I think this depends on where you want to work. ISB is great for India, since it is there. SJ Jain Global School is good for Dubai and Singapore, since it is there. ISB has a much higher GMAT and is generally a much stronger school, other than its alumni are concentrated in India.

I was just looking at SP Jain's most recent career report, and salary-wise, it's a surprisingly good value, and has good results, for those who want to work in Dubai.

However, if you did want to work in Singapore, there are probably better options than SP Jain (NUS, Nanyang, Insead.)

If you wanted to stay in India, I'd say that today's reality is more mixed. Even last year, ISB would have been a no-brainer. But this year's ISB salary stats and its continued drop in the FT rankings are starting to make it less attractive. IIM-A would be the best option, obviously, but if it's a choice between ISB and SP Jain, it could go either way depending on your chosen industry/focus/etc.

My point was that since the FT is a good gauge of a school's global reach, and that ISB is the only other Indian school ranked there besides IIM-A, it's worth considering for that reason. But it's been dropping in the rankings, so the reasoning is less certain that it has been in recent years.

I think you can read the methodology in the P&Q blog. ISB is a strong school. It has fallen from a very high position, 13th worldwide, to one which is still quite high: 34th. It's a like a car slowing down: it has not stopped (http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/indian-school-of-business/global-mba-ranking-2013#global-mba-ranking-2013). But the ISB and IIM-A are both handicapped in the FT rankings, which stress the international and gender diversity of the school's students, faculties and board members. Other schools in Asia are overtaking them slowly and, for the moment, ISB students are still getting better salary than graduates of the much older and stronger MBAs in Singapore's universities.

I think if you have ambitions outside India (especially in the other cities where SP Jain has campuses,) it's a reasonable alternative to ISB.

However, if you were looking for jobs in Dubai or Singapore, I think it's probably worth it to consider programs that are based exclusively in those cities. Singapore has some great options (NUS, Nanyang, etc.); and in Dubai there's the University of Dubai, and Hult even.

I believe, S P Jain does provide placements in other countries also. But NUS is also great.

I believe, S P Jain does provide placements in other countries also. But NUS is also great.

SP Jain's alumni are overwhelmingly in India, UAE, and Singapore. NUS has a much more international network - arguably a much stronger presence in Singapore, with alumni all over southeast Asia and as far as the US. I stand by my original point: if you're looking for jobs in places beyond India, it would be better to go with a school in the particular places you're looking at. NUS/Nanyang/Insead for Singapore; the University of Dubai and others in UAE.

There are few business schools with global mobility; which are able to place students evenly over the world into new countries. And, generally, few students are really global, because of language, family and opportunities they tend to be focussed on just a few countries. I think it's good idea to plan towards what you want, and then pick from the available options that make that most possible. SJ Jain is more international than ISB but neither of these have a high profile outside the Asia-Pacific region.

There are few business schools with global mobility; which are able to place students evenly over the world into new countries. And, generally, few students are really global, because of language, family and opportunities they tend to be focussed on just a few countries. I think it's good idea to plan towards what you want, and then pick from the available options that make that most possible. SJ Jain is more international than ISB but neither of these have a high profile outside the Asia-Pacific region.

But overall I think, S P Jain has better placement globally. I don't know about ISB.