Paying more than the fees…

Trupthi and Janhavi are in the same boat. They have been friends since junior college, and completed B.Com together. Both of them are busy preparing for the upcoming GD/PI rounds. Most of their talks these days pertain to getting into an MBA course. One evening, they are having a discussion about the ever increasing college fees. Janhavi brings in a different viewpoint about measuring the cost of doing MBA in India.

Janhavi- ‘Personally, I do not like to think about the college fees too much. It is just one aspect and it is clearly defined…’

Trupthi- ‘How can you say that? We will either have to burden our parents or take an educational loan. We certainly cannot ignore the money aspect…’

Janhavi- ‘I am not ignoring the money aspect. I am trying to say that fees are not the only thing. Have you thought about living expenses, lifestyle, and the prospect of exchange programs?

Trupthi- ‘Oh my! Somehow I did not consider these things!’

The real cost of doing MBA in India

In the admission phase, an MBA aspirant has many things to think about. He/she keeps wondering about the challenges coming up in GD/PI rounds. The idea of not getting a call from the preferred college is unbearable. Additionally, there is also a constant thought about the course fees. However, MBA graduates will testify that the actual cost of doing MBA in India includes much more than just the fees.

We look at some other factors that aspirants must consider:

Forgone Earnings

This factor is particularly relevant to those taking a career break for pursuing MBA. One aims for the best b-schools in India so as to give a thrust to their professional life. However, he/she is also foregoing the salary for almost 2.5 years.

The placement scenario is always dynamic and sensitive. Quite often, MBA graduates end up accepting pay scales much below their expectation. In many cases, the salary jump is not significant enough to justify the two year career break.

This is a grim reality, but one that aspirants should consider very objectively. It is not just a matter of losing out on salary but also on the benefits of longevity. For people working in multinationals, it can also mean missing out on opportunities for abroad transfer.

Candidates with work-ex are therefore advised to be more demanding and prudent while selecting MBA colleges.

Living expenses

Most of the top MBA colleges in India offer residential programs. The college fee usually includes hostel and food charges. However, there are additional expenses that one may not anticipate initially.

• Upgrading of tech gear is one of the most common and logical expenses. One tends to invest in buying a new laptop at the beginning of the course. Additionally, one may also invest in accessories such as portable hard drives, speakers for their convenience.
• At some point, one tends to become tired of the hostel mess and spending on food increase exponentially. By the end of the course, this amount does become considerable.
• Other than this, there is also the obvious factor of hostel life itself. Be it spontaneous parties on campus, or outdoor trips- one would naturally get involved (even in unplanned activities). This will vary from person to person, but aspirants looking to explore and experience a different lifestyle during their MBA days should consider it. Living expenses and consequently the cost of doing MBA in India will be greatly affected by lifestyle.

Career Growth

Some aspirants might consider this argument to be ridiculous. The whole idea behind pursuing an MBA degree is to give a boost to your career. One takes up education so as to become qualified for the better jobs.

However, starting off in new sector/profile means being a beginner. One will have to put in effort to establish himself/herself.  Students with work-ex will wonder if the new designation is significantly better than what would have been in their pre-MBA jobs.

This is particularly true for sectors such as IT or Financial Services. These companies are among the major recruiters from b-schools. However, majority of the job profiles on offer are for senior analyst or junior associate profiles. While freshers might welcome these designations, the same may not be true for those with work-ex.

Why do certain sectors hold back while designing job profiles for MBA students? Aspirants should realise that businesses have a differing perspective. Justifying the superior job offer made to someone purely on the merit of the degree is difficult. Employees will start questioning the value of loyalty and longevity. Hence, certain sectors have to walk a tight line while recruiting.

How to arrive at a decision with this new approach?

Considering the real cost of doing MBA in India is meant to help you decide better. It can affect your decision about the choice of college, or the timing of MBA itself. You can even look at the sector/industries in a different way and set preferences accordingly.

The aim behind sharing this information is not to intimidate aspirants, but to put forth some ground realities. One tends to be lured by the limelight of extraordinary job offers publicised in dailies. However, even the best MBA colleges in India cannot produce such offers for each and every student.

At the end of the day, the goal is to make the best decision for your career.

Do you agree with the thoughts shared in this post? What aspects have we missed out on? Which arguments do you disagree with? Please tell us in the comments.