Top 5 countries to study MBA abroad
- United States of America
This is where it all started…. for years it has been the most popular destination for management studies. Considering the infrastructure, resources, and opportunities, it has been the numero uno choice for most students. Besides most of the colleges that top the ranking charts are also from the USA.
Some top reasons encouraging Indian students to pursue MBA in the USA are as below. Apart from providing quality education for years, the US schools have deep pockets giving access to students to fee waivers and scholarships. There’s a large NRI population that’s been living in American for a long time (several generations in some cases). That means you
have easy access to Indian stores, culture, and people. Homesickness is easier to deal with.
You must remember admission is based on merit and students need to give some standardized tests like GRE and TOEFL.
- England (United Kingdom)
The second most favored destination for years has been the UK due to its reputation in the education system and rankings of its schools in the world charts. However, the new visa regime in the recent times and growing uncertainty about getting jobs after the MBA there has been some decline. Still, if you are looking for a shorter course (1 year), UK is the most popular destination. Many good MBA programs are in or around London, the big hub of global business activity. Almost all the top international companies have a presence here.
The biggest MBA brand in the UK comes from London Business School. Then if you’d like to get the university brand to work for you as well, the ‘Oxbridge’ brands – Cambridge (Judge Business School) and Oxford (Said Business School) are strong contenders to consider.
Other good MBA colleges in the UK are Manchester Business School, Cranfield, Bath & Cass Business School.
- Canada
Compared to the U.S., though there aren’t as many top MBA schools in Canada to choose from, but for many Indians (especially those with a chacha-ji / mama-ji or close relative already based in the Ka-nay- daa) the post-graduation prospects look much better than in most other countries.
The big carrot that Canada offers MBA students is work permits, ranging from 1-3 years. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee a job. But it does offer the big psychological comfort of not getting kicked out of the country after spending a whole lot of time, effort and money that’s associated when you are studying abroad for an MBA or MS or Ph.D. The immigration
process in Canada is also relatively simple.
The best MBA colleges in Canada would include names like Rotman School of Management, Richard Ivey, Schulich, Sauder.’
- Singapore
Being close to India and still offering an international experience in the class, make it a popular choice for cost-conscious MBA students from India. In contrast to western countries, the time taken to fly down from Singapore to India and the costs of an airline ticket are manageable.
The top MBA programs in Singapore are National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang (NTU). Plus there’s a big new draw in recent years – INSEAD Singapore campus. That’s a great way to get a top-notch global MBA from Asia and reduce the overall costs. The cost of living in Singapore is lesser than staying in Europe.
- Australia
For management education, Australia is in a strange spot. When it comes to the second question (about living and working abroad after graduating), Australia offers an excellent standard of living. Just like Canada, it’s got an immigration process that’s friendlier than other countries.
There’s no dearth of universities down under, offering all degrees (including MBA courses) and they are all spending a lot of money trying to woo Indian students. And that’s where the challenge lies as well.
Despite the huge number of universities and private institutions, the best MBA programs in Australia that have cracked into the international MBA rankings are very few. Apart from Melbourne Business School and AGSM, you are unlikely to see too many other Australian MBA colleges in the list.
To summarize we can say that most popular amongst Indians are countries which are English speaking. Including Singapore and Hongkong where you cannot feel alienated if you don’t speak Mandarin. For Indian students looking for overseas jobs, that’s a big advantage. Apart from looking at the best place for MBA studies abroad, also consider other points about the brand power, fit with your career aspirations, program structure & length, tuition fee, jobs & placements and anything else (weather, culture, language, proximity to India) that is important for you.