This is inspired by a few people discussing which b-school to pick or whether to pick b-school at all. I went through something similar last year. And here's what I think :
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Eventually, before you decide which school to go to - take five minutes and think about Why.
Why did you write the CAT/GMAT
Why did you want to go to business school
If you don't know what you're looking for in graduate school, you damn well won't find it.
It could be a higher paying job, challenging acquaintances, knowledge, fun, a chance to get away from it all for two years, or just some
additional letters after your name.
However, if you don't have some semblance of clarity as to why you are doing this, more often than not you're likely to be disappointed. If you want b-school to make you smarter, brighter, polish you, give you a large friends network and a job in Europe.. trading bonds - wake up and smell reality. B-school simply gives you a shot at all of these. Eventually what you make of it is just that.. what YOU make of it.
That said, I've been asked to rank A against B, C, X, Stern, Rutgers, Blah blah. I won't. Simply because I am not an educationist. I don't know anything about schools abroad and very little about Indian schools too.
I do know some things however :
I am not the type of person who chooses a place of study because it has nice weather, free flowing alcohol or is closer to home. I'm sure there are people who do make those choices, however i can't shed any light on the subject. Remember of course that to compensate for Ahmedabad's fiery summers, our classrooms and library are airconditioned. And where there is a will, there is a way. (I'm talking about going home.. what did you think? ;) )
Think about the worst thing that can happen after you leave IIMA, and see if you can live with that. More often than not, you usually can. And remember, life here is tough. So's life at Harvard, Wharton or Stanford.
BSchool is not really a place to relax and 'chill'. Anyone who tells you that, has probably learned to 'play' the system or has given up (I have too on occasion) - But school itself is designed to be tough. Atleast in the first year. So?
Really, what makes it tough is not the program alone. Its the peers with a keen competitive edge, your personal goals that push you to achieve something, all the movies you watch, the things you do, the partying, the sports, the hanging out with friends. (yes we do have lives!).
The years you spend at B-School will be hard. Atleast the first year at a good b-school will challenge you, and push you to some extent. It won't kill you however, and in the long run, you're unlikely to regret two years invested here. It won't be a cakewalk, but its not insurmountable horror either.
Before I picked A for example I was told I wouldn't have a life, I'd become a geek, I'd be sidelined and overwhelmed in a school filled with IIT 'studs' and I'd be too far away from home.
I've done two plays, gotten up on stage more than I did in four years of college, taken 6 trips back home, seen more movies than I probably did in the previous two years, made great friends, and far from being sidelined - have learnt a lot from both the IIT 'studs' and my peers from a variety of different backgrounds.
In the end, make the choice - and think about how you would describe your choice. Are you going to spend your life defining yourself as someone who went to school X? Or as someone who went to Y, followed by a few short sentences on why you picked Y even though you got X?
And eventually, whatever choice you make, b-school is a passport to something - a better life, a better job, a better career or simply a different one. But as with any other traveller, you have to book your own tickets.
Good luck!
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30 comments:
Eye opener... i could use someone telling me things like that...
a very diplomatic and still crystal clear post, you have what it takes to be a big shot.
Since you mentioned Rutgers, I am a grad student here in CS.
lets face it! IITians and IIMians(?) are geeks! its not that they become geeks when they get into IITs and IIMs but its like only geeks get into IITs and IIMs. what i hate is the desperate attempt by many of such ppl to prove how "cool" they are! Cmon, you spent most of your life preparing for JEE/CAT and indulging in other resume building activies.
they are the so called "achievers"! but so many times i have come across ppl who are tired of running but cant stop. who want to give it all up and actually enjoy life but wont!
and whoever told you IIMs were about management was lying! its about placements! they take in ppl which companies want! diversity ha ha! and engineer from IIT M working in IT as compared to waht an engineer from IIT B working in guess what ...IT ?
the point is taht everybody believes that they are doing MBA for all the right reasons and others are just doing it for placements or bcoz the hype! i have come across SO many articles by students which set the same tone! i did it bcoz i really wanted to! oh cmon! if wasnt for placements , the geeks would be busting off their asses in silicon valley!
I am not the type of person who chooses a place of study because it has nice weather, free flowing alcohol or is closer to home
thats the whole point. ppl become so driven that they forget taht theres life beyong MBA , life beyond salaries . families are reduced to the ppl who you send remittances to!
