Which B - School??

At this time, you have a confirmed offer from XLRI. A batchmate of mine, Sharad Sarin, is Dean of Marketing there. If you want to speak to him to help clarify your mind about XLRI as an institution, I can give you his phone no. Though, he has been in marketing throughout, he has been with XLRI for decades and can help provide you with answers. However, it appears to me that, before speaking to him, you need to be clear about your questions. The worst thing is to phone someone senior and ask questions like

I feel that the main decision you should concern yourself at this stage is your specialization. I do not know which institutions allow you to change your specialization in the second year. At IIMA we had the choice of taking whatever subjects we wanted in the second year. If that is so, the advice of some of our friends is correct - do your first year and then see what interests you most. You may be surprised at your choice.

If you must decide your specialization at the entrance stage itself, then remember one critical fact - you will be opting for a career path in whichever line you choose and you will be working in this specialization for at least 15 years-20 years, till you get senior enough to get into overall corporate management. So, it is essential to like the specialization you opt for. One of the worst things in life is to be condemned to work in a job which is in a field which you do not like. Keep in mind that, at this stage, all you know about different career paths is mere hearsay. You really do not know what each field entails. It may be a good idea to meet the senior HR managers in some good companies and discuss this career option before you think negatively of it. You can also meet some MBAs working in this field. The same goes for other specializations also.

Research about these on the internet, too, though nothing like meeting the concerned people in person.

You may ask how to meet these people since you do not know any (or many) of them. That is where your intelligence, resourcefulness and sheer chutzpah comes into play.

You should also be clear about what you want to do after you graduate. Those who want to start their own businesses (maybe after 3 to 5 years work experience or straightaway) have different priorities than those who want to work in MNCs or other companies.

Finally, the institute matters to the following extent:

you should see which College has the best reputation nationwide (not only within small geographical areas)

Fellow-alumni are a major resource for any fresh graduate when getting the first job or when changing jobs.

You will hear people say that the quality of the faculty does not matter. You will also notice that those who say this are usually from Institutes where the quality of faculty is not considered too high. The quality of faculty does indeed matter. One good professor can open your mind to possibilities you never knew existed. I still remember being taught by the likes of Prof. Ishwar Dayal, Prof. Kamla Chaudhri and Prof. Sudhir Kakkar at IIMA. Prof. Seshan, who taught us Finance & Accounting there is one of my valuable mentors, since I used his well-taught subject the most in my career. Prof. Samuel Paul introduced economics to me - a subject, which, as an engineer I had no inkling of. Economics has a major role to play in how the world functions and, thanks to Prof. Paul, interesting doors have opened in this facet of the world. I remember, too, Mr. Mukherjee, our physics teacher at REC Durgapur, who made me realise that I could achieve anything I set my mind to. Without these teachers, I would have been a lesser person than I am.

The infrastructure matters to the extent that it is a reflection of what resources the institute has at its command and the care it takes to maintain them. This is also an indicator of how much the institute cares about the quality of life of its students.

You will notice that I have not mentioned three factors which have been referred to in some emails. These are:

a. Cost: This is not relevent according to me because student loans are easily available in all good colleges. Even I financed my IIMA education partly through a student loan.

b. Boredom: This is an immature consideration. If you are truly intent on making your life, you will completely disregard this. Good quality MBA education should keep you mostly occupied in excelling at academics. Furthermore, I am sure that wherever you have a collection of bright young people, there is no reason to feel bored and even the remotest colleges will have enough extracurricullar activities to occupy the mind.

c. Distance from home: To anyone worried about it, I say, “You are going for your Master’s degree. Grow up!”

Best wishes for your future.

Kishore Asthana”