Choosing a right college for your MBA/PGDM program probably be a difficult thing to do, but it is one of the most critical decision you have to take for your career aspirations. First of all, you also need to know everything about MBA & PGDM along with the difference between both of these programs and which one will be better for you.
PGDM stands for Post Graduate Diploma in Management and it is a 2-year diploma program. Private business schools/institutes provide this. You must be thinking – Is it equivalent to MBA or not? Don’t worry, it is absolutely equal to MBA and is highly in demand in corporate now-a-days. Just make sure it is from a AICTE approved institute.
MBA stands for Master of Business Administration and it is a 2-year degree program. Universities governed by University Grant Commission (UGC) are permitted to give degrees. To get through admission for MBA program, students have to clear respective or common entrance exam depending upon the university along with securing minimum 50% in graduation from any stream.
There are many things which you should keep in mind while choosing the college for your MBA/PGDM program. There may not be clear guidelines for selecting a college, but surely there are some parameters that will assist you in deciding which college to go for. Let’s see those parameters –
- Your Career Plan
Firstly, you should understand what you want to be as per your career plan and what you desire from the college. You need to know the specialization you would like to opt for according to your career aspirations. There are many specializations such as Marketing, Sales, Finance, HR, IT and Operations. After you are sure of your career path, make a list of MBA/PGDM colleges that match your career plan. This will assist you significantly slender down your choices. Include all those colleges which are providing the specializations you want to choose. If you have decided to take a core finance role in your career then the college that is known for finance would suit you. Hence, your career plan has a major role to play in deciding a college.
- Colleges Accreditation
This is one of the most important parameters. The college and university you are shortlisting must have accreditation from AICTE and AIU or UGC respectively. You can go to the websites of AICTE, UGC and AIU, and check if the university/college you want to get into has been listed there or not. Thus, go for only authorized B schools and universities to get training and a legitimate degree.
- Faculty
Always try to get feedback from the former students about the faculty. You can also get reviews from the college website or other portals on internet. Faculty is the main pillar of any college/institute. If a college has good faculty, then you can also compromise some other factor in the process of selecting college for MBA/PGDM.
- Curriculum
Look for innovative curriculum and teaching methods that go beyond just theory. In college/institute, there should be practical applications, group discussion, self-evaluation, problem solving, interaction with industry experts and many more things. The more practical inclined curriculum will add a real knowledge and value in your persona for a long-term success.
- Infrastructure
Good infrastructure is a key marker for a suitable MBA/PGDM college. So, if you have shortlisted a few colleges, make sure you do a campus visit. In Western and a few Eastern countries, college students take the botheration of touring each university they have finalized. Do visit and test out the infrastructure because you are going to be spend two essential years of your existence there.
- Reputation of the College
You should compare the goodwill and reputation of the college before getting admission. You will surely consider any college for MBA/PGDM if they’ve good reputation and carries a great brand name.
- Placements
After post-graduation program, placement is the key thing you would look for. You need to evaluate and compare the placement records of the past 5 years of the institutes to get a real view. The college with a good placement records definitely becomes the choice of an aspiring MBA and PGDM candidates.
- Location
Location is also an important factor in choosing right college for MBA/PGDM. Most of the student go to metropolitan cities to get admission in MBA/PGDM program. They can get the exposure, practical knowledge and after placement they can easily settle over there. Delhi has the top most MBA/PGDM colleges along with Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore in the top list.
- Alumni Network
You can also look into the alumni network the college has. A good and well-placed college alumni network can help in a lot many ways. You can be assured that the college can any time take many benefits from such network and get many industry people for training, internship, sessions and placements.
- International Exposure
You can look for MBA/PGDM college which provides you the international exposure through student exchange program, foreign educational trip, internship or placement opportunities. Such exposure can also be an add on and good to have factor in your consideration.
We hope that based on the above parameters; you would be able to find a right college for you. In case you need further 1:1 guidance or live online classes for management courses from any of our experts, go ahead and book a session right now.