"And eventually, whatever choice you make, b-school is a passport to something - a better life, a better job, a better career or simply a different one."
who are we kidding here? i have known ppl who took CAT next year bcoz IIM L wasnt good enough for them! they wanted to be in IIM A B C . though whatveer you have said is true technically, how many ppl have the guts to take up whichever school they get instead of taking CAT for n times?
i guess all bschool junta have caved in to the system to an extent that they believe this is life
mr bean, thanks! :)
and sharan, you DO have someone telling ya stuff like this don't ya! ;) thanks you! :)
Anon, I don't agree (Whattay shock!).
And you know why? -
Because when I was in college I did a lot more than just 'mug'.
Because my classmates have made a movie, set up their own companies, acted in plays and worked as creative communication designers before coming to A.
Because I'm still extremely close to my family.
Because, for me, bschool is not just about placements.
Because getting a better job than you could after engineering is NOT infra dig.
I could go on, but why spend so much time on someone who doesn't believe in his/her views enough to leave his/her name alongside them? :-)
@anonymous
First of all, you've got all your facts wrong!! People in the IIT/IIM s are no geeks by any stretch of imagination! And WE don't spend our lives preparing for the CAT or the JEE.
They are achievers in the sense that they have come thro a tough selection procedure in which only the best in the country get thro! About 2 lakh people write the CAT for eg, only about a 1400 finally land up in the IIMs. It is competition that makes all of us step up a gear.
Agreed, everyone wants to finish grad school and settle down. And if the IIMs make you employable, then great! I would not completely deny your claim that students join the IIMs because of the fat pay checks and all. But the truth is, these institutions are well established and produce the country's best managers. So, obvioulsy, companies wil want these guys. It happens all over the world. Top schools (be it Business or tech) tinker with their course work a little to make it more suitable for employment. In the end, a job is what you want. What will you do if you get an MBA/MS and then find out that you don't have the required skillset to join company A or company B.
See, all of us have different requirements. There ARE 'geeks' in Silicon Valley too! Its essentially what you like. Some of us get so bored of tech that we want to explore diff fields and an MBA kinda gives you that oppurtunity. And the guys who are still technically inclined, are the chaps who are in Silicon valley serving the US ECONOMY and CONTRIBUTING TO THE US GDP.. Where they dont realise that the Indian economy currently has so much untapped potential!
About your point that people forget family and all, its not in all jobs that this happens. Only in certain high-stress jobs. and its your choice, if you dont want it, dont do it! There are other ways to earn money too!
What is wrong in wanting to go to IIM A, B , or C,. or for that matter, any of the top schools anywhere in the world.. If that person thinks that he/she is capable to get into the best, then they should go for it! Why be satisfied with second best!
And about people believing that this is life, i dont think so! life is so much more than just an IIT/IIM/any other elitist institution and these two years wil mould you, will give you a foundationm, will teach you how to face the world. Ultimately, after about four-five years, it doesn't matter where you pass out from, its what you do in those four years after B School that matters!
@ Suze - sorry for the extra long comment. and nice post :)
hey! its me the anon! i didnt leave my name coz i am one of you guys(as in sailing in the same boat)!
the fact is that they have done great things but not greater things..if you know what i mean. coz most of their life was spent darkening bubbles on a lazy sunday! only a few like sidin manage to break the grind(that too after IIM A NOT before it). the rest just find solace in something else!
but i have decided to give mediocrity another shot! but then you dont say that in interviews rite? :)
anon, isn't it worse that instead of detesting what you see as the others who are selling out on dreams, you're actually detesting yourself? But any more and I'd have to charge you $100 per hour ;)
What Sidin did takes guts and he's a good writer who makes me laugh, so all the best to him. That doesn't however mean that a corporate career is despicable does it? Blatant anti establishmentarianism is the purview of angst ridden adolescents, my anonymous friend! :)
hey sujatha!..I am not sure if you know me, I passed out of SVCE in 2004(chemical)..I've been reading ur blogs and I must say, they r very interesting!..Keep the blogs coming!!..and Good luck with everything,
Sushma
>>i am not the type of person who chooses a place of study because it has nice weather, free flowing alcohol or is closer to home
an obvious potshot at IIM B?????????
the only reservation(:-)) i have with the IIMs is that the diversity which enriches the learning experience doesnt exist. engineers are pitted against other engineers from different companies and that is supposed to imporve the learning culture. whereas in hbs and wharton, different people come through from various diverse backgrounds. there is a dancer , an economics grad, a head of a economics forum, a bio student, a olympic gymnast, so on and so forth. for them academics and standardised tests are just one of the parameters of testing ones ability to join a b school. whereas in India, a 96%iler with a stud resume stands no chance of making an iima call. instead the IIT M grad with no work ex gets preference.
