Transcription
There are three lakh CAT aspirants in India every single year, but only 3,000 of them will make it to tier one MBA colleges. That's less than 1%. What should everyone else do? Should they go abroad instead? Will they have better opportunities abroad? Is studying abroad better than studying in India? That's exactly what I'm going to talk about in today's video.
I'm going to compare an Indian MBA from tier one MBA colleges in India like IIM, maybe ISB, with an international MBA or a Master's and identify what is better for you: cost, ROI, job opportunities, career progression, quality of education. We'll talk about every single thing.
If this is the first time you're seeing me, I'm Fil. I help people make the right decisions about studying abroad. So make sure you subscribe to my channel. It'll be a win-win for the both of us.
So, I personally chose to come abroad. I'm right now in France pursuing a Master's in Management at ESCP Business School, and in a few months, I'll be going on exchange to Cornell University in the US for an MBA. And if I had to do it all over again, what would I do?
So, I'm going to assume a few things. Number one, you want to study in the best possible institutions. You actually care about going to a good university and doing what's best for you in your career. I'm also going to assume that you don't have a lot of work experience. If you already have a lot of work experience, you've been working for six years, eight years, then there's only one option: you have to go abroad. There is nothing in India which can match what you'll get abroad. If you have that much work experience, you can target the best MBAs: Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, INSEAD, and your opportunities will be amazing.
But for everyone else, what do you do? This is where it gets tricky. If you have less work experience, it's highly unlikely or almost impossible that you'll be able to get into the best MBA programs in the world. It's very difficult to go to Harvard, Stanford as a fresher. You have to be a genius, done three startups, one gold at the Olympics, gone to the moon, you know what I mean? I'm not saying it's not possible, but it's a very rare chance.
But that's where pre-experience Masters come in. Many universities offer Master's degrees to students who don't have a lot of work experience. Master's in Management, Master's in Finance, Master's in Marketing. You can do all these degrees without work experience. Yeah, these won't be as prestigious as an MBA from Harvard or a Stanford, but they're still a very good option, especially in Europe.
On the other hand, in India, you can still apply to the best MBA programs without work experience. More than 50% of the batch in IIM Ahmedabad are freshers. This means you can join immediately after your undergrad and go from a salary of four lakhs, five lakhs straight to a salary of 30, 40 lakhs, which is an amazing progression.
So, both options are amazing. How do we choose what's right for you? Let's first start with the most important part for Indians: cost and ROI. A Master's in Management from the best MIM college in the world, which is HEC Paris, costs 42 lakhs just for the tuition fees. If you add living costs and everything else, this easily comes up to be 60 to 70 lakhs. Total fees of IIM Ahmedabad is 33 lakhs, and that includes your stay, your food, every single thing. So, solely in terms of cost, IIM Ahmedabad is exactly half. So, in terms of cost, IIM wins.
But now you might be saying, "Okay, cost, IIM wins, but what about salaries?" HEC Paris average starting salary is around €60,000 post-tax. This becomes €40,000, which is around 36 lakh rupees. Not bad, right? This is still higher than the average salaries at IIM Ahmedabad, which are around 27 lakh rupees. But no, what you need to consider is purchasing power parity. If you adjust the salary of HEC Paris for a difference in cost of living between France and India, you make an equivalent of 20 lakh rupees. So, in HEC Paris, you spend 60, 70 lakhs and get 20 lakh rupees back. IIM, you spend 33 lakhs and you make it back in the first year. So, even in terms of returns, IIM wins.
Yes, there are many more factors which you have to keep in mind, like international exposure, worldwide connections, network you build. But solely in terms of cost and ROI, IIM wins.
But all of this depends on one thing: the admission process. Will you be able to crack the best top MBA colleges in India? Top three IIMs, ISB, FMS, maybe a few more IIMs like Lucknow or Indore. The problem in India is that the ratio of the number of applicants versus the number of seats is very, very poor. 3.3 lakh students attempted the CAT in 2023, but there are only around 3,000 seats in tier 1 MBA colleges. That's less than 1%.
And that is why you have to ask the question: Is it easier to get into a top business school abroad than in India? It depends on your profile. If you're a female psychology graduate with reservation, it's going to be much easier for you than if you're a general engineer male. Also, in India, your admission chances are highly dependent on your CAT score. 50% or more of your profile is dependent on your CAT score. But it's not the same abroad. The GMAT is a much smaller part of your application, and your entire profile is taken into consideration. So, even if you have a lower GMAT score, you can compensate for that with other aspects of your profile.
You can also see the acceptance rate. Schools like Wharton, Harvard, Stanford all have an acceptance rate of 6 to 7%. But schools like IIM ABC, less than 0.5%. So, I would say if you're strategic and you plan things well, it would be easier to get into a top business school abroad than in India. They also have quotas for your background, in which country you come from, and that could actually be an advantage for you. If you're not good at taking tests, if you can't spend six months studying for the CAT, if you don't think you'll get a good score, I think it's a much better option to go abroad.
