Hello Friends,

Hope you will see my post and advise me a suitable option.

My wife is currently working in Nuremberg. I plan to pursue my higher studies in Germany so that we can be closer. I have got low score in GMAT, so EBS, Mannheim, HHL are out. I can now go to either Maastritcht School of Management (MSM) or Munich Business School (MBS). I know both are different categories; AMBA vs FIBAA.

Which one would you suggest keeping in mind good ROI, internationality, good job prospects after MBA.
I plan to study Dutch/German for sure if I am going to any of these schools.

I tend towards MSM as its quite international when compared with MBS. Its ranked 1st in eduniversal 4 palmes ranking and its fees is less than MBS. On the other hand MBS is in Munich which is a job hub including English jobs. One strange thing about MSM is that although its international 50-60% students are from Africa, so not sure if MSM has good presence in other parts of Europe.

My profile: 7 yrs of IT experience and have worked in Nuremberg for 20 months as well. Would an MBA from MBS be a downgrade for my profile?

I cant wait till next Sep. Lots of constraints.

Are these really your only choices? If you want to work in Europe, I don't see how MSM helps. It has no real career support and the programme is very light: only 57 days of classes over the year. Munich Business School is certainly better, but are you sure you can't find a better option? I would seriously consider MSc programmes in better schools and look at the Ohm school in Nuremburg. Why not improve your GMAT?

Thanks Duncan, I was really expecting your response.

I didnt plan for GMAT earlier. The situations changed quite dramatically with my wife getting job in Nuremberg recently.
What I considered:
WHU - admissions already closed. April is start of their MBA.
HHL, Mannheim, EBS - not selected due to low GMAT.
ESMT - very high tuition fees
GISMA - not offering 2013 MBA
OHM - local school and no rankings
Munich BS - FIBAA accredited, good rankings and placements, worked in Nuremberg earlier so hopeful of getting a job post MBA provided I learn German. Plus closer to wife's location. We are already apart since 10 months; she finished her MBA from OHM itself.

Will MBA from OHM really suit my profile? I am more inclined towards business consulting profile and not looking for MSc.

Could you please suggest any other MBA better than MBS?

What are your opinions about MBS curriculum, alumni, professors and German industrial image?

Or I can go to my wife with dependent VISA and try searching jobs alongside learning German and preparing for GMAT and apply in Jan 2014 for WHU. In case WHU doesnt works then my 1 year will be waste. I am not getting pessimist on GMAT score but about my 1 year of career.

What do you suggest is a better deal?

Or I can go to my wife with dependent VISA and try searching jobs alongside learning German and preparing for GMAT and apply in Jan 2014 for WHU. In case WHU doesnt works then my 1 year will be waste.

I think that with seven years' experience maybe the right option is to take a part-time MBA and then learn German part-time as well. HHL has three options, but there are many part-time and executive programmes in Germany.

Why not start with...
1. The HHL-TUM MBA innovation degree http://www.innovationprogram.de/
2. http://www.hhl.de/en/part-time-mba/
3. The Euro*MBA is also very impressive. http://www.hhl.de/en/euro-mba-program/

Thanks Ralph, taking an option to prepare GMAT and German skills for one year is indeed a idea I am looking upon. But I believe it will hamper a year of my career and will reflect while applying for MBA programs and jobs further. What do you think is the practical sense in going with this option?

Thanks Duncan, taking an executive or part time course will fetch me a VISA only valid for first 6 months. In that duration I need to find a job or else I would need to return to India.

I checked with Munich Business School, their MBA in International Mgmt is coming this year for the first time. Being centrally located in Munich, ample of jobs around, partnered with goods schools like MDI Gurgaon, IIM Indore, wouldn't this be a good choice?

Why do you rank MSM below MBS? MSM seems more international and known than MBS. Importantly MSM is getting integrated with Maastricht University (UM). Is that I am overlooking something?

If you need a visa, then a full-time German course (which in practise would be 20 hours a week for 36 weeks a year) would get you a visa and leave you with the time to do an part-time MBA from an excellent school.

Munich Business School is a small private Fachhochschule. It's not a well known institution, even in Munich. I am sure that if they share there placement data with you, you will see that their MBA graduates do not get outcomes as good as the MSc programmes at the top schools, let alone the MBA programmes.

I didn't know about the planned partnership between MsM and the university, but I don't think the MBAs will merge, or that the weak MsM brand will dissapear. It's an export brand without a strong network in Europe.

Thanks Duncan,
So, I believe it would be good to apply in January intakes with better GMAT score.
Can you recommend good schools in Europe with appreciable fees (below 40k) and good placement records starting Full time MBA in January?
I know my summer internship will suffer but I don't want to wait till next Sep. I am targeting a reasonable GMAT score around 600-630.

There are not many schools that start in the first part of the year: HEC, EDHEC, Lisbon, WHU, MIP. I think you'll get a much better outcome if you take a full-time language course and then a part-time MBA.

Hello Duncan,

I believe, that is not going to work.

Full time German course from Goethe takes 2 years. If I go on this Language Learning VISA and not on a regular Study VISA, then I can not convert my VISA to work permit at the end of 2 years. Plus, the EMBA is only for an year. So, that thing at the end wont work out.

MSM will atleast get me an accredited AMBA degree. Which will be recognized here in India, in case I need to return back. Maastricht University and MSM are going to be together; plus Maastricht University has its office in Bangalore as well. So, I believe that its much better known/ranked and accepted.

Please advise.

Next year wont be an option, by the time I finish my MBA, we would be apart for 3 years.

Okay. I don't know the visa rules, so I don't understand why one course would allow a permit but the other would not. An EMBA would be two years, so at the end of two years you would have perfect German and also one or more MBAs (Indeed, with the Euro*MBA, you would have a Maastricht MBA and also be an alum of HHL and the other schools). Of course there are other providers of German-language courses, including the universities of Leipzig and Munich, the cities where the innovation MBA is taught.

If MSM is your only choice, then it's your only choice.

PS Try http://www.uni-simt.de/ ?

Thanks Duncan, your advice is of course helpful.
Its just that I am stuck in a situation where I have to choose from the best of worst.

I have dropped an email to SIMT, there is no detailed information on their website. Neither I could find how SIMT is rated and ranked and how its accredited.

Seems, like in the end I would go for schools starting courses in early Jan/April rather than waiting for Sep '14 which will be too late.

Do, you know how much GMAT does WHU requires? They start in April.

SIMT was a partner of the University of Hull which is triple-accredited for its full-time MBA. However, it seems to have replaced its MBA with an MA and MSc for full-time students and a part-time MBA for executives.

I think the average GMAT at WHU was 628 when I last heard. They have a minimum of 600.