Dear Pritam -

While I'm certainly not an expert in sports management, the following website might prove to be useful as it lists the different schools in the US and other countries that offer a sports management program.
You can visit the schools website to determine their admissions requirements.

Students | North American Society for Sport Management

I hope this helps.

Ashok

Dear Abhical -

Thank you for your question. It sounds like you've already analyzed why you would like to pursue an MBA and the reasons you've highlighted make sense to me.

This is what I would suggest when it comes to researching programs that would best meet your needs. You can always look at a ranking list (businessweek, FT, US News & World Report, Economist, etc) to get a first check on the quality of the schools at which you might wish to pursue an MBA. US News & World Report gives you a ranking of US schools by discipline. Once you have a sense of these schools, I would strongly suggest going to each school's website to review information about the types of specializations that might be on offer, attend school information sessions (the QS MBA tour might visit India) and process these different sources of information to make the best decision for you when it comes to the choice of school to send an application.

I hope this helps.
Ashok

Dear Harshalmate -

Thank you for your question related to the GMAT.

The GMAT exam was designed to give candidates the best opportunity to demonstrate their skillset as well as provide schools with the best possible information about a candidate's abilities to aid admissions decisions. A number of studies have show that the GMAT exam has proven validity at business school, i.e., it is an extremely good predictor of success in a graduate management program and allows candidates to know when they've been admitted to business school that their peers have been evaluated on the same scale.

The timing of the GMAT exam reflects this design and validity.

Thanks,
Ashok

Dear Harshalmate -

As I mentioned in an earlier post - a two year MBA program is typically more detailed and gives you a range of core courses and optional ones to choose from. Additionally it affords career switchers the opportunity to gain valuable experience within a new field during an internship to help make the transition to a new career easier. A one year MBA program is typically meant for those with significant (even executive level) work experience to take on more responsibility and enhance a career within an organization. A one year program is intense because it packs many courses into a single year.

A decision to pursue an MBA overseas or in India depends on the reasons you are choosing to pursue an MBA in the first place. Are you looking to pursue a career outside India or in India? An overseas MBA exposes you to an international student body that helps if you wish to work at a multi-national organization whose employees have similar backgrounds. However pursuing an MBA in India allows you to take advantage of the many opportunities available in India as the Indian economy is growing annually by more than 8%.

To finance the cost of an MBA, some banks may offer you a loan, you can look for international student loan programs. Depending on the quality of your MBA application, some schools may offer you a scholarship to cover a percentage of the costs of an MBA program.

If you are interested in pursuing a degree in the US then you can look at the US News and World Report to get an understanding of the types of specializations offered by business schools - and focus on operations/general management.

Thanks,
Ashok

I am in final yr of college.I want to know if the top european b schools like INSEAD,HEC,IMD, etc require work exp ? I know there are arbitary b schools who would accept w/o work exp but are any good ones also

I am currently in final year engineering. i definitely know doing MBA abroad is far better than doing it in INDIA.
i just want to clear my following doubts:
1. What is the criteria in terms of, minimum JOB EXPERIENCE required in one of the best foreign business schools?
2. I am good both in communications as well as Analysis, so which field is best suited to me..? FINANCE/HR/MARKETING?

Dear Concorash -

Thank you for your question(s). Your background shouldn't necessarily determine the type of MBA program you choose. Instead, you need to determine for yourself why you want to pursue an MBA program. Do you want to set up your own business, do you want to manage high performing teams, do you want to be an executive at an organization, understand how to market products? You'll need to think about what you want in a future career and decide if the MBA will help achieve these career goals.

A general degree or a specialized degree depends on what your interests are - do you know you want a career in finance or banking (and so pursue an MS in Finance) or would you like a general understanding of the various aspects of management before choosing a career? A two year program will offer you a detailed look at a management degree with core courses and specializations with an opportunity to pursue an internship down a particular career path before choosing a career upon graduation. A one year program gives you a quick breadth of the various tenets of management within a short time before seeking an opportunity. It's typically meant for executives who have a minimum of 5-7 years of work experience.

