If you want to work in India, study in south Asia or the Gulf.

Generally, Leeds has a much bigger base of alumni with MBAs in India, followed by Durham, Aston and Henley in that order. Few are in strategy consulting roles: they are mostly in IT or finance firms where they work in consulting, marketing or business development. There are no Indian firms that 'eat up' their graduates in bulk, but Tata, E&Y, IBM and Cognizant are major hirers.

If that doesn't sound like what you are looking for, then think about other options.

On a global level, Henley has a much larger MBA alumni base and the strongest reputation. The Henley MBA has been expensive and that has limited its base in India. Given your options, I would choose Henley > Aston > Durham > Leeds.

<blockquote>I want to pursue my career in business consulting and strategy management . I have 5 years of exp in Technical Cosnuting in India .
I have offers form Leeds, Aston and Reading . Waiting for Durham's decision .
Which area is Henley good into ?How about its reputatioon in Non-EU countries like India ? I got to know that its changed now .Is that a good sign ?
Thanks, Pramodh </blockquote>
Hi Pramodh,
Is your experiences of technical consulting is in IT field or any other engineering field? Since you have 5 years of experience, why dont you take GMAT and opt for much higher ranked schools.

Hi Mamit,
I have almost 5 yrs technical consulting experience in IT field .
I have already taken GMAT but didnt achieve a competitive score. Hence, trying to secure admissions with my current GMAT score .

Pls suggest .

Thanks, Pramodh

Since you are from IT field, i believe you may get good opportunities post MBA, as IT consulting is still in demand here in UK, some of my friends (from India) are currently working with good organisations here in UK at leading positions (mainly in finance sector).
If you have low GMAT then the universities you can target are:
1. Aston
2. Birmingham
3. Bradford
4. Durham

I would suggest that you do a in depth research on modules these universities are offering and if they are appropriate for your career. As some universities offer very wide range of electives.
Hope this helps
Mamit

Hi Mamit,
Thanks for your reply .
But the PSW visa is stopped in UK as u aware . I just want to choose the B-school which has good reputation outside UK which would help me out in finding job opportunities once grad is done .
Any suggestions on this ?
Thanks PRamodh

Why not study outside the UK?

Hi Duncan,
I had options of studying in US and Europe apart from Uk.
US is out of my financial reach and Europe is bit regional when comes to opportunities . so, opted UK . also, have some family help and connections in UK
Any suugestions ?
Thanks , Pramodh

I suggest you improve your GMAT and get into the best school you can. If that's in the UK, then that's great. But don't rule out the rest of Europe.

In what way are the main schools on the mainland more regional? IMD, HEC, RSM, IESE, Insead, Esade, Vlerick (which I guess educate most of the students in accredited MBAs on the mainland) have greater international mobility than the UK schools we're discussing here. And are they really less regional than a school that's 80% Indian, but happens to be in the UK?

Obviously a huge factor is the large number of Indian students who prefer to study in the UK; they return to India. That has an impact on the statistics. And if you career goals are limited to the UK and India, then there's a big brand advantage. But the those top European schools will give you a better education than the UK schools we are discussing, will give you more of a chance of finding work in Europe and (with the crisis of the Euro) will be more favourable against the Rupee than the Pound.

<blockquote>But the those top European schools will give you a better education than the UK schools we are discussing, will give you more of a chance of finding work in Europe and (with the crisis of the Euro) will be more favourable against the Rupee than the Pound.</blockquote>
Also, visas for international students in the UK are increasingly hard to get. Many of the countries on the continent are more liberal in this sense.

<blockquote>Hi Mamit,
Thanks for your reply .
But the PSW visa is stopped in UK as u aware . I just want to choose the B-school which has good reputation outside UK which would help me out in finding job opportunities once grad is done .
Any suggestions on this ?
Thanks PRamodh </blockquote>
Yes thats true that PSW is no more available for international students, but the alternative route is tier 2 visa and the last option is to go back to India. But i have seen cases where students are getting good opportunities in India as well after doing their MBA from reputed B-School in the UK.

Hi Mamit,

When you say reputed B-schools, wch all do you mean ?
Can you list out few of them ?
I hope, the B-schools that I have admits are one among them

Thanks, Pramodh

I think the FT MBA rankings are the best guide to the relative reputation of UK business schools.

Hi,

I've read all posts here relating to Henley, and Aston and I'm still pretty much in the limbo about which one to choose. I hope that maybe Duncan, Ezra and Mamit could chime in and help me decide. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you, gents.

It's a choice between Aston MBA (12 months), and Henley EMBA (21 months). I also got accepted for Nottingham University Business School EMBA but it is more of a backup.

