Deferral - Please advice

Hi All, I have an admit from Queens, Canada. After serious thought, I am planning to take a deferral to the next year. Reasons for my deferral : 1. I am finding it difficult to arrange for a 24-25 lakh rupees loan. 2. Yes, I am re…

Hi All,

I have an admit from Queens, Canada. After serious thought, I am planning to take a deferral to the next year.

Reasons for my deferral :
1. I am finding it difficult to arrange for a 24-25 lakh rupees loan.
2. Yes, I am really worried about the recession and the job market on 2009. I don't want to compromise on choosing a job in a field which I don't like( Yes, I am interested in management consulting), if the recession happens.
3. I am getting an offer where I can save 19 lakhs in a year. I can save this money and then go for my MBA. If I go now, I will be much more tensed and may not even go for an Exchange program. But after saving some money, I will be less bothered with 5-6 lakh rupees loan and can concentrate on my studies as well as go for an Exchange program.

I request all of you to please please pour your thoughts on my decision. I will love to have different viewpoints and please help me in making this difficult decision.



Regards
Kunal

I feel the reasons you have given are all good ones to opt for deferral.
But pelase consider the following points :

1. Will you have the same energy levels,motivation, intensity next year ?
2. Is your personal life going to be stable for till the next year - like changes in family, marriage, kids etc etc ..think over it and see if all things will be in place for next year
3. Regarding recession, I think what you said may be correct, but this question is looming large on all the applicatns this year. Many have taken bold decisions to go ahead .. in the end it depends on you ..
4. You new job offer of 19 lakhs -- hmmmm if i were you i would think the other way and say i can get this job after my MBA also .so whats big deal.. let me give a try to MBA this year ..

Well these are again my personal opinions.. I had the same confusino over deferral and after quite a bit of hard thinknig i have decided to go to for my MBA this year.. so may be I'm bit biased towards gonig for MBA..

Remember,
According to me there is no major risk as such but it is a matter of choice
...& there is no worst case going to happen ,
but it is the willingness , readiness to accept & be happy in whatever
choice you make & the related consequences ..

Hi All,

I have an admit from Queens, Canada. After serious thought, I am planning to take a deferral to the next year.

Reasons for my deferral :
1. I am finding it difficult to arrange for a 24-25 lakh rupees loan.
2. Yes, I am really worried about the recession and the job market on 2009. I don't want to compromise on choosing a job in a field which I don't like( Yes, I am interested in management consulting), if the recession happens.
.........

Regards
Kunal


@Kunal ...

some of ure reasons sound pretty good ...

I agree with the point about entering an MBA program without financial tensions ... this definitely makes a lot of business sense.. Plus it gives u room to take up that exchange program that u want to and actually, pursue ure dream job ...even if it entails a longer job hunt ...etc etc

However, iIf ure deffering b'coz of the recession ... well thats not such a good idea ...'coz the way things are going either this recession will right itself in a year and a half (in which case its okay to go for an MBA now ...with a 25 lac loan).... OR ...We might be in for repeat of something like the great depression which will not be over for at least another 3-4 years ..so no point in deferring on account of an impending recession/depression.


Moreover, Rahul has raised some pretty good points and u shud try and find honest answers to these questions as they are quite imp.

Also, a questions 'bout ure new job - Will it remain secure in the face of an upcoming recession?

My take on this whole matter is simple .... take the path that u are comfortable with ..'coz if u are not comfortable then u won't be able to give ure best during ure MBA ...which would be a bad thing.

Best of luck with whatever path u decide to take...

Hi Guys,

Thanks a lot for your inputs.

Yes, I am sure I will have the same energy by next year also and I am not expecting any marriage etc to happen this year :). .

Well the problem is that Queens is a one year MBA program beginning in May. so I will be graduating next year by May.

Regarding -
You new job offer of 19 lakhs -- hmmmm if i were you i would think the other way and say i can get this job after my MBA also .so whats big deal.. let me give a try to MBA this year ..

I have tried to find out how much will I save with my job after MBA. But if I take the average salary, I will not be able to save more than 10-11 lakhs in a year.

