridge MBA graduates switched careers (either industry, role or geography) and 29% managed to change all three.

Sameer Kamat (founder of MBA Crystal Ball) caught up with Conrad Chua – Admissions Director Judge Business School (University of Cambridge) to talk about some typical and other not-so-typical questions, including the big one – How easy or difficult is it to get a job in the UK after an MBA?

Written by Sameer Kamat

MBA applicants who are older than 30 years (or closer to 40) often ask these questions:
- ‘Is it too late for a full-time MBA program?’
- ‘How do bschools look at MBA applicants over 30?’
- ‘After I cross 30 years, should I even try for full-time MBA programs?’
- ‘Will my age force me to choose between an Executive MBA or Part-time MBA?’

Most of these ‘senior’ applicants are considering conventional American 2-year full-time programs. There are several 1-year programs where the average age is closer to thiry (in fact, higher than 30 for a few bschools). But when it comes to the regular 2 year full-time MBA, there’s a statistical and psychological bias that comes into play the minute you move to the wrong side of thirty.

Written by Sameer Kamat

Dealing with rejection isn’t easy. After painstakingly selecting bschools that you felt would be the best for your career goals, after going through the nerve-wracking ordeal of responding to MBA essay topics that swing between introspection and philosophy, and after spending all that hard-earned money on the GMAT exam, bschool application fee, and many months of excitement + anxiety + nail-biting…what is it that most MBA applicants get from the bschool?

Written by Sameer Kamat

Many US business schools and top universities expect applicants to have completed 16 as opposed to 15 years of education. In India, part from fields such as engineering, medicine and architecture, graduation in many popular disciplines require 15 years of education. This post is for those MBA aspirants who have completed their graduation in India in science, arts, commerce or any undergraduate stream that follows a 12+3 pattern. These candidates may have landed a great job or successfully launched their own venture or made it big with their family business, so never considered studying further. Should a three years bachelor’s degree (or 15 years of formal education) act as a deterrent while applying for an MBA abroad?

Written by Sameer Kamat

This is a guest post by Tyler Cormney, co-founder of MBA Prep School. Tyler is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and is an experienced MBA admissions consultant with over five years in the field.

MBA Prep School has published an eBook entitled Prepare to be Accepted! 10 Steps to a Winning MBA Application and provides 35 on-demand videos in which admissions consulting pros teach you their secrets for resume writing, essays, resume, recommendation letters, and admissions interview.

You’re planning to apply to business school but do you have a plan for applying?

Creating an MBA application work plan and timeline reduces uncertainty and anxiety because you will know what you need to do and when you need to do it.

In this guest post, I will summarize the steps in an effective MBA application work plan – from researching schools and writing your essays through to acing your MBA admissions interview.