PROS AND CONS OF PART TIME MBA

For working professionals who cannot take time off work to attend full-time, there is the part-time MBA program. With the part-time MBA program, you can work full-time while attending MBA classes on days off or in the evenings. Many colleges and universities offer part-time as well as full-time MBA programs.

Advantages of a Part-time MBA

The part-time program is particularly appealing to people who wish to advance their existing career. They can also be advantageous for people who have already developed a network of business relationships that can facilitate a change of careers.

* Courses that are scheduled to take place before or after regular working hours.
* You can improve existing skills or develop new ones without impinging on your current job.
* Real-world situations and problems can be incorporated into the classroom environment where solutions can be explored that could be implemented in real life.
* Tuition assistance and student loans may be available.
* If tuition reimbursement is offered by your employer, part-time could be an ideal choice.
* Having the cost of schooling spread out over a longer program length lessens the financial strain on those students that prefer not to incur additional debt or who need to maintain an income while attending school.

If you are unable to relocate, a part-time MBA program may offer additional flexibility. A long commute to classes may be more workable for part-time school once or twice a week, whereas it would be taxing on a daily basis.

It's sad but true -- a part-time MBA just does not command the same status as a full-time one in this country. A host of extremely respected institutes offer one-, two- and three-year part-time MBA diplomas and degrees. Yet, the students who opt for these courses do not emerge with the same halo as those who take up the two-year full-time post-graduate programmes.

The first cruel fact you have to accept if you're thinking of a part-time MBA is this: it is unlikely to swiftly and painlessly enhance your immediate job prospects. There is no lucrative placement offer waiting for you, like the proverbial 'pot of gold 'at the end of the rainbow. And this is true, even at the brand name institutes.

The B-schools justify the lack of placement opportunities by pointing out that those pursuing the part-time MBA already have jobs. In fact, the pre-requisite for practically all part-time MBA courses is two-three years of work experience, preferably in an executive or supervisory capacity. Part-time MBAs are thus positioned as career-enhancement programmes designed to make the participant more effective in his or her current organisation.

MBA AT XLRI

XLRI, which is widely known as the Xavier Labour Relations Institute, is a top of the line Indian business school that is located at the steel city of Jamshedpur. Since the inception, XLRI has always taken the role of a pioneer, not only in the field of business education but also in responding to the need of the people of India.
Following are some of the most renowned courses offered by this ace management institute in India.

* Personnel Management & Industrial Relations (PM & IR)
* Business Management (BM)
* Fellow Programme in Management (FPM)
* Executive Postgraduate Programme (ExePGP)
* Executive Fellow Programme in Management
* General Management Programme (GMP)
* Satellite Programmes (PGCBM)
* Management Development Programmes (MDP)
* International Student Exchange Programme (POISE)

For taking admission to the flagship management programmes of the institute, one needs to clear the XAT or the XLRI Admission Test. Scores of the XAT is also accepted by some other B-Schools throughout the country. XAT is considered one of the toughest management entrances in India. In 2007 about 72000 applicants sat for the XAT examination of which only 180 were selected for the two flagship programmes of the Xavier Labour Relations Institute.

If you are an aspiring candidate for the XAT next year, you have come to the right place. We, at KoolKareers.com, are offering different solutions that will help you in your XAT preparation. At our online career portal you will find number of articles that will discuss various aspects of XAT. There are articles that provide tips and suggestions for effective preparation as well as taking the examination successfully. The articles also provide valuable information related to the test like the important dates and registration process of XAT and so on. Apart from the articles you can also download sample papers of different subjects, including general knowledge, essays etc. The sample papers will help the future test takers to have an idea of the pattern and content of the XAT. You can also participate for the online mock XAT tests at KoolKareers.com that will prepare you for the actual test as well as let you know about the extent of your preparation.

MBA SPECIALIZATIONS

It is of prime importance to select the right field of management to specialize in, as normally this would be the discipline in which you would get your first job and possibly even make a career.

The first step towards this is to understand what each specialization is about and what do they have to offer. Although the number of specializations offered by universities is increasing day by day, they can be classified broadly into the following categories:

Marketing - At the Front End of Business
Look forward to a career in sales, brand management, or market research. You need to possess excellent communication and resource mobilizing skills. Marketing plays a key role in the industries such as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), advertising and market research, sales & distribution, and product or brand management. A large number of CEOs often belong to this discipline.

