Friday, February 6, 2015

Do Rankings really matter ?

Well, this article is just my own perspectives and nothing to do about one's final decisions for which MBA program would one like to choose. 

While exploring the MBA programs, one goes through the rankings and listings of various methodologies and algorithms developed by different outlets and while its always glorious to try to take a shot at big names in the list and try to fight for a place in the big league colleges, it is also important to judge your destination on the factors that you would like to associate yourself with. 

Difference in the pathways 

The likes of Stanford GSB and Berkeley-Haas similarly benefit from ties to Silicon Valley, while graduates at France’s HEC Paris can take advantage of the school’s proximity to Europe’s largest business district, La Defense, and links with companies like LVMH and other booming luxury brands. For those who want to capitalize on opportunities created by Asia’s economic growth, the region has a growing number of world-class business schools to choose from. Beyond taking the generalist approach expected of an MBA, schools have also carved out reputations for specialization through their list of electives or add-on courses. They may have particular strengths in finance, marketing, not-for-profit business, real estate, IT management or healthcare. In such cases, the schools work hand in hand with the related industry and have both strength and depth in terms of faculty members developing that area of expertise. Schools such as Babson College in the United States and EM Lyon in France may not feature in the overall top 10. When it comes to teaching entrepreneurship, though, they have a worldwide reputation for supporting student start-ups and attracting potential investors. When deciding which criteria matter most to you, remember that no two sets ever look the same. A software engineer wanting to spend two years focusing on finance on the US east coast will have a very different list of target schools from a consultant wanting to learn about general management to expand his or her career in Europe or Asia.

The different rankings

The Financial Times places particular emphasis on salaries achieved three years after graduation. Business Week’s results are heavily influenced by satisfaction levels expressed by students and recruiters; Forbes focuses on ROI (return on investment); The Economist looks at career development and the international make-up of the school; and US News & World Report places significant weight on the GMAT. 

My personal take

To me, exposure and scholarship mattered the most, besides a good internship opportunity and a job placement. I understand I am different in the sense that I do not have high expectations with big consulting jobs as such. I am a techie who has interests in Technology firms and I will be happy enough if I get a chance to land up with one of the Technology firms. But having said that, who knows what life has in store for us for tomorrow. That's why I am someone who believes in the idea that- keep working hard and don't chase things. If you are good enough, those things will come.
I know this world of MBAs is a place of big people and many would not agree with me over this but that's me !

In these last 10 years I have worked hard, come from a small township in one of India's poorest states- Orissa and life has been very unpredictable. At times, I have found myself in spots where a small step seemed like a gamble in life. I didn't get the best of education uptil high school but I wanted to create an impact and show a new path for my juniors, also expect a better life for myself. So, in a spot, I took a decision that yes- I had a year loss but a gamble I took to get a rank and move into India's top league of engineering colleges. When I joined NTPC, people thought that NTPC is made for people from big colleges and best students but all I found in NTPC was that only two things mattered- common sense and sincerity in your learning and we had executives from off-campus placements. Those executives were drawn from a pool of engineering colleges , not necessarily the IITs and NITs. Its NEVER the college ranking that matters, its the SKILLS and the APPLICATION OF SKILLS and COMMON SENSE that matters. When I competed for IIT JEE, I didn't go to the Bansal Classes for coaching. So, all I have learned in these last ten years is that- Its your skills , hard work and your passion, besides the touch of impact that you can create- matters!

Remember- colleges are made by students. If a pool of strong students come to a 20th rank college, it will beat a 10th rank college during internships and placements and then, the rankings turn upside down.

My take on B-school rankings

Yes, rankings do matter while recruiting the top league of students but then, its equally important to say here that "Quality of Students matter more than rankings". Besides, I come from a background where I am the first MBA candidate in the family. Hence, money matters a lot and being an international candidate, ROI does count even more. Also, students must take into account the location and networking opportunities, besides exposure. It was great to see Cox hitting better ranks this year- scaling up to FT's 76 and also the top 10 specialty ranks in Finance. I hope that the class of 2017 will be a pool of great students who will look to carry the name forward and hopefully, Cox will scale better ranks in years to come. Again, opportunities are exquisite in this school. It just requires a pool of great students to thrust the legacy forward.

2 comments :

MegP said...

Bravo Arnab. Good going. :)

Atit Shah said...

Great work buddy...see you soon :)