Regarding -
However, iIf ure deffering b'coz of the recession ... well thats not such a good idea ...'coz the way things are going either this recession will right itself in a year and a half (in which case its okay to go for an MBA now ...with a 25 lac loan).... OR ...We might be in for repeat of something like the great depression which will not be over for at least another 3-4 years ..so no point in deferring on account of an impending recession/depression.

If recession is over in a year and half, I will be just out of my graduation and may be able to fetch just a decent job, may not be in my field of interest. If it goes for a depression, I m in a very big fix. :(

If I go for a deferral,
I wil start my course in May'09. If the recession gets over by Sep'09. I will start looking for my job at that point through on campus placements and by the time I graduate, I will def have a good job.

If its depression, I will agian go for an MBA, but this time I won't be in a fix as I will not be indebted with a huge loan and can take up a job with lower salary but in my field of interest.

Please don't get me wrong. I m just trying to analyze my answers to your questions.

Please suggest ?

Regards
KUnal

Kunal,

Dont think financial loss as a risk.. take it as a learning expense.

Regarding -
I have tried to find out how much will I save with my job after MBA. But if I take the average salary, I will not be able to save more than 10-11 lakhs in a year.

what I meant with your new job is that you can get this job after your MBA also.. You may not b e able to pay your 25 lakh loan with the savings from this job but on the other hand think you will at least have a job and something to settle down.. well this is altogether a different way of thinknig but I would suggest you to be positive here ..

Then your confusion about recession : Well personally i think the whole recession thing is blown out of proportion specially by us Indians. Well, if you think only 50% of your class gets placed during the recession for example, then why dont your try to be in that 50%..again positive thinking.. :-).

But one thing that supports your deferral case is that the program is only for 1 year and i think you can afford the deferral if you are comfortable with 'other' things inyour life ..

Tell me are you planning to support your entire course expense on loan? Are you not digging into your savings ? I believe if you want to support your entire course on loan, then this is a sure shot recipe for disaster should there be no job after MBA...

Dont get me wrong , i'm just trying to put both sides into perspective and these are just my personal opinions (opinions can be wrong also)....Personally, I would suggest you to play aggressive and take a bold positive decision .. Goodluck..

Hi All,

I have an admit from Queens, Canada. After serious thought, I am planning to take a deferral to the next year.

Reasons for my deferral :
1. I am finding it difficult to arrange for a 24-25 lakh rupees loan.
2. Yes, I am really worried about the recession and the job market on 2009. I don't want to compromise on choosing a job in a field which I don't like( Yes, I am interested in management consulting), if the recession happens.
3. I am getting an offer where I can save 19 lakhs in a year. I can save this money and then go for my MBA. If I go now, I will be much more tensed and may not even go for an Exchange program. But after saving some money, I will be less bothered with 5-6 lakh rupees loan and can concentrate on my studies as well as go for an Exchange program.

I request all of you to please please pour your thoughts on my decision. I will love to have different viewpoints and please help me in making this difficult decision.



Regards
Kunal


Hey Kunal,

Great thought man! Seriously appreciate your views.

However, just give this one a thought before you take any final decision. Also with this, i do mean to under estimate you or your capabilities but trying to make you aware of a possibility.

As you would be aware by now, the competition even for international MBA has become very stiff this time. This may only increase next year. Owing, we may not know what are our chances next time. Avg GMAt and other parameters may become even more stringent.

All i want to say is that our chance next year is only going to decrease.

With this, i do not try to discourage you from apping next year. This is just my view.

Best of luck!

Best Regards,
Maunang
Hey Kunal,

Great thought man! Seriously appreciate your views.

.....

Best Regards,
Maunang


Hi Maunang,

I think u misunderstood Kunal's question ... he's looking to deffer accepting his offer of admission ... and not looking to defer Apping. However, that aside u have raised a very valid point.

Hi Kunal,
Have you been able to defer your admission?

I am curious to know the resons which you gave to Queen, as I am also planning to defer my program at rotman. But I am not sure if they will agree.

Also, you would deposit the confirmation amount and thena sk for deferral.

Thanks
Sanjeev

Hi Guys

Thanks a lot for your inputs.

Yes, I am deferring my admission from Queens.( choosing it over CEIBS and NUS) .