Operations Management - Driving Back-End Efficiency
If you exhibit an eye for detail, the ability to negotiate, can keep your calm in tough situations and have sound technical knowledge, manufacturing, sales and distribution companies are likely to knock on your doors. Operations play a key role in the fields of quality control, material management, productivity improvement, inventory control, production planning, supply chain management and logistics.

Finance - It’s All About the Money
This field requires extremely high analytical ability, playing with numbers and balance sheets and needs an individual to be fond of being at the complete back-end. With a specialization in Finance you can look for exciting careers in banks, financial consultancies, or financial institutions. Finance plays a key role in the fields of consumer and investment banking, institutional finance, merchant banking, corporate finance and international finance.

Systems Management - Making Technology Work
Involves custom-development of IT solutions in all areas, from putting up online daily sales to developing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions. Systems Management is normally an integration role between client (internal/external) and programmers; and generally require people with good technical skills coupled with good business domain knowledge. Systems plays an important role in the fields of systems consultancy, account management/project management, systems department of organizations, business development and sales & marketing.

Human Resource Management - A People Manager
You focus on people management and form the backbone of any organization. You need to be a good communicator and should present yourself as competent, dependable and charismatic. It plays a key role in the fields of human resource development, personnel management and industrial relations.
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STRATEGY TO BELL THE CAT

The B-schools seek to filter out most aspirants (that’s why we call the written test a rejection test) and shortlist the right ones through the written exam entirely on the basis of three factors:

• Understanding
• Speed
• Accuracy

Your chances of making it to the top will depend largely on your ability to pay attention to these key factors. Your first target is to master the fundamentals in all areas. Speed and accuracy are skills that are to be considered only after a few months have been spent developing the basics.

You should ideally have the following study objectives:

1. Understand the maths fundamentals and revise the maths syllabus twice at least in the first three to four months (if you have that kind of time).
2. Read, read, and read some more — from both your course material and outside it. Spend at least 45 minutes on the newspaper and finish two to three medium-sized fiction novels in a month.
3. Do justice to all other parts of the syllabus — data interpretation, reasoning, english grammar, usage and vocabulary.

Don’t Let The Plateaus Pull You Down
There is no successful CAT aspirant who hasn’t hit a plateau — those depressing times when your reading speed falls, your maths accuracy stops improving and your test scores stagnate. Don’t panic, it’s a natural part of the learning process. These plateaus are the incubating period when you consolidate on your learning.

In fact, CAT preparation is all about improvement in stages. One improves on clarity in fundamentals, test taking ability, reading speed, and confidence (not necessarily in this order) in various stages. It’s like a small child growing up — he seeks to grow tall overnight, but it takes several years. Keep the faith — the improvements will follow.

Find A Suitable Mentor
While most students rely for advice on friends/peers who are also in the process of preparing, some talk to teachers once in a while. However you do it, it makes a lot of sense to use a mentor. A mentor would fulfil three qualities — he should be mature (read older), should have an excellent understanding of tests (should have prepared himself for the test at some stage, and preferably succeeded), and should be willing to help you out intermittently.

A mentor will be like your coach — he will prod you on and be your emotional anchor, in good times and bad.

Quality, Not Quantity, Counts
Students tend to go overboard in the second stage of their preparation, being particularly enamoured with quantity rather than with quality, particularly when it comes to test taking. Tests are serious business and need to be taken as seriously as the real thing. One has to simulate test-taking conditions, and give every test the best shot. Test scores hit a plateau after a while and that is where the madness begins. Some friend would brag about how many tests he takes per week and how high his scores are and that would trigger thoughtless competition.

