Hi,

I want to achieve an MBA degree from UK [primarily for the course duration and affordability compared to US/EU colleges].

I am from India with 3 years of work experience in Accenture Services working as a techno-functional consultant. I have strong academic background with excellent grades throughout. My applications for this year were limited to colleges without GMAT requirement as I wanted to test the credibility of my profile for the course.

I have offers from Strath, Nottingham and awaiting response from Birmingham, Aston, Durham and Bath.

I am primarily focused on changing my career path and enter into Operations or SCM. Consulting for me is a second option, but nothing that I intend to absolutely avoid. [landing a job after graduation is a must for me]

I would not mind appearing for a GMAT and then applying for the top 5-10 FT ranked colleges, but honestly I wouldn't be able to acquire the funds necessary to achieve an MBA from those colleges.

Please let me know if there are courses apart from MBA, with great long term career prospects for me. My preference is to achieve a job and stay in UK/EU before returning.

I think the MBA is the best course for you if you want to study in the UK. Tale a look at http://www.find-mba.com/board/33571 to get some insight into the best schools for you. Almost certainly you will be much more likely to meet your goals if you wake an extra year and apply with a GMAT score. A top ten UK school should be easily possible for you.

Thanks JK!

From the current crop of colleges I have a chance at.. should I be accepting any, given my goals? What are your opinions on them.

I am definitely positive about my chances in the top 10, but as I mentioned arranging the necessary funds is near impossible.

Edinburgh and Lancaster are only 26k: the 16 month option to the MBA at Edinburgh is great value.

Really, get into the best college you can.

Thanks again JK! One last help please.. would you mind rating the colleges as per your opinion and knowledge based on their reputation and MBA program NPV/ROI..

Strath, Durham, Aston, Nottingham, Birmingham, Bath, Edin, Lanc

College with strong industrial networks for MBA internships, Job Opportunities and career progress are a must have for me.

Rated high to low:-
1] In terms of NPV: Strath, Bath, Lanc, Edin, Durham, Birmingham, Aston, Nottingham.
2] In terms of ROI: Bath, Strath, Durham, Lanc, Birmingham, Nottingham, Aston, Edin.

These are all one year programmes, so the internship opportunities are limited.

I'm not sure what you mean by "industrial". Do you mean manufacturing? There's not much of that in the UK.

Thanks a lot JK!

So i guess Strath turns out to be a safe and sound option for me to pursue.. although I was leaning towards Birmingham given there strong connections in procurement..

yes by industrial I meant opportunities in Mfg and Operations.. also Procurement.. provided these are my key areas of interest..

Maybe use this approach: http://www.find-mba.com/board/33571

I had done the linkedin search as suggested before posting this thread.. hoping it would ease my confusion about my decision somewhat... however given my limited connections on the network.. the search wasn't so fruitful..

i am still unsure on which college to approach. and i have been searching rigorously about the various elements of each .. also trying to reach out to their alumni and current batch students via fb/linkedin/twiter ..

its between these 3 colleges for now.. Strath Birmingham Nottingham.. not too keen on Durham and Aston..

Hi,
I would recommend to choose universities based in England close to London, Birmingham or Manchester or other big cities where there are better job opportunities, as compared to Glasgow. As you would need to start applying jobs simultaneously along with your studies, else by the time you will finish your course you will only be left with 4 months visa, which i believe wont be enough to find a suitable job.

I had done the linkedin search as suggested before posting this thread.. hoping it would ease my confusion about my decision somewhat... however given my limited connections on the network.. the search wasn't so fruitful..

i am still unsure on which college to approach. and i have been searching rigorously about the various elements of each .. also trying to reach out to their alumni and current batch students via fb/linkedin/twiter ..

its between these 3 colleges for now.. Strath Birmingham Nottingham.. not too keen on Durham and Aston..

One of my friend did his MBA from strathclyde but couldn't find a job in the UK. So he returned to India.

thanks guys! and that is the biggest dilemma I have been facing to this date.. to go for these colleges or not..

i have no reasons to not give a GMAT and perhaps I will give one for sure in a matter of months. which should add substantial weight to my profile... but the harsh reality for me is that the bigger ones have fees crossing 35-40k... which for me is impossible to arrange for.. sky is the limit [strath/lanc - 25-26k] .. nottingham and birmingham are very affordable...

If money is the constrain you can opt for Bradford MBA. Its equally good (triple accredited) and can cost you much less.
the fees is 17950 (less scholarship of 2000) for Indian students.
and living is also around 5K for 1 year.
I would say its one of the best in terms of ROI

The Bradford MBA is good, but we can't can't really say that it's equally good. The rankings and placement data show that different triple accredited programmes have different outcomes.

As always, there's a choice between NPV and ROI. Indian candidates are often in the position where a small investment and small rise in salary is more appealing than a medium investment and big rise. That's a false economy, and it's why candidates should focus on NPV rather than ROI.

Rated high to low:-
1] In terms of NPV: Strath, Bath, Lanc, Edin, Durham, Birmingham, Aston, Nottingham.
2] In terms of ROI: Bath, Strath, Durham, Lanc, Birmingham, Nottingham, Aston, Edin.

Trust me.. You are better off waiting for another 2 years. U will gain max from your mba experience if you are a 5-6 yr guy

This gives u enough time as well to save money and have a chance at top colleges in US/UK..

Hi JK.. I have finally come down to deciding between durham and strath. I have also received a 3k scholarship from durham.

Please suggest which one you think will be a better option and have better career prospects. Also if you could share some insight on the 2 cities.

I think you can get all of that from reading this board. Congratulations on the offers.

i am a graduate. i am interested indoing mba from uk can you please suggest that what is the difference in doing a mba program from uk and msc program.