How should I choose an MBA college in Delhi - NCR?

Delhi-NCR is a very large area, a lot more bigger than some of India’s smaller states. So, let’s see the geographical spread before tackling the question of how to choose the best MBA college.

Strictly for academic purposes, Delhi-NCR comprises Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida.  Out of this, Faridabad and Gurgaon are in Haryana while Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida are in Uttar Pradesh.

The Delhi-NCR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Capital_Region_(India)) area has a number of top MBA colleges. Getting an admission in the stream of your choice would depend on your score in CAT , MAT and GMAT or as the case may be, depending on the specific institution’s criterion. So, how do you choose the college that suits you?

Here is a rundown on what to look for.

1. Recognition : The MBA college, if it is part of a department under a university, the program must be recognised by the higher education regulator, the University Grants Commission (UGC). If it is a standalone institution offering PGDM, it must be recognised by the All India Council of Technical Education.  You must look it up on the official website and if it is not given because the website has not been updated enquire about it and get check the UGC or AICTE website for confirmation. Both the instruction as well as the program must have the recognition from these regulatory bodies. A recognised degree ensures you can aim for higher studies and employment in the public sector.

2. Ranking : The fact whether an MBA college is good or bad depends on how it compares with other institutions offering a similar programme. It is in this context that ranking and rating of MBA colleges by reputed agencies come into play. All MBA colleges that are sure of the quality of their programs get ranked and rated by reputed agencies. In India the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) under MHRD ranks MBA colleges that apply to it and submit all the records that are verifiable. Other reputed agencies like Careers360 also rank and rate MBA colleges based on objective data that can be verified and do not depend on perceptions about an institution.

3. Rating : Look out for MBA colleges that are rated by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council, an autonomous body under the UGC). The NAAC rating is on a score of 4 with the highest rating being A++ (to institutions getting 3.56 and above). If you still need more information and data, look for the ranking/rating of Careers360. This is because it does not look at perception and rate colleges based on only objective data and information.

4. Placements : Most B-Schools offer 100% placements, except say 20% who don’t want to be placed and another 20% that go into family businesses. When it comes to the admission season, none of the IIMs go for advertising, saying they offer 100% placements. They don’t, because the placements at such institutions are so good that they don’t need any publicity. Their brand value and past records assure placements.  Ask the institutions for the names of the companies that visited the campus and the placements made each year.  If they give you an overall figure of placements that happened across the years, be weary of that college. It only means that the latest placements were bad and they are covering that up by giving the overall data.  Any MBA college that gives a detailed list of companies and placements per year is a far better bet than those making tall claims like “100 percent placements”.

5. Summer placements : A summer internship followed by a job offer by a company between the first and second years of an MBA is a good indicator of the quality of an MBA college. You must ask for a list of MBA students who got job offers after summer internships. If the institution lets you know this either personally or uploads a verifiable document on its website, it speaks a lot about the quality of learning it imparts and its reputation in the industry.

6. Infrastructure : See whether the MBA college offers good learning and living facilities. Management education is not just classroom learning.  The college must have state-of-the-art classrooms, latest electronic teaching equipment, a well-stocked library, access to electronic libraries. Ideally hostels must have single rooms for each resident.  Good conference halls, meeting places, outdoor facilities add to the learning experience. A sprawling campus is always preferable than a cramped building in the middle of a city.

7. Faculty :  Check out the list of faculty before you decide to join any MBA college. Try to avoid colleges that have too many retired professors on it rolls or too many who joined just six months ago. Look at the faculty list carefully and understand more about their consultancies because it will give you a picture of how good the teachers are. Avoid colleges that keep on recruiting teachers every year. Be wary of the list of visiting faculty. Find out how often these faculty visit, the hours they devote to the institute, and the reputation of the visiting faculty.

8. Management Development Programmes (MDP) : MDPs run by MBA colleges are a very good indicator of future placements. Only those with a lot of work experience attend MDPs or they are sponsored by companies. If an MBA college runs a well-attended MDP, it means the faculty has a good reputation among firms that are potential recruiters. But don’t confuse this with the so-called “industry interaction”.  Some of the industry leaders might visit a school and deliver a lecture if the college persistently calls him or her, but doesn’t mean his firm will necessarily recruit from there.