What students do not realise is that the quality of study always takes precedence over quantity. Once the fundamentals have been absorbed, every test needs to be not just tasted, but chewed and digested. What this piece of Zen-like wisdom means is that a student is expected to analyse each and every test he takes, looking for points of improvement, where he went wrong, which solutions have eluded him and why, and which questions he should have opted for. This means that typically a test may take two hours of attempting and as much as four to six hours of analysis. If this is not done, the test-taking spree will not lead to any improvement in scores, just a high burn out rate only.
hope my advice has thrown some light into your cat preparation and wish all of all the best!
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ADMISSIONS AND PLACEMENTS AT FMS DELHI

The school has a reputation for producing excellent marketing and finance graduates . It is situated in the beautiful and vibrant North and South Campus of the University of Delhi. FMS has exchange programmes and collaborative arrangements with leading industrial and business houses, management institutions and professional associations in India and abroad. It is the founder member of the Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA) and is working towards regional cooperation in management education and development in the spirit of SAARC. FMS is also one of the participating institutions in the India-EEC Exchange and Co-operation Programme for Management Professors. The various programmes offered by FMS are

• MBA (Full Time) - 90 seats with 9 additional seats for foreign students
• MBA (Management of Services - Full Time) - This programme started in 2004 has 40 seats with 4 additional seats for foreign students
• MBA(Part Time) - 140 seats for candidates having a minimum of three year work experience
• MBA(Health Care Administration - Part Time ) - 15 seats for practicing doctors
• Doctoral Programmes which lead to a P.hD by University of Delhi

In addition to all these programmes, FMS also conducts Management Development Programmes.
Placements 2005 was a resounding success at FMS, and was an affirmation of the faith of the corporate world in the ability and quality of the FMS students, faculty and fraternity. It could not have been a more eventful placement season at the institute which is celebrating its golden jubilee and as always FMS kept its appointment with excellent placements.

FMS has traditionally had the best placements in the country with respect to choice of jobs on offer for candidates and is usually insulated from downturns in the economy; but the economic boom this time has probably ensured the best ever placements for the campus. FMS, with an optimum batch size of 90, prides itself on having a student friendly placement process, managed by students with most candidates bagging a job of their choice.

"FMS has always had equitable placements across sectors, a sign of a mature and evolved process, without heavy dependence on a particular sector. The placements across sectors and multiple offers this year is an indication of the quality of students in FMS and reputation the institute has in the country," says Dr. Madhu Vij, Professor in Charge , Placements. More than 40% of the batch had an offer in hand even before the placement day through a PPO or a lateral offer.

HOW TO BELL THE CAT?

Completing a management diploma from an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and getting a job where your salary reads in six figures is a dream worth pursuing. But success, they say, is 98% perspiration and 2% inspiration. And getting into any of the coveted IIMs demands intense and focused preparation.

The Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the six IIMs (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, and Kozhikode) is scheduled for this year on December 18 2007. It attracts thousands of aspirants from all over the country. Besides IIMs, there are 20 other institutes like MICA, Nirma Institute of Management, SP Jain Institute and others, which draw candidates based on the performance in CAT.

Fuelled by dreams of sky-high salaries and cushy jobs, more than 2 lakh graduates, engineers and other qualified professionals, appear for the entrance test hoping to make it to a top IIM institute. So how does one bell the CAT?

Private coaching
Joining a coaching institute is not a bad option. It definitely makes you stay in touch with the CAT syllabus. Vaibhav Nagpal, a student of Pegasus course at Career Launcher, who cleared the CAT in 1 2005 and is currently working for Polaris Software, Delhi, says, "Coaching actually made me know where I was heading. Starting from the basic fundamentals, I knew exactly where I stood. I had a daily task schedule set out for me."

Pitched competition has led to a mushrooming of coaching institutes - each claiming fantastical success record. The Institute of Management Studies (IMS), with branches all over the country claims to have clocked 750 students out of the near 1000 IIMs seats this year. It claims that the percentage of its students clearing CAT as compared to other institutes is quite high.

WHY MBA IN HEALTHACARE

The healthcare system in this country is a crucial one, and in order to function smoothly it requires professional and experienced managers and administrators. A great deal of work goes on ‘behind the scenes’ in today’s healthcare system – many of us think about nurses, doctors, and other frontline professionals when we think of the health service, but without the professionalism and expertise of the managers and administrators, chaos would likely ensue. A Healthcare Management MBA is ideal for anyone wanting to work in this challenging and exciting area.