But wherever you're going, you're most likely going to have to give a test. The question is, which test do you give? This is where you have to make a choice. Or do you? People always make this mistake and choose just one test. They decide firmly, "Okay, I want to stay in India or I want to go abroad," and then they just choose that test and throw the other test in the dustbin. But this is why you should not do this.
CAT happens once a year in November, and anything might happen. You could have an amazing day and get a nice 99.9 percentile, or you could have a poor day and not even pass the cutoff. If you don't pass the cutoff, should you wait an entire year and then reattempt the CAT? I don't think so. Prepare for both CAT and GMAT. Once you're done preparing for the CAT, once you're done with the paper, spend another month or two and then write the GMAT as well. A lot of the concepts overlap, and if you're already in that zone, it's going to be a lot easier for you. You also need the GMAT to apply to a few colleges in India. So, even if you want to stay in India, you'd still need it.
Also, the GMAT does not take too long to prepare for as well. You can easily do it alongside work as well. I personally spent just one entire month preparing for the GMAT and got a 750, which is a 99.8th percentile score. I personally use Target Test Prep to prepare, which is the sponsor of today's video. But even if they weren't, I would still promote them because that's what I use to get my score and that's what worked for me. It's super comprehensive yet quite manageable, and it adapts to your strengths and weaknesses. You can also personalize your study plan on the basis of how many days you have to prepare, which is perfect if you don't have a long time to prep. They have a five-day free trial, so do check it out. I've linked them below in the description. See if you like it. If you do, then amazing. If not, there's literally no risk either way. Attempt both CAT and GMAT.
Okay, so we spoke about cost, ROI, and admissions. But what other factors should we consider? One very important point is international exposure. This is much more important than you think. Look at these three Indian CEOs. What's common between them? All of them got their MBAs abroad. Indra Nooyi actually got an MBA from IIM and then went abroad and got another Master's. Very often, you can only reach that next level if you've had that international exposure.
But what is very interesting now as well is that even IIMs have exchange options. You can join an IIM and do your entire second year abroad or even just one semester abroad as well. Definitely, going abroad for a full degree will get you more exposure and connections, but even studying at IIM or ISB can get you a little bit of exposure. But still, the best foreign universities still have a better brand name than the best Indian universities. It's a fact, and that brand name helps you a lot in your career if you want to work abroad. But if you want to work locally in India, it doesn't make a big difference.
But a problem you get alongside this international exposure and something you have to deal with is visas and settlement. This is one thing which gives people who study abroad so much anxiety. You ask anyone who's studying abroad, and they all have this concern: visas, PR, stay-back period. All of this is very confusing, and more than confusing, it gives you a lot of stress. Especially in the US, even if you get a job, there's a lottery system to decide if you get your H1B, which doesn't make any sense. In some countries, you never know when you'll get sent back, and so many times you take the first job you get and not wait for the job you want because of these limitations. Maybe a company is perfect for you, a role is perfect for you, but they can't sponsor your visa. If you stay in India, this concern is just not there.
Another big pro of India is the placement system. The placement system which we have in India is not dead abroad. There is no concept of companies coming to the university to hire you. Yeah, the colleges help you, they offer a few resources, there's a career services team, but in the end, everything has to be done by you. But having a placement system, having companies come in to hire you, that makes a big difference. Plus, studying in the best universities in India almost guarantees that you'll get hired. Yeah, I know sometimes, and recently, the placement rate is not 100%, but even if it's 85, 90%, that's still amazing. Trust me, this is a massive advantage.
If you want my opinion, and I know this doesn't apply to everybody, but if you don't care about where you live, you just want what's perfect, what's best for your professional life, then I think you should try your best to make it to the best MBAs in India. And by best, I mean top five or top seven. You'll have a lower investment, you'll have a better ROI, you'll have a placement system, you'll have better companies coming in. But if you're not able to crack these top seven MBAs, then you should go abroad. It's going to be easier for you to get admission, and that international exposure and experience will be amazing for your career and your life. That's my personal opinion. Personally, I also wanted to live abroad and get that exposure. But if my goal was just about my professional life, then maybe I would have tried applying to IIMs.
If there's one thing you take from this video, take this: don't close your mind off to any opportunity. MBA in India, MBA abroad, Master's abroad, all of these are great options and all have their strengths and weaknesses. Keep your options open and attempt both CAT and GMAT. And once you make your decision, don't overthink it. People are successful if they go abroad, people are successful if they stay in India. But what you must do is subscribe to my channel, and I'll help you make the right decisions about studying abroad. It'll be a win-win for the both of us.