MBA Crystal Ball

Hi Sameer,

I am currently working as a SAP consultant and has a experience of 1.3 yrs. My academics are as X-88% XII-83 and Engg(ECE)-73% from JIIT Noida. I have not yet started for GMAT and have desire to give next year. Can you please help me, what are the pre-requistes before i start prep. And any Do's and Dont's.
I'll appreciate your help. Thanks

Sarthak wrote:I have not yet started for GMAT and have desire to give next year. Can you please help me, what are the pre-requistes before i start prep. And any Do's and Dont's.

The test designers (GMAC) don't set any preconditions and requirements for taking the test, Sarthak.

Also, the score if valid for several years. So you can take it a year before you are ready to apply and then focus on the rest of the application process.

Before paying a lot of money on paid courses (classroom or online GMAT coaching), become familiar with the GMAT syllabus topics on your own.

The try your hand at some of the free GMAT prep material available on sites like ours. There's plenty on GMAT Club and Beat The GMAT too.

Develop your personlised GMAT study plan and stick to it.

Thank you so much. Can you also clarify that having 1.5 years of exp will not hinder or I should have a minimum of 2 yrs exp.

Sarthak wrote:Thank you so much. Can you also clarify that having 1.5 years of exp will not hinder or I should have a minimum of 2 yrs exp.

For GMAT it won't matter, for applications it will, Sarthak. Better to wait till you have around 3+ years before applying.

Dear Sir,

I am thinking to do Executive MBA (1 year programs) in India. So, i was thinking to start preparing for GMAT because most of the colleges consider GMAT. Here is my profile so far:-
X - 88.4%
XII - 83.4%
B.Tech - 70.4%

4 years work ex in IT company Infy.
Less of curricular work done during my work exp time.

Currently, i have 4 years of work experience in IT company as a Senior Developer in Data-warehousing and pay of 5lac pa. I know the work exp is not much. But i would write GMAT next year, so my work ex would go to 5years. Still i am willing to wait maybe for another year when my work ex reaches around 6years because GMAT scores are valid for 5years. I have less of extra curricular work done during my office time. But once i get a good score, i am willing to work on my profile. Also, i am thinking to do Executive MBA because i am interested in Good Managerial/Technical roles like Business Tech Architect, Business Analyst, etc. or even to lead a team, etc. But mostly i am interested on the Technical part, though pursuing an MBA also interests me because of Good Pay and learning the Managerial skills because eventually if i stay in my company for say another 10years i would be Lead/Manager and so on.

Also, i am short of financial funds to consider doing MBA, MS from US, UK etc.

Also, to add to this, i prepared for CAT 3 years ago for only 2 months and scored 87 percentile. Is it some kind of a motivation to consider ?

Also, i was looking at the college list, IIM A,B,C have all around 24lacs fee. That is a lot to pay. I shortlisted iim kozhikode due to it's fee of only 7.5lac and a decent ranking after the top3 B-schools. Please guide me on B-schools also. Though my first thought is to get a good GMAT score.

Please guide me on my approach. Am i on the right track going for an Executive MBA or i should consider something else? Please advise.

Regards

nishu wrote:I am thinking to do Executive MBA (1 year programs) in India.

What you are referring to aren't Executive MBA programs. Read this article: Regular MBA vs Executive MBA Differences

nishu wrote:Also, to add to this, i prepared for CAT 3 years ago for only 2 months and scored 87 percentile. Is it some kind of a motivation to consider ?

It indicates that with a focussed GMAT study plan, you'd be able to get a good score.

nishu wrote:Also, i was looking at the college list, IIM A,B,C have all around 24lacs fee. That is a lot to pay. I shortlisted iim kozhikode due to it's fee of only 7.5lac and a decent ranking after the top3 B-schools.

To some extent, the program pricing also reflects the selectivity and market value of the program. Basing your decision purely on the MBA fee isn't a good idea.

If the good bschools in India / abroad are out of reach, it may be a good idea to wait for a couple of years more.

Thank you Sir for all your valuable replies and information.

