Best MBA Schools 2009

Couldn't agree more with SGDividends. The biggest thing about going for an MBA is the connections that you're supposed to make with your fellow students.

You can't just geek out and study in isolation--you'll be missing 90% of what the MBA is supposed to give you back for your investment.

I'm not sure why people are so obsessed over networking. It's way overrated. People do MBAs to get a better job in their current line,and to propel themselves into management, or for a career switch into finance or ibanking. Networking rarely figures in the equation unless you're doing an EMBA. Look, how much have u gained from people u know in school, other than going for drinks and trading gossips?
The good bschools overseas - not sure about the local schools - can give you a big headstart in a new career, typically in big-name MNCs, the fortune 500s, the best employers.
Big corporates still prefer to groom talent with good MBAs. ROI is definitely good.

US overrated, your post contradicts itself. You start off claiming that US MBAs are overrated, which obviously is not proven because the most highly paid MBA grads are top US ones (Harvard and Penn and company). But strangely as you progressed in your post, you tried to promote the local ones that have tie-ups with US universities, saying its merit is that it gives a US perspective. It's like you are clearly desperate for the US connection, yet started off sliming US universities. Must be of the local farmers in local universities. Typical.

It's common knowledge that local unis try desperately to bootlick and apple polish top foreign names, many times end up snubbed. And the only time any top US name gives a damn is when the government throws truckloads of money into financing 'joint' projects.

Hey free holiday in the tropics and a banker that looks too eager to accede to anything I want if I would give it a little attention and time of day. Why not man?

Please don't waste your time on MBAs. Read this article, and ponder on the points in there. I agree with it totally. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle5821706.ece

Hello everyone,

I still believe on the value of MBA as a career booster and as a safe place to be engaged while waiting for better economic times.

It's true that not all MBA courses deliver on students' expectations, so it's super important to choose the best school that will eventually satisfy your demands.

If you're just starting to consider an MBA or if you are already with a foot in, by visiting an MBA fair you'll gain an edge on your decision making process.

Many have found the QS World MBA Tour a useful informational and networking experience.
The Tour has just been announced its Kuala Lumpur date on the 24th of November. By visiting this fair you can meet personally admissions officers from INSEAD (full time and executive programs), IE, ESADE, IMD, IESE, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua and many more, and ask all the questions that really matter to you, such as financing options, career opportunities, specializations, admission process and much more.

The event is free with online registration at QS Top MBA: world's top business schools and best MBA programs, so it's a valuable opportunity for whoever is researching business education at the moment.

If you want more info, please feel free to contact [email protected].

I have been reading some of the postings on whether it is worth pursuing an MBA/EMBA. The responses ranges from complete waste of time to best experience of your life. Like everything else in life, the truth is normally somewhere in between and it is up to you to make the most of it. I am now in my 40s, I have an MBA from IMD and attended a few executive programs from Harvard, Wharton and Stanford. I want share some of observations which I hope will be useful to most of you:

1) from an intellectual pursuit standpoint, doing a program with a good school is a fantastic experience. One of the commonly ignored benefit of doing a program like an MBA or EMBA is that it challenges your current thinking and helps you to realize that there are other opportunities beyond your narrow line of work. (IT, accounting,engineering etc)

2) one of the benefit of doing a program outside of Singapore, is that you need to challenge everything your professor teaches you. In another words, they are not Gods. You think for yourself and arrive at your own conclusion. For a singaporean schooled in our strait-jacket type of education here, it was a liberating experience. There will be professors who are idiots and there will be inspirational ones. You should leave the program not arm with models and tools but with an attitude and passion for learning and to know that there is no 'right' or 'one way' to solve challenges in any organisation. Most of time, you are training to be a better decision maker.

3) for those who have been working for more than 10 years, my advice is to do an EMBA. However, the probability of switching career (say from IT to banking) is very low. But it will enhance your current experience and help you move to a more global organization if you are prepared to get your ass out of Singapore. If you are planning to spend that kind of money, you have to be prepared to work for large corporation and be willing to be based anywhere. If not, why bother. Part of the reason why ROI is low for many programs is that many students focus only in the Singapore market. Singapore is too small a market. Which is why it is worth it to do a program with international standing where if you were to step off an airport in any country, you won't get strange reception like "where is NUS?"

4) for career switchers, start early. If you cross 32, it becomes challenging.

5) on networking, I think it is overrated. Instead try to establish meaningful friendships which will last a lifetime.

6) For me, post MBA, I couldn't wait to get out of Singapore. The pay was good and I have never looked back. However, I have seen people who don't do well post MBA. Most of time, the people who do the program for the wrong reasons, will likely leave the program with unrealistic expectations and confusing aspirations.

