Hey guys / gals,

My own 2 cents. Only local MBAs worth pursuing are those offered by reputable foreign unis i.e. Manchester Business School, Nottingham and Strathclyde. All others are not worth it, everyone will be able to get such MBAs and it is not hard to get in. I have two examples:

Example 1:
Friend of mine did the UM MBA bout 4 years ago, when it was supposedly ranked as the best local MBA. They even required GMAT at the time, but the qualifying score was 400! This is not even enough to get considered for entry for a Top 100 MBA. According to him syllabus is outdated, and recruiters do not value it.

Example 2:
Another friend of mine has an MBA from MMU. Got a job in one of the largest local banks, and he is earning a grand RM 100 more than fresh grads. Totally not worth it if you ask me.

Therefore, my advice would be to save money and target the other 3 MBAs. Even then, these are not top tier, it would be better if you could actually go overseas, at least to Spore or Australia. Then you can consider INSEAD, AGSM, Melbourne Business School, NUS, SMU and others that have top tier programs.

Remember, always ask yourself, why are you getting an MBA. Is it to change career or to accelerate your current career path? If you are looking at getting into top tier companies, investment banks (Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch) or management consulting (Bain & Co, BCG, McKinsey), MBAs are a prerequisite and they rarely if ever, hire local MBAs. On the other hand, if you are looking just to get a fancy title at the back of your namecard, any local MBA will be fine

My two main criteria that come into play when you decide on your choice of MBA:
1. Strength of current students / alumni network (IMO, if entry doesnt require GMAT, its not worth applying to)
2. Strength of recruitment and placement office / on campus recruitment
These two criteria will ensure that you get ROI on your MBA. And its obvious that no local MBA can provide these 2 services to satisfaction, and I have doubts about even the Top 3 foreign uni MBAs available locally. I have friends who have completed the local Nottingham MBA, and based on their feedback, its not strong in those two areas. The adage pennywise, pound foolish works here. Spend less on a cheaper MBA, but you wont reap the rewards, prob just an increment of 100 - 300 more than a fresh grad. Dont you wonder why people are willing to spend 50,000 euros on an INSEAD MBA that lasts 10 months?

Hope this all helps. As much as possible I have done my homework, and I have friends that are attending Wharton, INSEAD, Fuqua at Duke and NUS. As for myself, I have just got an offer to Melbourne Business School for a double Masters - MBA & Masters of Marketing. Not that prestigious I know, but it suits my needs, i.e. Top 15 worldwide for marketing and not too expensive.

If you have any questions on the journey to applying / choosing an MBA, let me know, will try to help.

Actually, some top MBA schools like Harvard, Kelogg and INSEAD do take in students without work experience. However you have to be highly highly outstanding e.g. GPA 4.0 from an Ivy League, and prob some human rights activist or president of your local chapter of Greenpeace or some Olympic athlete. Therefore, there are exceptions, but you and I prob wouldn't qualify =)

BTW, if you are looking for a cost effective MBA, do check out Singapore Management University. They have a new MBA program that is apparently headed by an ex-INSEAD dean. Much better than NUS and NTU and a more affordable alternative to INSEAD. BTW, just a clarification, the Chicago GSB in Singapore, AFAIK, does not offer MBAs, only EMBAs. Therefore you prob need 10 years work experience to apply. I didnt apply to Singapore myself, although INSEAD was tempting, cos I hate living there

All the best MBA applicants!

Hi mavric, just to correct a misconception. The fees for AGSM / MBS is about AUD 50k for the whole course duration of 16 - 20 months, not per year. That being said, I think Judge @ Cambridge offers very good ROI, and low fees too. Some MBAs from UK have really cheap fees - Warwick, Cranfield, Henley@Reading and respectable rankings. Point to note is that most rankings are either US or Euro/UK centric, the most unbiased is prob the QS and the EIU rankings. Do bear in mind that the cost of living in UK is much higher compared to AUS. And AGSM / MBS are ranked higher than all the UK unis except LBS & Judge @ Cambridge and in some ratings Warwick.

What did you score for your GMAT btw? We should have formed a study group. I didn't do too well too, aiming above 700, only got a 650. Hahah c'est la vie!