'Don’t choose MBA institute based on placement package'

At DNA Eduscope, expert speaker Dr Suresh Ghai, director, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, spoke to DNA about what factors to keep in mind while choosing an MBA institute.

How should a student decide which institute to join?
Do not to fall prey to advertisements. Talk to current students and faculty members to understand an institute. One should not depend on a single ranking scale. Institute X will be ranked 9th on one list and 15th in another. So refer to different rankings and derive an average to gauge an institute’s quality. One should never choose an institute depending on its placement package. A candidate bagging a really high package makes great news. But there are lakhs of students doing the same course who get different packages.

Does the brand of an institute help in placements?
Mostly all large companies have their own internal process of rating management institutes depending on their past experiences. Other firms go by the rankings done by different agencies. It also largely depends on networking, which is a very important aspect of management education. If a big company has a CEO who is from X institute, its students have an advantage. Hence the general perception or branding activity of an institute will not be of much help.       

Do candidates with work experience have an edge over a fresh MBA graduate?
Internationally, fresh candidates are not allowed to do an MBA, making a certain amount of work experience mandatory. However, in India, there is no such process. But a candidate with work experience will personally have an edge in understanding the course, relating to the situations and examples in the theory.