The GMAT is one factor in an admissions decision. A good score doesn't guarantee you admission into an MBA program of choice, but it doesn't hurt your chances. Schools weigh all factors like essays, work experience, recommendation letters, academic performance and interviews before making an admissions decision.

Schools vary in their treatment of GMAT scores. Some schools look at all scores, some schools look at the highest score - some schools may ask you the reason you decided to retake the GMAT exam.

I hope this helps.
Ashok

Dear Karteeksai -

Thank you for your question. A decision to pursue an MBA overseas or in India depends on the reasons you are choosing to pursue an MBA in the first place. Are you looking to pursue a career outside India or in India? An overseas MBA exposes you to an international student body that helps if you wish to work at a multi-national organization whose employees have similar backgrounds. However pursuing an MBA in India allows you to take advantage of the many opportunities available in India as the Indian economy is growing annually by more than 8%.

While most MBA programs oversees require a few years of work experience, some of these programs do accept applicants straight out of college. Business schools in India on the other hand tend to be more accepting of candidates without any work experience although recent PGPX programs do require a minimum of 5-7 years of experience before pursuing an MBA.

Ashok

Dear Jujijuba -
Thank you for your question. The length of time taken to pay off a loan depends on your earning potential after a management program, the amount of the loan, the interest rate secured on the loan and the amount that you are willing to pay monthly against your loan.

To help you decide on a particular program at which to pursue a graduate management degree, you can look at a third party source of information to access objective information about a particular program. Some sources include the school search service on www.mba.com (Find a School: Search). Other sources include the Financial Times and the Economist. If looking at schools in the US then you can also access information from Bloomberg Businessweek and US News & World Report.

Ashok

Hi Sir,

I am Pritam Bagul from Mumbai.I want to pursue a course in sports management.
I came to know about IISWBM offering a 1yr program on it.

I want to know institutes offering such courses in abroad as well the GMAT scores they accept.

I have 5 years of experience in IT and am currently looking out jobs related to sports management.

Information on above would be great help.

Regards
Pritam

Dear Bira -

Thank you for your question. Pursuing an MBA at a prestigious institution offers a number of benefits not the least of which is an opportunity to study with a truly diverse and international student body. Business is truly global these days and an exposure to different international cultures gives you an edge if you choose to work later on in a multi-national corporation. Secondly, if you have a desire to pursue a managerial career outside India, then obtaining an MBA from a good school internationally allows you to avail job opportunities in that country, depending the availability of work visas. Finally, an international degree exposes you to an international faculty group that draw on their research to expand management practice.

The cost of a 2 year full-time MBA ranges from US $50,000 ~ US $120,000 depending on where you decide to pursue an MBA. To finance the cost of an MBA, some banks may offer you a loan, you can look for international student loan programs. Depending on the quality of your MBA application, some schools may offer you a scholarship to cover a percentage of the costs of an MBA program.

Schools look for a high quality application that includes your GMAT scores, previous academic performance, work experience, recommendation letters, application essays and, in some cases, an interview before making a decision on a candidate's application. International work experience isn't essential to secure admission to an international program.

The ROI on an MBA depends on the career opportunities that you avail and career progress after attaining the degree.

Dear Sir,

I am a Graduate Student (M Tech) from IIT with just over 5 years experience (as individual contributor) in high-tech engineering (aircraft engines) domain.

Over time I have been kind of 'dismayed' at the limited opportunities in technological arena in India because of the limited scope of one's role (being in an MNC where Indians in India would not get full exposure or opportunity to work on entirety) and hence stunted (or at least slow) growth opportunities. Also, growth in leadership ladder from purely technical background 'looks difficult'.

