Has MBA really lost its sheen or is the course managing to stay afloat? A survey has shown that not only is MBA the most preferred choice as a postgraduate course, but is garnering increasing interest in the major metros.
The ‘MBA in India’ report by IndiaCollegeSearch points out that among the top 100 cities (by population) in India, the top eight cities garnered almost 61 per cent of the searches, while the other 92 cities received just 39 per cent of the searches for MBA. There is interest emerging from cities such as Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Indore and Noida.
The data was categorised zonal- and city-wise and by age and gender and yearly data for 2012 and 2013. The report is based on a sample size of more than two million searches, the number of annual searches to the IndiaCollegeSearch.com (not indicative of unique visits). Traffic to the website comprises students and professionals from India and abroad for information on MBA studies in India.
The five cities accounting for maximum interest are New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai. Bangalore not only accounts for the second highest number of searches, but also tops the list for searches from students abroad, said Anirudh Motwani, CEO, IndiaCollegeSearch. Age-wise, the biggest cluster of interest is from the 21-24 years bracket. The report suggests that searches by women are higher by a slight margin of four per cent.
Among the entrance exams, the Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) and Common Admission Test (CAT) are the two most popular entrance examinations. IBSAT, GATE and SNAP make up the rest of the top five.
CoursesWhile finance courses, associated with investment banking and security firms, received topmost preference, human resources ends up being a distant second. Marketing, which usually fetches the hard-core front-end jobs, finds itself placed third.
SalaryWhile MBA grads would expect a high rise in salary every year to beat the fee hike and inflation, there seems very little incentive for the aspirants, according to the trends in the report. The average salary of students placed from colleges accepting CAT in 2013 was Rs. 2.79 lakh per annum, marginally up from Rs. 2.72 lakh in 2012. On the other hand, CMAT colleges saw a minimal increase in salary, moving up from Rs. 2.20 lakh in 2012 to Rs. 2.23 lakh in 2013.
