Research MBA Programs

Hey People!

BACKGROUND
I am a mechanical engineer from India, working with an automobile company for the past 3.5 years now and have worked in both Operations and Marketing roles. I appeared for my GMAT and have scored a 750 (Q50, V41). I applied to a few colleges this year - Duke, HEC, Emory, Kelley, Foster, and Olin. Among these, I have received an admit from HEC, and am expecting results for Foster, Olin, and Kelley (rest rejects).

Now comes the decision part. Post-MBA, I want to join either operations or marketing. Of course, initially I will have to work outside to repay the loans and that is understandable but in the long-term I would want to return back to India or at the least Asia, at a senior role with preference to leadership roles. Since most of these schools (in which I have a chance post rejections) have limited brand power in India/ Asia, please suggest a suitable choice. Also, please consider that my work-ex is slightly on the lower side.

Another candidate in this race is ISB. I will be applying for the USB in the 2nd round but from my talks with their Admissions team I stand a good chance unless I crash my interview badly.

CONSIDERATIONS
HEC has a good reputation and sends good number of people to Asia as well. But, still, some people sound apprehensive and say that due to European economic situations it should be a pass unless its LSE or INSEAD.
ISB is good for Indian scene but its global acceptability is still low. Also, leadership offers are lower as compared to HEC
US schools - H1B is the only issue with a US MBA which makes me sweat.

PROBLEM
I have to make my HEC decision almost 4 days post my US college decisions.
ISB result is still 2 months away and HEC requires a heavy deposit of 8,000 euros so I have to make the decision soon.

SPECIFIC QUERIES -
1) How is HEC as a college for people with lower work-ex. Especially, people vying for Marketing or operations role?
2) How would you rate HEC's acceptance in Asia or India?
3) Which US school (among the one's I have applied for) should I rate above HEC in order to meet my requirements?

Hello.

Congratulations on making it to HEC Paris.

Tell me more about your profile - undergrad GPA. Your GMAT score and work experience look impressive and I feel you can get into more competitive business schools. HEC is a very good school. Are you planning to apply to LBS and INSEAD in R2?

Your decision should be based on your post MBA goals. Marketing is one of the top areas of study in HEC.

Hey H.Devin,

Many Congratulations on making it to a very good school. A lot of people would want to be in your situation where they could have the option of choosing between HEC and ISB (potentially).

Based on your preference for Marketing, HEC would be a good choice. The only school among your list of US schools that I would say is good enough for Marketing is Kelley. But then again, I do think you should be applying to more competitive schools in R2.

ISB is very strong in India - and Operations & Marketing are among the top choices there. You do get some of the best Leadership roles in India here. Take this from ISB alumnus.

I think you might have applied to too many schools in R1 and might not have had enough time to turn in quality applications. If you do plan on applying to more competitive schools, need further advice on selecting schools among these, or want an analysis of what went wrong with the previous applications - do get in touch with us!

All the best!

H.Devin wrote:Hey People!

BACKGROUND
I am a mechanical engineer from India, working with an automobile company for the past 3.5 years now and have worked in both Operations and Marketing roles. I appeared for my GMAT and have scored a 750 (Q50, V41). I applied to a few colleges this year - Duke, HEC, Emory, Kelley, Foster, and Olin. Among these, I have received an admit from HEC, and am expecting results for Foster, Olin, and Kelley (rest rejects).

Now comes the decision part. Post-MBA, I want to join either operations or marketing. Of course, initially I will have to work outside to repay the loans and that is understandable but in the long-term I would want to return back to India or at the least Asia, at a senior role with preference to leadership roles. Since most of these schools (in which I have a chance post rejections) have limited brand power in India/ Asia, please suggest a suitable choice. Also, please consider that my work-ex is slightly on the lower side.

Another candidate in this race is ISB. I will be applying for the USB in the 2nd round but from my talks with their Admissions team I stand a good chance unless I crash my interview badly.

CONSIDERATIONS
HEC has a good reputation and sends good number of people to Asia as well. But, still, some people sound apprehensive and say that due to European economic situations it should be a pass unless its LSE or INSEAD.
ISB is good for Indian scene but its global acceptability is still low. Also, leadership offers are lower as compared to HEC
US schools - H1B is the only issue with a US MBA which makes me sweat.

PROBLEM
I have to make my HEC decision almost 4 days post my US college decisions.
ISB result is still 2 months away and HEC requires a heavy deposit of 8,000 euros so I have to make the decision soon.

SPECIFIC QUERIES -
1) How is HEC as a college for people with lower work-ex. Especially, people vying for Marketing or operations role?
2) How would you rate HEC's acceptance in Asia or India?
3) Which US school (among the one's I have applied for) should I rate above HEC in order to meet my requirements?