7) A lot of questions on this post are question like "should i do an MBA?", "should I do a phd/dba", "should I do an NTU program"? To me, everyone is asking the wrong questions. Like everything else, it depends. It depends on what you want to do afterwards. If your plan is to increase your pay, get a good global career, then do a program from a good international school (you can easily cross out NUS/NTU). If you plan is to stay in Singapore, your ROI is going to be low anyway, so, pick a well recognised program in Singapore. The problem with most people is that they want to switch careers, stay in singapore, get a high pay and get a high ROI. If that is your expectation, then it doesn't really matter what program you do, it is unlikely you will meet all your needs.

In conclusion, an MBA/EMBA is worth it and ROI is good if you are willing to make some changes yourself and be clear why you are doing it in the first place. Good luck to all.

This forum thread is indeed useful for inspiring yound career starter such as myself.

To Unregistered (08.25AM): Kudos to you. IMD MBA is one of the dream place
I wish to enroll in to challenge myself further in the career path later on.
Thank you for sharing your observations to me, and to the other readers.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I have been reading some of the postings on whether it is worth pursuing an MBA/EMBA. The responses ranges from complete waste of time to best experience of your life. Like everything else in life, the truth is normally somewhere in between and it is up to you to make the most of it. I am now in my 40s, I have an MBA from IMD and attended a few executive programs from Harvard, Wharton and Stanford. I want share some of observations which I hope will be useful to most of you:

1) from an intellectual pursuit standpoint, doing a program with a good school is a fantastic experience. One of the commonly ignored benefit of doing a program like an MBA or EMBA is that it challenges your current thinking and helps you to realize that there are other opportunities beyond your narrow line of work. (IT, accounting,engineering etc)

2) one of the benefit of doing a program outside of Singapore, is that you need to challenge everything your professor teaches you. In another words, they are not Gods. You think for yourself and arrive at your own conclusion. For a singaporean schooled in our strait-jacket type of education here, it was a liberating experience. There will be professors who are idiots and there will be inspirational ones. You should leave the program not arm with models and tools but with an attitude and passion for learning and to know that there is no 'right' or 'one way' to solve challenges in any organisation. Most of time, you are training to be a better decision maker.

3) for those who have been working for more than 10 years, my advice is to do an EMBA. However, the probability of switching career (say from IT to banking) is very low. But it will enhance your current experience and help you move to a more global organization if you are prepared to get your ass out of Singapore. If you are planning to spend that kind of money, you have to be prepared to work for large corporation and be willing to be based anywhere. If not, why bother. Part of the reason why ROI is low for many programs is that many students focus only in the Singapore market. Singapore is too small a market. Which is why it is worth it to do a program with international standing where if you were to step off an airport in any country, you won't get strange reception like "where is NUS?"

4) for career switchers, start early. If you cross 32, it becomes challenging.

5) on networking, I think it is overrated. Instead try to establish meaningful friendships which will last a lifetime.

6) For me, post MBA, I couldn't wait to get out of Singapore. The pay was good and I have never looked back. However, I have seen people who don't do well post MBA. Most of time, the people who do the program for the wrong reasons, will likely leave the program with unrealistic expectations and confusing aspirations.

7) A lot of questions on this post are question like "should i do an MBA?", "should I do a phd/dba", "should I do an NTU program"? To me, everyone is asking the wrong questions. Like everything else, it depends. It depends on what you want to do afterwards. If your plan is to increase your pay, get a good global career, then do a program from a good international school (you can easily cross out NUS/NTU). If you plan is to stay in Singapore, your ROI is going to be low anyway, so, pick a well recognised program in Singapore. The problem with most people is that they want to switch careers, stay in singapore, get a high pay and get a high ROI. If that is your expectation, then it doesn't really matter what program you do, it is unlikely you will meet all your needs.

In conclusion, an MBA/EMBA is worth it and ROI is good if you are willing to make some changes yourself and be clear why you are doing it in the first place. Good luck to all.

Thanks for the clarification. What about an MSc from Oxbridge's business schools?

Apparently, M.Sc in management from Oxford & Cambridge, as well as LSE and Imperial,
are still very much recognised for stringent selection procedures (including M.Phil)

Thus, instead of choosing only the course that's relevant to you, you choose also
consider how you can reap the best benefits from your further studies, thus also
consider how relevant you are to the course that you'll ultimately enroll.

on whether to do an MSc from Oxbridge. I know will think that this is a cheaper alternative to an MBA. To me it boils down to what do you want to do afterwards.
in a list of fortune 500 companies, you got ask yourself how many are US and how many are European based. If you carry your MSc from Oxbridge to an American company, I won't pay that person any higher compared to an MBA from American School unless that person has demonstrated relevant experience. Do the MSc program if you are still a fresh graduate and you happen to be around UK. but frankly, if you going to spend the money, go to LBS. Some MSc program doesn't require a GMAT, so from an employers' perspective, the entry bar is lower than traditional MBA program, so it is still considered a notch down below MBA.

Can I ask why do an MSc in Oxbridge, where you very well do a MBA program?