Health Care management and administration can be a fast paced career, and those entering into this area need to be able to rise to the challenge. A Health Care Management MBA will prepare you for this type of career, equipping you with all of the necessary skills and knowledge to rise to the challenge of a demanding career in such a vital service. You will learn a great deal from your Healthcare Management MBA course, and having this qualification will prove invaluable to those wanting to take this career path, showing potential employers that you have the expertise and skills to go all the way in this environment.

For those already working within the healthcare service, a Health Care Management MBA is the ideal way to succeed and enjoy rapid progression. There are many opportunities within the healthcare service for those with the right qualifications and skills, and gaining your Healthcare Management MBA will provide you with the necessary skills and knowledge to improve your prospects of promotion and enjoy a long and rewarding career in this area.

You can now take your Health Care Management MBA online, which makes it far more accessible for many more people, particularly those already working and unable to commit to full time education. A number of institutions offer these online Health Care Management MBA programs, and it is advisable to check the eligibility criteria and course structure to ensure that this is the most appropriate course to aid your career goals.

GMAT-FAQs

What is the GMAT?
The GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) is a 3-1/2 hour standardized exam designed to predict how test-takers will perform academically in MBA (Masters in Business Administration) programs. GMAT scores are used by graduate business schools to make admission decisions.
You might also see the GMAT referred to as the "GMAT CAT"; the acronym CAT stands for "Computer Adaptive Test." The GMAT is administered only by computer now, except in certain locations outside North America, where the test is referred to as the "paper-based" GMAT. (Since you’re reading this on the Web, no doubt the GMAT CAT is available where you are.)
Who is responsible for the design and administration of the GMAT?
The GMAT is the brainchild of the GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council), which determines what kinds of skills the GMAT should measure — and how it should measure them. But it is ETS (Educational Testing Service) in Princeton, New Jersey that actually develops the test questions, administers the test, and reports test scores to the schools — all at the behest of GMAC.
Do I need to take the GMAT for admission to an MBA program?
To gain admission to an MBA program, chances are you’ll need to take the GMAT. About two-thirds of the 1,300+ graduate business schools around the world require GMAT scores for admission. Schools that do not require GMAT scores nevertheless welcome GMAT scores to help access an applicant’s qualifications

B-SCHOOL RANKINGS BY BUSINESSWORLD

1.Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad
2.Indian Institute of Management – Bangalore
3.Indian Institute of Management – Calcutta
4.Indian Institute of Management – Lucknow
5.National Institute of Industrial Engineering – Mumbai
6.Management Development Institute – Gurgaon
7.Xavier Labour Relations Institute – Jamshedpur
8. S.P.Jain Institute of Mgmt & Research, Mumbai
9. Faculty of Mgmt Studies, Univ. of Delhi, Dehli
10.Shailesh J. Mehta School of Mgmt, IIT – Bombay
11. Indian Institute of Management – Kozhikode
12.ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad
13.University Business School, Chandigarh
14.Dept. of Mgmt Studies, IIT – Delhi
15. Xavier Institute of Mgmt., Bhubaneswar
16.Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Mgmt, New Delhi
17.Institute of Rural Management, Anand
18.Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi
19. International Mgmt. Institute, New Delhi
20.Goa Institute of Mgmt, Goa
21.Institute of Mgmt. Technology, Ghaziabad
22.T.A.Pai Mgmt. Institute, Manipal
23.Indian Institute of Management – Indore
24.Nirma Institute of Mgmt, Ahmedabad
25.Fore School of Mgmt, New Delhi
26.Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune
27.Regional College of Mgmt., Bhubaneswar
28.Indian Institute of Modern Management, Pune.
29.NILM Centre for Management studies ,New Delhi.
30.Prin.L.N.Welingkar Institute of Mgmt Development Mumbai
31.Loyola institute of Business Administration, Chennai.
32.Vinod Gupta School of Mgmt IIT-Kharagpur
33. Institute of Technology & Management ,Mumbai.
34.Alliance business Academy ,Bangalore
35.Graduate School of Business & Administration ,Noida
36.PSG Institute of Management Coimbatore
37.Prestige Institute of Mgmt & Research ,Indore
38.Institute of Financial Mgmt & Research ,Chennai.
39.Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow
40.Indian Inst. of Social Welfare & Business Mgmt ,Kolkota
41.Bharathidasan Institute of Management ,Tiruchirapalli
42.Asia Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi.
43.Department of Management Science ,Pune University, Pune 44.
Amrita Institute Of Management Coimbtore.
45.Rourkela Institute of Mgmt Studies ,Rourkela.
46.Rajagiri School of Mgmt, Cochin
47.Indian Institute of Rural Mgmt, Jaipur.
48.N.L.Dalmia Inst.of Mgmt Studies & Research ,Mumbai.
49.Indian Inst of Health Management Research ,Jaipur.
50.Master School of Management, Meerut