I want to mould my domain in techno-commercial or business development roles where one gets to grow in system-level and business leadership (that uses a mix of technical and business skills), where my experience and knowledge doesn't go 'waste'.

An international MBA would also enable me to work in (hopefully) parent organizations and hence add an invaluable experience (no doubt work culture and work scope varies between a parent company and its off-shore subsidiary).

Can you suggest me:
1. Appropriate specialization in an MBA for my background and interest?
2. 'Best' and 'medium' ranking schools for the same?
3. Your thoughts on this plan (do you think my experience being in core technical area would be not of use and that I would be shifting my career and hence starting from scratch); you may suggest a good councelling service if you feel could be of help?

Thanks in advance...

Hello Sir,
I would like to raise my concern, about GMAT, with you.
The GMAT test is too long (30+30+5+75+5+75=220 min.=3hr.40min.). Candidate might not be able to concentration for full time during such long test. Its a general human psychology.
The other globally recognized test such as GRE is of around 2 hrs. 30 min.
Does GMAC has any plan to reduce the time line of GMAT?

Hello Sir,

I would like to know few things as mentioned below:
1) What is the difference between 1 year & 2 year MBA program? On what parameters one should decide for which course he/she should go?
2) Comparison MBA program in India & abroad (overall, no specific program/ college).
3) Is there any stream wise (Operations/strategy/ general management, etc.) ranking list available for MBA programs abroad?
4) Financing MBA abroad.

Is a specialized course recommended from abroad ?

Sir,

I have a few questions with regard to the topics being discussed here in this thread.
First, which specialization course would be the best for a Mechanical Engineer and how much actually is the difference between a general MBA course and a specialized one..? So, how does anybody choose the correct course for him/herself ?

Second, what are basically differences between a Two-Year Programme and a One-Year Programme..? How to choose between the two?

Third, how to actually conclude that MBA is the better option after completion of graduation in Engg. field rather than MS from abroad (as almost all know that pursuing M.Tech is not gonna be of much help unless one intends to be a lecturer or pursue research, either of which may not be everyone's cup of tea)?

Fourth,how smart is it to pursue MBA from abroad when one is determined not to settle there? For the same reason, does that depend on country being chosen for studying, like, I mean, are the prospects different for two guys with one graduating from the US and the other from Singapore?

Fifth,how much do colleges actually weigh the GMAT score when shortlisting a candidate? I mean to ask about the relative weightage to GMAT score among other parameters for shortlisting such as SOP essay, letters of recommendation, etc.

Lastly how is the GMAT score interpreted if one retakes GMAT while his/her previous score is still valid..? Does his old score play any role in deciding the final score after reappearing in the same or is the result of latter one only considered ?

Kindly do share any more suggestions that you may have in store.
Looking forward to getting a quick reply.

Thank you very much.I would really appreciate your advice.

Thank you very much for starting this useful thread..

hi sir,

What exactly are the parameters that differentiate an m.b.a in india and abroad?i completed my graduation in 2010.i don't have any international exposure.In what aspects should i prepare myself to do an m.b.a abroad?
I don't have any kind of work experience?What are the kind of the schools i should aim at?

Hi Sir(s),

My question is this - on an average how many years will one need to spend abroad for the repayment of loans, considering that one may need to take 100% loan. Is coming back to India a possibility at all? (I'm considering only the 1 yr courses so my choice is narrowed down to pretty much the European B schools)

My second question is - I would truly appreciate advice on how to decide the right B school for myself - what are the parameters I should be considering? (I'm looking mostly for a MBA which is strong on general management rather than a specific specialization)

thanks.

Hi Sir,

I would like to know the benefits and opportunities for students doing MBA abroad in any of the top 100 colleges.
Will also like to know about the financial aspect(considering experience and scholarship), is the fee structure really 3 fold that of a MBA degree in a premier institute in India?
And how is it going to be for an Indian with nil international exposure? Also will like to know about the ROI we get for an MBA degree abroad?

Thanks
Bira