The Indian Media essentially thinks of our society as a very intelligent fool , you know, and guess why do they do that ? Because they know we will lap it up .There are many examples ; but just for this time, I’ll discuss one aspect I want to write about.
There was a speculation based on a statistic that IIM Ahmedabad was more difficult to get into than Harvard Business School (Let us forget about Wharton/Sloan/Stanford for the time being). A lot of you know the logic already but I’ll explain it one more time.
Its very simple – IIM Ahmedabad selects roughly 250 out of 2.5 lakh CAT candidates with a success rate of .001 or 1 in 1000 and Harvard takes in around 100 candidates out 8000 giving a hit rate of about .0125 or 1 in 80.
The thing is , this statistic is all too wrong. The real fact is CAT is Common Aptitude Test and is an entrance exam to many colleges beyond IIM A or even BLICK. Not all of those 2.5 lakh CAT aspirants are aspirants of IIM A. Very few write the exam having a realistic chance of cracking IIM Ahmedabad. On the other hand barring a few who rely on a leap of faith ,most of the Harvard applicants have a realistic chance of cracking into it since sucha an application requires a lot of soul-searching (SOP) , previous enterprises (Social/community Service) or even a spark of genius (Read : Very high extra curricualrs) and lastly solid work experience (More than just Infosys/Wipro etc). Harvard gets to select the choicest choice of these applicants hence have a classroom full of extremely high potential and diversity in terms of both sex and educational backgrounds.
I am not saying IIM Ahd does not boast of the same but the above might be the reason why it does not rank regularly alongside the top B-schools of the world despite being so tough getting into. Both Harvard and IIM Ahd are very different b-Schools and have a different approach as well as methodology of admissions and it would be unfair to compare them and come out with a definitive one-on-one opinion.
i was searching the top b-school’s of the world & was shocked by not finding IIM-A in top 100′s also afyer read u’r blog & totally satisfied withe fact you had explained.
i was searching the top b-school’s of the world & was shocked by not finding IIM-A in top 100′s also afyer read u’r blog & totally satisfied withe fact you had explained.i was wandering to get out of of india but now my ultimate goal is to crack the cat &enter in IIM-A
Thanks for B-School
i m a second year mechanical student…………and i m confused that which exam will be better cat or gmat..for my future prospect.i m imepecunious student .so give me true guideline as a mentor which will be the better choice..
If you are an Indian IT Male then Harvard/Wharton/Stanford just kick you out of the application process ruthlessly. For example I will give you the case…
You might have spent all your life dedicated to academics and engineering. And ultimately end up with rock star academic achievements in 10, 12, College and then end up with a plum job in an MNC. You score a perfect >720 score on GMAT. But at the MNC u stick to Software Development or Testing. Listening to this talk around community engagement and to make your case stronger you even do some NGO work.
With this profile if you apply, H/W/S will just kick you out of the process because
1. There is no apparent managerial flavor to your application. You are a Geek!!
2. There are a lot of applications from India from the IT pool…
Cool!
Now take the case of another guy…
1. Does a CA or BCom or BA or some other similar course
2. Joins an investment bank or stock brokerage in Mumbai. Or jumps into family business to setup a retail outlet (another posch term for something like a kirana shop) (Now dont ask me how do you verify this). Or joins some coal mining company or Oil & Gas company or Shipping or some company which is NON-IT
Then even if you have not spent your time on
1. NGO activities or
2. scoring a >720 score on GMAT or
3. You were never bent on being stellar at acads
Harvard, Stanford and Wharton will just run after you like crazy.
So, why is it hard to get into H/S/W?
H/S/W is difficult for those who are in the Indian IT male industry who have been concentrating on academics throughout their life to differentiate themselves. This I obviously feel is where the larger academic oriented talent pool of India lies.
But H/W/S select those who necessarily dont fall into this academic creamy layer per se. To get into Harvard you should
1. Either be someone who is already a great achiever on personal front (i.e. are running a successful business/firm, in which case H/S/W makes little sense to you. I mean why would you leave a successful business and spend 50 lakhs and 2 years just for a degree?!)
2. or be someone who consciously builds a profile over 6 to 10 years (from your UG days) that reflects all the points that Harvard requests from the person. Even after this you can never be sure that they will select you.
3. or be a relation to some industrialist or politician.
And at the end of it, being intelligent in ‘manufacturing a profile’ that H/S/W can chew is what matters to them the most. Having relations/alumni in these colleges also matters a lot because of the recommendations that can come from them.
Apologies for such a long comment!
The fees of hbs is too high compared to iim.. How can an indian student afford to pay seventy lakhs approx? Even if he pays it whether is it worth it? Comparing these two dream schools on the basis of fees structure which one do yo advise an indian student to go for?