MBA programs in MIT

The main professional degree awarded at MIT Sloan, prior to 1995, was the SM in Management – an advanced professional degree combining the course requirements of the more widely-known MBA degree with a formal Master of Science dissertation. The completion of a dissertation was previously an Institute-wide requirement for all master's students. An exception was made for MIT Sloan students starting in 1995, and the school began awarding the MBA degree entirely on the basis of coursework. While some members of the MIT community felt that removing the dissertation requirement would reduce the educational merit of the degree [1], it was accepted since this was the practice at all other major business schools. MIT Sloan continues to offer the SM degree for students who choose to complete master's dissertations, but the vast majority of students now receive an MBA degree and do not write a dissertation. In practice, MIT Sloan's SM and MBA have always been viewed as equivalent in industry, although the SM is preferred as preparation for doctoral work.
In 2006, MIT Sloan launched a new program for entrepreneurs within the MBA degree called the Entrepreneurship & Innovation (E&I) Program. The E&I program centers on starting and evolving emerging technology enterprises. The program seeks to formalize MIT's long-standing and leading entrepreneurship offerings. E&I students benefit from a specialized weekly seminar for entrepreneurs. In addition, a one-week trip to Silicon Valley is coordinated in conjunction with the MIT Sloan MediaTech club.
Of the approximately 2,600 applications received last year for the MBA and Leaders for Manufacturing programs, about 500 were admitted and 372 matriculated [2].

HOW TO TACKLE GDs

GROUP discussions are used by the B-schools as a selection tool because they provide a lot of useful information about the candidate’s personality in a very short time. GDs are used to assess certain group skills that cannot be evaluated in an interview situation. These skills include leadership skills, social skills, listening and articulation skills, situation handing ability and interpersonal ability. A typical GD involves 8 to 12 participants sitting in a circle or semicircle discussing a topic for a stipulated time, usually for 15 to 20 minutes. Most GDs follow one of the three formats: Structured, Unstructured, or Specialized.
1. Regular Structured GDs: Here the time limits and topic is defined. No consensus expected at the end. No leader is to be selected for facilitating the process. These are easier to handle. Topics chosen are usually general and do not require technical knowledge.
2. Unstructured GDs: Choosing a leader is mandatory and the group has to reach a consensus at the end of the GD. The leader has to direct the group, set the tone for discussion and control the dynamics of the group. Things are sometimes made more complicated by asking the group to propose a topic, discuss it and reach a consensus.
3. specialised GDs: These include role-plays or scripted GDs where the candidates are given a certain brief about a role that they need to play. For example, a business situation where to companies are negotiating a deal may be used. Candidates would be given the profile of the two CEOs, marketing managers, HR managers, advisors, and a neutral entity like a consultant. Alternatively, candidates could be given the role of the five Pandavas and the main Kauravas negotiating the distribution of their kingdom in 20th century setting.

MBA IN FINANCE

The purpose of the Finance specialization in the MBA program is to prepare students for superior achievement in the highly competitive, complex and rapidly changing field of finance. Our students will acquire the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to solve the strategic and tactical problems that finance executives face today and will face in the future in the international business world.

The effective executive of the new century understands the importance of financial decisions in nearly every aspect of the organization. Using the corporation’s goals, capital requirements, and historical accounting information, the financial manager must be able to forecast the firm’s future needs for funds and prepare plans for securing these funds at the optimum cost. The successful financial manager combines an understanding of rapid changes in the money and capital markets with the knowledge of the corporation’s financial needs. The finance specialization prepares professionals in major corporations, financial institutions, and governmental agencies.

FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR CAT

It is natural to feel tense about the CAT since that would probably have been the only thought on your mind for the last few months. So, what should you do to ensure a good performance on the D-Day?
Take a maximum of one or two mock CATs this week and do not look at your scores, as that will only add to your anxiety. Just take the test, and see what new things you can learn from the questions. It should be a very light week and no serious subject preparation.
On the D-Day
Start early from home and reach the exam hall at least half-an-hour before the reporting time. The entire test process will take more than three hours and hence, take care of your breakfast, using the rest room, etc.
At the exam hall, keep your watch on the table as it forces you to keep looking at it while the test is in progress. Make sure that you fill correctly all the details in the OMR sheet. See that the OMR sheet is not crumpled and don't make any stray marks on it.
Be prepared for something new that could be there in the paper - be it the structure of the paper, the test areas, the way the questions are organised, the break up of sections, the marks per question or negative marks per question. This makes a lot of test-takers nervous. Remember everyone has the same paper. So, don't get intimidated

MBA SPECIALIZATIONS

Students have the opportunity to pursue either a general management program or complete a specialization as part of the MBA program. Specializations are a matter of choice, not a prerequisite, and all students receive the same MBA education regardless of whether they complete a specialization. Students should consider their career goals and professional development in settling on a specialization. As more and more universities offer MBA programmes, it is becoming ever more difficult for candidates to decide on which business school offers the most suitable MBA programme to meet their requirements. Many business schools are digressing from the ‘generalist’ system, which has been the typical MBA model for the last thirty years. Today you can choose from a wide range of MBA specializations, ranging from an MBA in Financial Studies, as well as Insurance and Risk Management Accountancy and Finance, to an MBA in Sports Management, or even an MBA in Technology.The trend towards one-year niche, or specialist MBAs, designed for particular groups of professional people, appears to be market driven. Some fields may be nearly impossible to enter without specialized training. Research your chosen industry to determine whether a specialty program may be a better alternative for you than a generalist MBA degree.US schools in particular, reject the specialist MBA model. Their two-year format allows MBA students to be generalists in their first year, whilst specializing in their chosen field in their second year.Shape your studies to complement all that make you inimitable — education, experience, aptitudes, interests, passions. Famous MBA schools abroad all have their own specialties; for example, Harvard Business School is at the head of the class in commercial management, the University of Chicago Graduate Business School in financial management, and the Kellogg School of Management in marketing.

BOOKS AND MATERIALS FOR GMAT PREPARATION

The official guide for GMAT review ( 10th edition)
This book contains about 1500 actual questions from previous year exams. It's the closest match with the actual gmat test. Specially in verbal section, where ETS spend a lot of money to prepare a single question. Questions choices are prepared very carefully to maintain the same level of difficulty throghout the years. In quantitative any body can change the numbers and can prepare the sample questions. So based on our experts experience we suggest one should practice verbal section only from official guide. For quantitative sections one may refer other books.Expert's TipIn quantitative section the questions are difficult in actual gmat. In the book initial questions of quantitative section are very simple but 200 questions in end are difficult, which closely matches the difficulty level of actual gmat questions.In comprehension section of verbal section one gets four passages in actual gmat test( Each passage has 3 to 4 questions ). In gmat book for some passages 6-7 questions are given.
Old actual practice test papers
If you find the above book not enough for practice then one can buy old sets of papers from http://www.mba.com/ site. Please note in these sets most of questions are new but some questions are repeated from official guide for gmat.
Kaplan GMAT 800 ( latest edition)
I would recommend this book for quantitative section. Here level of difficulty is more and it prepares u for more rigrous gmat than the actual so one ends up doing well in the exam.
Power prep test series
These are available free of cost and they simulate the actual test.
Free GMAT test prepration software 2006 Expert's Tip
Please note they also carry some questions from official guide so you may score more as you have already practiced some question from Official guide for GMAT.
Other sources ( kaplan's and Princeton's regular classes )
Based on our experts and their students experience( all who scored around 750) feel that above sources are enough but incase you are still not scoring well in the exam then one can join the regular classes by Kaplan or Princeton review. They give u regular practice and costs around 1000 USD.