@ anon.
i disagree with everything that you say. But you aint worth the time spent arguing if i dont know who i am speaking to..
:)
You have the passport, you have the visa. But you have to buy the ticket. Lets say you bought it. And the plane crashed. Wham! :)
Kidding. Nice post.
a nice post with good comments and intense opinions...an interesting read..!
girish - Mankind said it perfectly!!
:)
Thanks sushma, rakesh
Vishnu, this is something I was told last year by someone from B as reasons to join there
And you're very right about the diversity point. We don't have a diverse class like HBS, Wharton.. Its an issue with the Indian educational system. B School is seen as something you do right outta college. Hopefully that'll change over the years.
this post sounded more like "Choose IIM A not B"
Anon,
*shrug*
It wasn't designed to be an X vs Y post. It is simply about the choices we make and some things to think about before making those choices.
only ABC? the other iims do exist! :)
Uh.. did I say they don't?? ABC is a common enough idiom for the 'basics' of things..
Interesting, very interesting!
yo suze, whats up ?
not a bad post ... I had a question for you.
If you were to decide between IIMA and HBS(all expenses paid) which one would you choose?
--Prem
Prem, HBS - b/c i believe I'd get more out of the diverse student population and wide ranging experiences.. assuming that I also would have work ex before getting there (else I might not be able to gain much from 2 yrs there)
cool .....
anyway, the main aim of posting that comment was to divert some traffic off ur blog to mine :-)
huh
nicely written 'join A over B C X Y ' ... 'A is not as tuf as ppl think' ... 'A has a life' ... am not being sarcastic .. just remember your post in which u said that u learn a lot but hardly get any feedback or time to reflect on your learning ...
would like to hear sometime what made u choose A .. coz everything that u wanted ... movies, drams, diversity (???) which u got in A are there in B C X Y (probly more than A)
@ Anom who blasted the post - I like IIMs .. coz m a part of them .. i do agree with most things u said ... we are caved in a thinking
Prayank - actually, you should look up sarcasm in the dictionary. While you're at it, also look up 'Talking Contradiction' :)
I didn't choose A b/c of movies, drama or diversity. As I said earlier, the people who were asking me questions were actually considering schools abroad - for an MS or MBA. Some of their queries were - will we have a life - so answered that. Life in IIM A rushes past you and last term I realized that the system doesn't make too much time for you to reflect on your learning. However, I also learnt that if you want, you can choose to learn etc.
And, so what if all that I quoted are present in any other school? Why would I NOT pick the best school in Asia Pacific? Not being vain or driven by brand alone - but being the best is a result of some things - Why disregard them and obdurately pick something that is NOT the best? *shrug*
I picked A cos I talked to a lot of people about A, and decided that I liked what I heard and that I would fit in.
When I started, I kept comparing A to another school that I thought would suit me better. Later I realized that the only decision I had to make was whether Ahmedabad was for me or not
@Anon: Very passionate argument. But just something to chew upon: You can't generalize on IIML because of someone you knew, or IITB/IITM IT guys coming to IIMA.
The world's as black/white as you paint it *mentally* to be :) Like suze says "you have to book your own tickets"
PS: I'm an proud IIMA alum, lest you wonder!
quick question,how different is it do a PGDBM right after you graduate as compared to say after working in the corporate for like an year??
Thank you :)
That said, I've been asked to rank A against B, C, X, Stern, Rutgers, Blah blah. I won't. Simply because I am not an educationist. I don't know anything about schools abroad and very little about Indian schools too.
And now A is the best, in all of Asia Pacific. I am not saying, u have said, in one of the comments. You of course have every right to hold ur B-school dear, as the best, or may be you wanna contest by saying that A being the best is actually a matter of fact. Am jus pointing out you have clearly contradicted yourself.
And one more thing, in my opinion, a good manager is not just about objective intelligence or sophisticated soft skills. A fair amount of flexibility is required as well. You are too very opinionated, that you are simply not able to see the other side at all. Just dont be too very categorical, u have pointed out in one other comment that you said what you said because thats what someone who preferred B over A told you last year. But that should have been in the post itself, the way you have put it there, and the string of reasons, prove it beyond doubt that you are trying to say that people preferring B over A don't have solid reasons. You might want to say that I am reading too much in between the lines, but am sure that most people would agree with me on this.
-Vijay N.
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