I made it to ISB and then to IIM-C and then to IIM-A.
ISB didn't want to work with me and accomodate my requests for time, so I katta'ed it. The dilemma then is between C and A. Both reputed schools, both with deep roots, deep alumni and deep pockets..
Sometimes, I wish for innocence and youth, when you didn't think too much; just did what the juntax did; and lived to die another day.
Katta, the crap, I did some research and thinking and analysis and here is my score-card through my myopic and convex lens:
1. Academic Rigor:
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A wins. If the BusinessWeek rankings are to be believed, A has an enviable record of 100% acceptance by students, while C has about 50%, meaning the best go to A. But will I prove worthy, or should I let my inglorious academic results in a distant college predict my future results in an academic setting, and instead succumb to the school (that lets you discover yourself and not the scholar in you)!! The funny thing with me is that while for the most part, my college scores have been a big ZERO, there have been miscellaneous sparks of whiz and times when I would amaze myself. A GMAT score of 760, a test question in KGP that none but me could solve, a class-test in ASU in algos (which I dare say to a Thoka was pure Greek compared to the class of CS studs) where I'd suddenly be the top-gun even tho I did not study anything and the rest of the class had armed themselves to the teeth!
Well, the fear of failure has never spurred a winner and as Gurudev says When u fear, think the worst that can happen to u and the fear will evaporate! So, worst case scenario I'd fail the class in which case they'd kick me out of A and I would start my life from scratch! What's a year in God's big scheme of things.. I survived 27 years, another year of failure wouldn't hurt!!
So, I say, A bring it on! And C, the lame horse will prove a winner yet!
2. Placement Stats:
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A one-liner - I don't care!
I'm not exactly rolling in moolah, but placements are a color of the season and a function of the market conditions. As with my past experiences at KGP, and ASU, I am going to assume the worst and tell the market on the face this time, "I DON'T CARE." It took me three.five years at Micron to be able to say that, and I feel good now!
3. Apna Khud ka Dukan (Entre):
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The web, the great demystifier and the leveller shouts A. C's claim to entre is a club and a few email ids. A has a dedicated web-site. But then C is Kol - home of all my dreams, so then here my naivette would shout C.
Gujjuland is the home of the Ambanis, Kol is the land of Marxists. Conclusion: Je ne comprende pas. Me more confused than you!
4. The Chanakyas (Professors)
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The profs at IIM-A are hard task-masters. They are better professors. Period. For someone like me, I need someone to kick my back-side all the time. Its like the slave who will not work till the master whips him. Yes, India has tasted fifty years of freedom, but, me, I am still a slave.
Besides, again, the web, the great leveller, highlights the professors at A to be more dynamic. TTR even has a blog-site! Well, I am sure there are good professors at C, but I will rest my case here. A beats C 100 to 99.
5. Fin/Marketing/Ops/Systems/....
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Since the only exposure to management for me is "HOW LOUD CAN YOU SHOUT?" I will say that I don't know what I want to do. Yes, I am scared because for the first time, I don't have a clear idea of what I want to do after a MBA.. The prospect terrifies me, because all the while I was very clear of what I wanted to do. Right after my internship in Germany to my decision to do an MBA, it was more or less planned out. Yes, I gambled on the 1-year and lost a year but other than that, all working as planned.
But cut to the chase, A is good in all departments (general perception) and C is good in Finance.
So, playing blind, it makes sense to bet on A. Finance seems attractive, but again, departments being the flavor of the season, I'd rather drink in all the wells, rather than be the frog in the well, to whom the world is finance and finance the world. A, again!
6. Bureacracy, Awfice
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Experiences at the GD/PI, A rocks! The C staff are babes in the wood, they don't know what, where, how, why? Well, I am going to B-school to learn from profs/students so why bother with ineffeciencies in the admin? Well, many a fighter jet have fallen coz the ground crew messed up.
Ok, A again!
6. People, Juntax
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The seniors at A seem more mature. C seemed more spoon-feeders.. Brief from a mail:
A lot has already been said on the yahoo forum, and has been a source of a lot of data, information and of course,passions.. The passions were far more in evidence at A vs C. The tucchas/is were far more excited and enthusiastic abt their fucchas/is than C.. They sounded smarter, spread across the globe. There's also some talk abt having meets in Tokyo and SFO.
A place is defined by its people and the tucchas/is at A certainly define themselves well.
Quantitative factors taken care of, A rules!!
Qualitative factor: C IS HOME!! C rules!!
You know they say that you make a decision in 5 seconds and then spend days trying to shore up all the data to justify the decision.
Now, some more thoughts on the subject. There is NO such thing as the BEST institute. I have seen dumb PhDs from MIT and kick-arse talent from Boise State University. (Again,don't get me wrong here! Doesn't mean that that's the norm! Education is a function of you, you and you. The external factors help but in the end, its you.
Human decisions and actions are based on quantitative and qualitative factors (as opposed to the automaton).And its true that in the long course of human history,while some of the worst decisions have been made on quantitative data, some of the best decisions were based on qualitative data. (Repeat: Don't get me wronghere! Doesn't mean that that's the norm!!) My boss keeps saying,"Show me the data" and one day, I'll @&%@! him.
For me, quantitative factors point west, qualitative factors point east. But in the real world, in the end,the head wins over the heart. Everyone claps, rev up their engines and go home.
(Sorry I just wanted that to sound dramatic.. Couldn't resist typing it!!)
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1 comment:
Ok Sumanth, Helluva lot of assumptions out there. I am not sure where to start from but let me try my best
1. Academic rigor in an MBA (mostly) is not sparks of brilliance but determined regular plodding. It is a test of attitude so to say and not your IQ. If intellectual challenge is what you want go to a tech school.
2. Most of your other comments seem like to have been carved out of press clippings in the sense of the omni present conventional "wisdom". Let me work on a few- Entrepreneurship is a very personal choice and the role a school can play in it is very very limited. Even IIMA's placement deferral policy is a passive attempt wherein there is a back up for the risk taker but where is the attempt to produce one in the first place?? As to how the placement holiday will work there are quite a few logistical hurdles stand in the way. I am sure you will understand it once you are in a B-school.
3. As to whether you want profs who kick your backside or profs who go out for a smoke with you, I leave it to you. Its an entirely personal choice. However I am surprised that a smart rational human being would want to be treated like a kindergarten student instead of an adult.
4.C is good in Finance , yes. but to assume that the others aren't as good or even better than A is a major assumption. I am not even sure how you will start comparing something like that, but when all else fails I guess the experience of the faculty helps. Your call again.
5. Bureaucracy is a symptom of sarkari involvement and fail to see how any 2 schools can differ majorly in that. Its the students who get the 1 crore salaries. The admin still have to make do with 2 lpa.
6.The last point is actually where you get it wrong the MOST. Its not about spoon feeding but being down-to-earth. When you start believing that you are larger than life you tend to lose perspective. IIMC lives life that way. People help each other out. I am now in what is undoubtedly the best bank in the world and people answer dumb questions here. They in fact encourage it.
Never equate arrogance or its milder forms to maturity. It is silly at best and dangerous at its attitude altering worst.
Good luck with whatever you intend to do, but do not fit the argument to suit the conclusion while looking like you are being objective all the while. I am sure this post would have been very different had you chosen differently. Take care
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