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

All accepted undergrad and graduate program (including MBA) students from India require an F1 visa stamping to get into the U.S. and stay there for the entire duration of the MBA course. In this post we try to address the most frequently asked questions on how to apply for a student visa, the basic documents needed, and problems / issues to tackle before you can confidently answer the F1 visa interview questions at the American consulate. Read on to see what you need to do before you can get access to all the high-paying consulting and investment banking jobs that are coming back to the US based bschools.

Written by Sameer Kamat

In India, the majority of the institutions use either percentage or grade as a method of assessment. A few premier institutions like IITs, NITs have their own grading system. Students applying to universities outside India would be familiar with the GPA scale. In this post, MBA Crystal Ball provides some perspectives on the GPA scale and its implications for an Indian student planning to study abroad.

Written by Sameer Kamat

Writing MBA essays is considered by many Indian MBA applicants as the most difficult part of their MBA applications. Jon Frank, founder of Precision Essay, understands the pain areas pretty well as he has helped many Indians get into the best MBA bschools across the world. He concludes his 5-post series on MBA essay tips written specially for Indian applicants.
If you missed the earlier posts, here’s the full series:
MBA Essay Tip #1: Undo the adcom’s preconceptions about India
MBA Essay Tip #2: Don’t be so quick to throw away the tech background.
MBA Essay Tip #3: Focus on SOFT skills. Leadership, not tech.
MBA Essay Tip #4: Be creative. Take Risks.
MBA Essay Tip #5: Don’t kid yourself.

Written by Sameer Kamat

Dual degrees like the JD-MBA offered by the Kellogg School of Management and Northwestern University’s School of Law can be a great way to learn about two disciplines that have more overlap that we generally assume.
However, compared to the regular 2-year MBA programs, these longer and more expensive joint degree options can seem more mysterious than they are. Apart from the data available on the school websites, there’s not much information about JD-MBA programs.
Jeremy Wilson had a very eclectic background – engineering, politics, consulting, startups, archaeology – before he decided to attend the JD-MBA program at Kellogg. In this interview he answers many of the frequently asked questions about the program.

Written by Sameer Kamat

No, it’s not another article on careers in the glamour industry. If you think all our guest writers are hot and glamorous, it’s merely a coincidence. Or maybe it’s the MBA Crystal Ball platform*. Or maybe it’s Maybelline.

Preeti Wadekar has managed to crack into an insanely competitive Ivy League school despite challenges (like a low GMAT score). What was her strategy for Columbia? What can you learn from Warren Buffett when it comes to B-school applications? Why Munni and Sheila couldn’t get into a B-school? She explains all this and more.

How I got into Columbia with a 570

So folks, for starters, this is my first blog post and more about my own application strategy and NOT an admissions consulting advice (though at times it may come out that way – sorry, being a consultant, old habits can die hard!)

Written by Sameer Kamat

The IIM Ahmedabad PGPX (Post Graduate Program in Management for Executives), a 1-year MBA for executives offered by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad is unlike any other in the world. Exaggeration? Not really if you consider the IIMA PGPX class profile (average age of 34 years, average work experience of over 10 years with 4.5 years internationally) and the extremely competitive selection process (average GMAT score 713). None of the global programs can match that combination.
If you have been searching for ‘IIM Ahmedabad Executive MBA’ you might want to quickly read this post before moving on – Executive MBA vs MBA for Executives – The Big Indian Confusion

Alright, now that we know that the IIMA PGPX is not an executive MBA at IIM Ahmedabad, but rather a GMAT-based full-time regular MBA for executives, let’s focus on the main agenda. We found the perfect alumnus (from the first PGPX batch) to tell us more about the program. Vivek Joshi had a Chemical Engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai (IIT-B) and a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from USA. He placed his trust in the IIM Ahmedabad PGPX course for senior executives when the course was just launched, did amazingly well academically and took up a job in Private Equity. He is currently an Associate Director at

Written by Sameer Kamat

Not-so-hot Guy: Will you marry me?
Popular Gal: Send across your personal details. I’ll think about it.
[1 month later]
Guy: Will you marry me? Please let me know so I can make arrangements for the wedding. My biological clock is ticking and there are a ton of things I need to do if/after you say yes.
Gal: Hmmm…I’m not sure. I’m also talking to a thousand other guys. Please hang on, bhaiyya-ji, I’ll let you know soon.

Not a good situation to be in, right? Well, that’s more or less the kind of feeling when bschools put applicants on their wait-list. Here’s a low-down on what it means and what you can do about it,

Written by Sameer Kamat

Charismatic, mesmerising and creative. Three adjectives that are associated with the Advertising industry (what were you thinking?). Unfortunately the same 3 adjectives are seldom used while referring to MBAs or mainstream business. In a world where following ‘best practices’ (nice way to say, ‘stop getting creative’) gets incentivised, clichéd terms like ‘thinking out the box’ generate sarcastic laughter more than inspiration.
So we asked Vrinda Gupta to share some perspectives with us, about lessons that we can learn from the advertising world to add a little more zing to our day-to-day work. Vrinda completed her graduation in Advertising from Pennsylvania State University (consistently being on the Dean’s List) and has worked in New York, Los Angeles and Mumbai with the some of the best names in the business – from Nike to Nickelodeon (not saying that just for impact). Over the next few blog posts, Vrinda takes us into the overlapping worlds of creativity and business. Take it away, Vrinda

Written by Sameer Kamat

CollegeKumar is back! For those who don’t know him, he had written a guest post for us about GMAT Preparation Tips that actually make sense. Then he disappeared from the scene, only to re-surface on another post (10 bschools to have on your radar). Unfortunately, those comments ended up ruffling a few feathers. After seeing the backlash, Shri Kumar decided it was time to calm the nerves and emotions a little. Read on for his recommendations on 5 movies every MBA applicant must watch.