After having decided to go in for an MBA, one of the first decisions that require some hard thinking is about which Business schools to apply to. With an average of Rs. 800 to Rs. 1,200 being spent on each B school application, you need to be clear about the places to invest the application money in.

In selecting a B school you need to look at the

• Placement record,
• Ranking,
• Faculty & Infrastructure
• Affiliations & Accreditations
• Fees

Over the last two years, magazines like Outlook, Business Today and Business India have published rankings of India’s top B-schools – they might not be very accurate but can be used at to arrive at a relative judgment while making a choice among schools.

Apply to colleges that meet your interests and requirements and also where you have a good chance of being short listed. Note that some colleges have special requirements related to background and/or experience. Talk to your college seniors who have been admitted into these institutes.

Here are some thumb rules, which can help you make a choice.

• Do not apply to sectoral MBA courses e.g. NIFT, IRMA, IIFM, NITIE, XLRI (PMIR) or TISS unless you are keen on making your career in that field. These institutes, though top rated in their particular area, do not give you the flexibility of switching over to other fields after your MBA.
• Do not go by popular opinion about the standing of different institutes. Also do not apply only to the topmost institutions. Take care; you may become decision maker only in the presence of alternatives. Your job to start with is to create alternatives. A sensible strategy to adopt is to apply to at least 6-10 good institutes which suit your academic profile, preparation status, total budget, area of specialization and work experience. These things are being emphasized here because certain MBA institutes have shown a discernible preference for certain types of candidates over others. Besides, the total educational costs of an MBA are steadily rising, making one think twice before applying to a particular institute. However, this need not bother you at this stage, because plenty of loans/ scholarships and freeships are available once you get selected. In fact, the IIMs have a clear-cut policy of not sending back anybody on grounds of inability to pay fees.
• Do not be unduly bothered about the nomenclature of the certification offered by the institute i.e. a diploma or a degree. Under the UGC Act, only universities can give you a degree, not autonomous institutes. (The diplomas issued by IRMA, IIFM, XLRI, IIMs, TAPMI, IMT and some other prominent institutes are recognized as equivalent to a Master’s Degree by the Association of Indian Universities).