IN THE SPOTLIGHT
What is driving the shift in management education
Know what’s new in management education to stay ahead of the curve
Management education is undergoing significant changes both within India and globally. What baffles most Indian students, however, is the question of ranking and if they should still consider only the top-ranked B-schools in the US as their top choice. While the issue is a matter of concern, we believe that this might perhaps be the best time for Indian students to consider the US for a management education since most business schools have seen a drop in international applications, especially from India. Schools in the US are now hungrier than ever to get applications from Indian candidates and the chances of being accepted at your dream school has never been higher. Further, to woo back Indian students, business schools have increased their scholarship budgets and are offering generous amounts to Indians candidates.
STUDY ABROAD
A positive development for Indian candidates is the recently announced H1B visa regulation that significantly increases the chances of MBA graduates getting a work permit visa. At the same time, there has been a rise in the number of students wanting to pursue new programmes such as masters in management (MIM) in Europe. There are several other programmes as well that are being offered by universities in Europe. The fee for these programmes is not very high and most of the countries where they are offered are presently welcoming international candidates as they place tremendous value on diversity in the classroom.
A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
In this increasingly interconnected world, new age managers will have to understand how to operate in different countries, regions and continents. This fact has been recognised by most B-schools and they fully understand that integrated reasoning skills in management students is an important criteria employers look for while hiring. The ability to interpret and use data to solve real world problems is what employers want in managers joining the workplace after completing an MBA. So, introducing a separate section on integrated reasoning in the GMAT exam pattern will help candidates to learn to evaluate information in a data-driven world.
PREPARE WITH EASE
Give yourself sufficient time to prepare—typically three-and-a-half months before you take the final exam. Don’t be overconfident when it comes to the verbal reasoning section. Just because you are familiar with English as a spoken and written language doesn’t mean that the section will be easy for you and you should not prepare for it. That’s not true. Practice is critical. The more you practice, the better you are likely to do. Take as many practice exams as you can; these will give you the real test experience. Identify your weak areas and work on them. It is also important to stay calm and stress free on the final day.