What you are referring to aren't Executive MBA programs. Read this article: Regular MBA vs Executive MBA Differences

Hi Sir,
I was referring to these Executive 1 Year Programs:- IIMA PGPX, IIMB EPGP, IIMC PGPEX and IIMK EPGP. I googled on them and found that most of them are through GMAT. Even for some other colleges as well, XLRI, IIM Indore, SP Jain, XIMB. They also require min 5years Work exp. Please advise sir if my understanding is right ?
I have around 4years at the moment and willing to try GMAT next year(i will have 5 yrs exp then) and would apply for above programmes in 2017 fall most probably, not next year i guess, coz my work exp is not sufficient i suppose ( i would have arnd 6yrs exp then).

Am i planning it right Sir ? Any inputs would be highly appreciated.

Regards

nishu wrote:I was referring to these Executive 1 Year Programs:- IIMA PGPX, IIMB EPGP, IIMC PGPEX and IIMK EPGP.

I know what you were referring to, that's why I shared the article. Did you read it?

nishu wrote:They also require min 5years Work exp. Please advise sir if my understanding is right ?

While the minimum is 5 years, check out their class average too. It hovers at around 9-10 yrs. There are some 1 year MBA programs where the average is lower as well.

nishu wrote:Am i planning it right Sir ?

Your plan to wait is right.

Hello,
This is Priyank Shrivastava from Mumbai. I am a Chartered Accountant by profession and am currently working in Assurance team of PwC, Mumbai.
I have got total work experience of 11 years which is as under -

1. Worked as Train Ticket Examiner in Indian Railways - 6 years
2. Training period as a course curriculum of Chartered Accountancy course - 3 years
3. Post CA qualification - 2 years

Other details-
10th - UP Board - 74% - Second rank in school
12th - CBSE - 88% - Second Rank in school
B.Com - 71% - College Topper
Railway Exam - AIR 58 in entrance exam to Vocational Course in Railway Commercial (VCRC)
CA - Cleared all the stages through out in first attempt, missed the AIR in CA final just by 4 marks, cleared the Final in November 13 attempt in which pass percentage was as low as 2.5%.

Extra curricular activities -
Member of unofficial community of Railway Officials known as "VCRCian", conducted and hosted the All India get together of VCRCians in 2010 in Nagpur which saw the participation of members across country.
During my railway days, Started and successfully ran an Internet Cafe along with my friend, this cafe is still very popular in town and running successfully though I had to get away from the business when I started concentrating on CA.
Keen interest in playing cricket, represent Nagpur Division Team of VCRCians in annual sports tournament, member of cricket team in PwC Mumbai.

I am thinking of targeting GMAT in Nov 2016, I have not started the preparation though. My target would be to get into ISB/IIM courses for experienced professionals..

Need your guidance on how I should go about the preparation ? Is this the righ time for MBA for me ? How my profile looks for selection in ISB ?

priyankontest wrote:CA - Cleared all the stages through out in first attempt, missed the AIR in CA final just by 4 marks, cleared the Final in November 13 attempt in which pass percentage was as low as 2.5%.

Hats off to you, Priyank, for managing such a phenomenal career transition. And clearing CA in the first attempt isn't an ordinary accomplishment either. Good going!

priyankontest wrote:During my railway days, Started and successfully ran an Internet Cafe along with my friend, this cafe is still very popular in town and running successfully though I had to get away from the business when I started concentrating on CA.

Good side story to have about your entrepreneurial abilities provided you can show what you specifically did in making the business popular - what is operations, promotion, or something else.

priyankontest wrote:I am thinking of targeting GMAT in Nov 2016, I have not started the preparation though. My target would be to get into ISB/IIM courses for experienced professionals.

Read this article on whether Chartered Accountant (CA) articleship counts as experience in MBA admissions.

Which means in a 11 year career, technically speaking only 3 years (considering you'd be applying next year) would be directly relevant to the admissions team.

The big questions that you need to start thinking about.

- Now that you've made a rather late transition into mainstream corporate roles, why not just continue with it and grow within the field on the strength of your CA qualification?

- What is it that an MBA can do for you at this stage?

priyankontest wrote:Need your guidance on how I should go about the preparation ? Is this the righ time for MBA for me ? How my profile looks for selection in ISB ?

Assuming you have a strong rationale for the earlier question, you can start preparing for the GMAT.

IIMs would be a better fit than ISB for your profile, primarily because of the quantum of experience.

But that shouldn't stop you from applying to ISB, if you are only focussing on 1 year Indian MBA programs.