Irrespective of an applicant’s GMAT score and your post-MBA career goals, if you are an Indian MBA applicant, there are some top MBA programs that are very popular. Whether you are eligible or qualified to get into those programs or not, you will find most of your peers talking about them before, during and after you complete your MBA course from another university. So spend a little time getting to know these top MBA programmes.
Top MBA program is a flexible term that you’ll come across frequently. It is subjective and has no absolute definition. It could mean different things for different people.
1. Harvard Business School (HBS) – A hundred years in the MBA business and the strongest brand in the market – these are too good to keep the Harvard flag flying high up there.
2. Stanford Graduate School of Business (Stanford GSB) – Did you know it’s tougher to get into Stanford than it is to get into Harvard? Reasons – a rock solid brand that’s respected globally, an opportunity to interact with brilliant classmates and get a top notch job or secure venture capital funds for your new venture in sunny Silicon Valley.
3. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton MBA) – After IIM, the next most common acronym in the B-school world is H/S/W. And the ‘W’ in there stands for Wharton. Very fact-based and data driven. Also, quite strong in finance and entrepreneurship.
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – The MIT MBA programme is strong in most speciality rankings, including Supply Chain/ Logistics, Production/Operations, Entrepreneurship, and Information Systems.
5. London School of Business (LBS) – The strongest non-American MBA brand out there. Located in the middle of London with easy access to all the top employers in the city. It offers a sixteen-month option if you are in a hurry to hit the job market faster.
6. INSEAD – The town of Fontainebleau came on to the global map and the public started getting inquisitive because of this one institution. With a campus in Singapore, it’s also has spread its wings into Asia.
7. Indian School of Business (ISB) – this is the best international B-school in India that can compete with the international old-timers out there. ISB entered into the top rankings in a very short time and we’ve got high hopes for our strongest desi contender. Give it time and breathing space, though, as others in the same league have had a long run-up to reach where they are.
8. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) – After proving their mettle in the traditional two-year MBA space, they’ve now moved into the one-year MBA domain – through their post-graduate programme for executives (PGPX) and cracked into the Financial Times ranking of elite international schools. The idea-leverage a prestigious brand and some world-class resources to reinvent the management education game by customizing it for the experienced professional.
9. National University of Singapore (NUS) – An Asian programme that allows Indian applicants to learn management in an international setting without burning a huge hole in their pocket, at least in relative terms. The low investment and attractive returns make it quite popular among Indian applicants.
Apart from these above stated programs, a couple of Canadian and European programs like Ivey, Queens, HEC, Oxford etc are very popular among Indian applicants seeking global MBA programs.
Of course, these aren’t the only top b-schools. There are many more that you can research based on your background, age, work experience, budget, and post-MBA goals. It is also important to note that just because a b-school is popular or in the top rankings doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the right b-school for everyone’s career paths. We recommend having your profile evaluated by admissions consultants and alumni members to find the right b-school fit for you.