Yes, a valid point that if i try for other schools the competition will increase. Well I believe. my profile too will become better.
with 4.5 yrs of workex , lead functional consultant , may be a project manager and more ERP consulting experience, my profile will definitely look better. :)


Yes, buddy . I am planning to fund my education mostly through loan but I am confident that I will get a decent job. But I don't want to get tensed or feel its effect on my studies or compromise on my field of interest( . otherwise it doesn't make any sense to do an MBA :() .. If not full atleast I will be able to fund 2/3rd of my MBA expenditure from my current job.

But is it wise to do an MBA now or 1-yr later considering my concerns mentioned above is the question :(.

All suggestions are welcome :)

Regards
Kunal

Hi Sanjeev

I have already deposited the acceptance fee. To be frank, I was ready to go. but initially my financial constraints forced me to rethink and I spoke to the admissions director and she told me to take a deferral. Which I didn't want to. So I asked her for few more days. But then this recession thing and a new better job offer have forced me to rethink.. to be frank, I am dying to go for an MBA ( had been waiting for a long time) but I need to do some recalculations now :(.

now, the d-day has come and I have to make my decision by today.. so gettin more inputs..

I guess you can give financial contraint as a reason I guess that is your actual reason ?


I will suggest that you be frank with them if your reason is any valid reason.

Regards
Kunal

Here are my two $.02.
Forget about the recession and if you have the right skill sets and the attitude there will be opportunities knocking at your door. If you are admitted to a college of your choice, stick with it, with or without recession. In your case, i assume Queens is one of your top choices, so i would suggest you stick with it. Lemme ask you something blunt--: aren't you confident about your skill sets/employability etc. I understand the weight of loan on your shoulders, but people have overcome this in the past and in the present. So why u shunning the challenge!

And you also said about not workin in a domain of your choice, which is MC. Its a known fact, every second MBA aspirant wants MC , but the demand is less than supply and only a handful make it to MC in the end. What is your basis/groundwork of your interest in your MC. ERP consulting is good, but not a stepping stone nor a springboard for MC. Over 60% people in all B-skools have a change of mind, once they are in B-skool.

Further, you talk abt making some "X" lacs next year, but the important question is what about your skill set? Will it improve your profile? Will it help you differentiate from the IT crowd? or will it make you grow older by one year? Will you become a functional consultant/ senior consulant/Principal etc in the next one year.

Kunal, you need to take these points with a pinch, or may be a heap of salt:biggrin:

Thanks buddy for providing these inputs.

I will say its not about shunning from the challenge or having the right skill set etc. If I am confident that I have the right skill set, so do many of the Whartons, the Stanfords, the INSEADs etc have and I am competing against them.

Its about an investment at the opportune moment. If I want to be an entrepreneur and the market is bad, I may not start my company that time rather try to enhance my research, get more VCs etc. and when the market is ripe, I attack with full throttle.
At this point, I wont say I am shunning but I am trying to explore more into the investment I am making at this point.

If I go with a huge debt and the market is bad, my priority will be money and I may be forced to jump into a field other than MC. And believe me, I have seen people from across the globe doing so. I definitely dont want to do so.

If I go without a huge debt, even if the market is bad, money wont be a constraint and I can look for working with even a smaller amount especially.

Now, this doesnt mean that money is the prime concern. Its the market also which is a concern. Had the markets been good, I wouldnt have been thinking about this in depth. But now, I am worried about the demand and supply crunch ( as you said) for MC jobs by the time I graduate.

Regarding the profile, apart from the monetary concern, yes I am getting a lead role which def will give me a much more leadership experience.

ERP consulting is good, but not a stepping stone nor a springboard for MC.

I wont agree to that. I will say any direct interaction with the client will provide a base for your management consulting also atleast the soft skills, believe me they become much more imp in the consulting world. Atleast I realized this after shifting as a developer from oracle to consulting.

Here, I will be a part of a team which is responsible for expanding my companys operations and definitely you definitely come to know about different strategies.

Yes, I have taken all your comments with a pinch of salt. But still contemplating and will like to have more opinions.

Kunal, I like your spirit
All the best with whatever you decide.