LIFE OF AN MBA STUDENTAND THEREAFTER

As in all careers, there is a flip side to being an MBA. Though not a huge deterrent, one should know about the life of an MBA as well.A bit of a reality check here, but the personal life of most MBAs especially during their training period and formative years in an organization is extremely hectic. One of the primary reasons being: high performance pressure. Most MBAs are at the helm of affairs for business concerns involving decision and policy making that demands a lot physically and mentally. The ones spearheading departments are responsible for what the whole team does, and every decision you take affects not just you, but often your entire team and impacts the entire organization.But then, what's life without challenges? If you feel that you are made for tackling life head-on, and are excited about your work being meaningful, what are you waiting for? An MBA is a great first step towards your dream destination.

FT top european MBA schools

The FT (Financial Times) annually carries out a survey of MBA schools based on their full time MBA courses. While percentage increase in salary forMBA graduates is the biggest single determinant of ranking it also takes into account internationality, research ratings, etc. The research is broadly similar to our own (based on recruiters and graduates views) including the presence of some schools where we think the rankings may be inflated by their reputation in other areas.

1 (7) (9) Insead (France)

2 (8) (8) LBS (UK)

3 (11) (11) IMD (Switz)

4 (24) (25) IESE (Spain)

5 (27) (29) Rotterdam (Netherlands)

6 (31) (34) Empresa (Spain)

7 (34) (n) Said, Oxford (UK)

8 (36) (43) Manchester (UK)

9 (39) (48) SDA Bocconi (Italy)

10 (40) (59) Warwick (UK)

11 (41) (35) Cranfield (UK)

12 (50) (37) Edinburgh U Business School(UK)

13 (52) (50) HEC (France)

14 (60) (41) University College, Dublin (Eire)

15 (61) (68) ESCP-EAP (France)

16 (64) (74) ESADE (Spain)

17 (64) (54) Imperial (UK)

18 (67) (n) IEP (France)

19 (67) (n) Theseus (France)

20 (70) (73) Njenrode (Netherlands)

21 (73) (66) City (UK)

22 (81) (52) Ashridge (UK)

23 (82) (n) Nottingham University (UK)

24 (85) (n) Strathclyde (UK)

25 (85) (72) Bradford (UK)

26 (n) (n) NIMBAS (UK)

27 (88) (n) Leeds (UK)

28 (90) (63) Lancaster (UK)

29 (91) (n) ENPC (France)

30 (93) (n) EM Lyon (France)

31 (96) (n) Bath (UK)

32 (97) (n) Trinity College, Dublin (Eire)

33 (100) (n) Norwegian School of Management (Norway)

Key: the first number refers to the MBA school's rank within europe, the second its 2001 international MBA ranking and the third its 2000 international ranking. (n) = new entry to FT list (previous years lists have included only the top 75 schools). For example Insead is the highest rated school in the 2001 research, ranking 7 among all international schools in 2001 and it was ranked 9 in the 2000 research

An online MBA is an excellent alternative to traditional full-time or part-time or executive MBA Programs. Online MBA programs provide you much more flexibility in terms of how and when you choose to study. You can work in your MBA program studies around your schedule instead of having to re-schedule your life around the MBA program classroom, transportation to and from classes, etc. Online MBA programs are excellent if you want to continue working while you get your degree. You don't have to give up your life to earn your MBA degree. If you are self-motivated and want to get ahead in your career developmentwith an MBA without giving up your life, an online MBA program may meet your requirements
A number of establishments offer online MBA programs, and these online MBA programs have enjoyed enormous popularity over recent years. Many people have successfully worked through online MBA programs, gaining a valuable qualification and enjoying a far better salary and better promotional prospects. One of the great things about online MBA programs is that they provide a convenient and practical way in which to improve and increase your skill set, and gain skills and knowledge that can better your career prospects in a major way.
When applying for online MBA programs you should check the course structure and eligibility restrictions. Some MBA programs may focus more strongly on one particular area whereas another MBA program may focus on a different area, so by checking the structure and content of the course you can make a more informed decisions with regards to which online MBA program is best suited to your needs.