August 14th, 2014

ISB Vs. US Top 10 MBA: Cost and ROI Comparison

Why am I writing? I have a very strong feeling that 97% of the readers think that
ISB is cheaper than any US Top 10 MBA program. Well, I am writing to offer the
best comparison possible between ISB and a US Top 10-business school. I have
also inserted appropriate URLs and loan EMI Calculators for both the
countries(India and US).
Sometime ago, one of our applicants who was admitted to both ISB and TUCK
decided to join ISB and he justified his decision by stating that TUCK is WAY TOO
EXPENSIVE and ISB is a cheap School. Very recently, someone gave up Duke
Fuqua for ISB for exact same reasons. I have a strong feeling that you feel the
same way too. In order to somehow help you with your decision-making, I
decided to do a parallel comparison.
ISB is a great school and we have respected them for the brand they have
created in the last decade. However, if you want to pick ISB, you should do so
because it is a great school and not because it is a CHEAP School. It is not a
CHEAP School. You have to look at your cash flow situation post MBA.
I spent 8 months with this applicant who turned down Duke Fuqua for ISB as he
thought ISB was coming with a price tag of 40%. In order to offer my
disagreement, I decided to offer the following comparison to you.

When you pick an MBA program, it is advisable to evaluate your net incoming
CASH for the first 5-7 years post MBA. After 5 years, things will look verydifferent.
.I really hope you at some point of your life find yourself in this DILEMMA.
Irrespective of what you pick, at least you will have gained an ADMIT
PythaGURUS generates significantly higher conversion rates than its peer group
due its great understanding of the MBA admissions process, and the personal
attention to quality, and delivery.

uesday, March 04, 2008

ISB versus a top B-school in the US
A lot of my friends in India are faced with the option of MBA from ISB versus an
that from an American B-school. I will take a shot at penning down my opinion on
this.
The first step is to figure out what factors are relevant to making this decision.
Some factors that I can think of are:
Career Prospects
Both the breadth (range) and depth (options within a particular job description)
of career paths is important. I think a US MBA has an advantage here. Brand
recognition is critical specially when you are looking for jobs that are not run of
the mill.
First of all, the sheer range of options that are possible if you are graduating from
a top B-school in the US is unparalleled - Investment Banking, Sales and Trading,
Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Wealth Management, Venture Capital, Consulting,
Real Estate, Marketing, Sales, General Management jobs in almost every industry
vertical that you can think of - the list is as endless as the number of job profiles
that exist in this world. A US MBA opens window of opportunity to many more
possibilities than ISB would. Caveat - As an international student, it is really
difficult to enter into job functions such as Marketing.
But then what about people who want to pursue careers in industries where it is
possible to find a job through ISB? That is where the depth comes in. You have
the opportunity to get an Investment Banking job with Goldman Sachs in New
York or London of you are graduating from ISB. However, do perform due
diligence on what percentage of people actually get the job - more importantly
how many people having your background and experience get what they
consider to be the best possible scenario. This should be particularly relevant to
career switchers - it is easy to switch your function or your industry, but difficult
to do both things simultaneously. A US MBA will open that much more possibility
of you pulling it off than an ISB. If after graduation, you would anyways prefer to
work with Cognizant versus the same job profile in Google's headquarters, then
ISB is probably a better choice.

Return on Investment
A major concern about US B-school education is the extremely high fee, specially
when converted to Indian Rupee. I wonder if anybody would have even bothered
comparing the two options had the investment amount been the same. Joining in
the US is definitely a bigger risk - given that it is a bigger investment. However,
the returns are definitely bigger as well - even if we consider only money and no
other aspect. Question you should ask is what you want from your career in the
long term. In the short term, it will probably take the same time to pay back
either loan (assuming that you are taking a loan that is).

B-school experience
B-school is a remarkable journey. You have to live it to believe it. Academics is
just one small component of the journey. Apparent cliches like diversity in
cultures, ethnicity, professional backgrounds can only be appreciated once you
are here. My curriculum team of five at Fuqua consists of a people from three
different countries and five different professional backgrounds. This is so typical
of any MBA student's experience in the US. The educational and learning value of
this team I realized only after I was a part of such a diverse team. I doubt if one
can get the same experience at ISB. Also, the skills that get ingrained in you by
experiencing and learning so many different cultures can only help you in the
real business world.
I am sure the quality of education in terms of faculty and facilities are at par with
the world's best at ISB. Still, not everything is taught and learnt in the classroom.
Alumni
Alumni effectiveness is a very strong factor in the business world. We do not
realize this much in India, but networking is almost a make a break factor in
business - and networking starts with alumni most of the times.
Duration
A two year MBA makes it easier to transition into a new career. This relates back
to the first point about career prospects for career switchers. A summer job is
mutually beneficial for both the student and the company. You get a chance to
explore and understand whether you actually want to do that job or not. The
firms are also more willing to give you a chance to explore and learn.
There can be numerous other factors that can be deciding factors - such as
geographic location, personal reasons, weather, affinity to Hyderabadi cuisine
etc. To each one her own. I do not think you can go wrong either. It is more a
matter of what you want from your MBA and from your career.
Posted by MBAstarter at 7:42 PM

I stumbled upon this article while I was researching the pros and cons of ISB and
a top US bschool that I have got admission to. While some points you have raised
are valid, I feel you have gone wrong the moment you start making assumptions
of the oppurtunities and experience at ISB.
1)The industries that ISB places students into include all the industries you
mentioned and infact for Indian students interested in Marketing related jobs, ISB
might be a much better option. This is because many MNCs (including Johnson &
Johnson) do not sponsor visas and this stated in many job openings as well. The
comparison you made about Google and Cognizant doesn't hold good either as I
have spoken to a lot of ISB alum who are in Amazon, Google, Microsoft etc. Yes,
the locations they are working from is India but with technology transforming
how we communicate, the distinction between working in the HQ and working in
an important allied campus is getting blurred. There are also several people from

top US schools whose linkedin reveals they they are working in Cognizant
(Consulting). Hence the implied superiority over Indian Bschool placement is
misplaced.
2) From what I have gathered, the international diversity at ISB is fairly minimal
so yes it does fall short in that aspect. However, the school does boast of
students from different walks of life. Moroever, the professors in ISB are among
the best in the world and have lived & worked abroad extensively. The
experience does not seem linear or uni lateral due to this important fact.
I could go on and on but i guess I'd just like to summarize by saying that your
post is highly biased towards what YOU know. That said, Fuqua is a great school
and I am sure there is value in weighing the pros and cons of studying in a highly
regarded India vs US B-school.
7:08 AM, January 13, 2015
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