A little background info about me:
I'm fairly young, 33 with about 5 years of solid managerial experience (enough to meet the EMBA requirements), but at smaller companies and nothing spectacular such as GM at GE or VP of Shell or even a Generic Manager at Morgan Stanley :)
Therefore I am not looking to advance within my current company, I much rather look for more rewarding and promising job opportunities after graduation. My main objective would be to get into BBC or National Geographic to work as a generic manager or maybe even producer of some kind, since I also have a degree in Television. I'm hoping that MBA/EMBA will open the doors for me a little more. Second reason is that I have an option to start my own business. At this point it's hard to say which option will pan out, so I want to keep them both on the table. Either way MBA should help.

So my questions/concerns are as follows:

1) Is there really any significant difference between MBA and EMBA? I've read on many websites that there isn't, that EMBA is just part-time MBA. But when I compare program descriptions on Henley website there are a slight differences, even though they appear mainly cosmetic (for marketing reasons?) It appears that EMBA, not only applies theory but you also need to apply them to your company? Is that the big difference that practically doubles the tuition costs or is there more?

Also coming from a small company will I be even able to apply many of these concepts to my work? There is almost no one to manage right now and I'm afraid if it won't be a loss on my end.

2) Are recruiters more excited to see EMBA or MBA on a CV, or would they rather be more excited to see Henley over Aston? Or what seems to be the dominant advantage in this case?

3) Which program/school would be more recognized internationally? Both are triple accredited, so no difference there, but will Henley have a better global brand than Aston... Is it swift and rising David (Aston) vs the falling Goliath (Henley)? or will in this case Nottingham win altogether?

4) Why is Henley ranking so inconsistent from year to year on which MBA and FT websites? It?s either in the top 50, or nowhere to be found at all. Maybe Aston being 80th, but pretty consistent is a more reliable choice?

5) Why is Henley post-graduate salary almost double that of Aston graduate? Is it real? In which case spending more on tuition would be justified or is it only because many existing execs go for Henley EMBA to get promotion within their companies and therefore their salaries are much bigger to begin with?

6) Who has a better placemen network and post-grad connections? It would seem obvious that Henley with their 35,000 grads, over Aston's 3000, but FT ranks Henley?s career services rather poorly (that is when even Henley appears in rankings) while Aston seems to be doing quite good for their students.

7) Finally, does any of these schools have better connection with media industry such as film or television?

Very sorry for this looong post, but maybe it will help the others make up their minds between the two schools - the rising Aston and falling(?) Henley. Thanks again.

You have given yourself a hard task, and you are comparing totally different MBAs.

The EMBA isn't just (normally) a part-time MBA, it's typically a part-time MBA aimed at people in the 30s and 40s with serious work experience (Actually at Henley there was a full-time EMBA option). They earn more on the way in, so they earn more on the way out. Full-time MBAs at Henley and Aston don't have the same big difference.

Henley closed down the full-time EMBA option and now has a new MBA aimed at people in their 20s. Unlike an EMBA, it will have the serious careers services support that you'd expect from a full-time programme.

Henley has a better network of MBA alumni in UK broadcast media than Aston. Even better would be LBS, Insead, Oxford, Cass, Cambridge or Imperial. Why not look at those full-time MBAs (especially the last four)?

If you are changing industry or role, then a full-time MBA will be better.

Duncan,

Thank you for your reply. I agree that some of the schools listed would make more sense, like LBS, Insead, Oxford or Cass, but they are either way outside of my budget or they require GMAT, which I didn't have enough time to prepare for. Therefore I've applies to the ones I could afford and get into. Since the difficult choice. I'm leaning towards Henley, due to its reputation, just need to confirm that the school's prestige is not sliding. Aston for example went from 70 FT ranking to 99 in one year, who knows where it will be in next 2 or 3 years.

Almost every European school is being overtaken by schools in areas with faster-growing economies with more open immigration policies. That's just how it is.

This is one of the most important choices of your life. Why not take the time to do your GMAT and get into the best school you can. The value of a better MBA pays for the higher tuition many times over.

Maybe I should. So final question you wouldn't recommend Henley at all, then?

<blockquote>Hi Mamit,

When you say reputed B-schools, wch all do you mean ?
Can you list out few of them ?
I hope, the B-schools that I have admits are one among them

Thanks, Pramodh </blockquote>
Reputed B-Schools are the FT ranked B-Schools which are among top 100 in the world. but if you can get through with top 30 in the list then it would be best. i.e. Warwick , Cranfield, Cass, Imperial

I have 5 years of exp in I.T services industry I have received admit for Henley Full time MBA. I have received 50% scholarship. However I am doubtful about it because this year's programe is new for the people in the 20s while all earlier programs were for senior people. So I am not sure whether to join it....Can you please advice on the same

Are you not in your 20s?

What other options do you have? The Henley programme will have a strong curriculum and faculty. The students have a good GMAT. If you have a better place elsewhere, take it.