Hi Everyone and Duncan,

This is my first posting. I am very confused about which university to pick for my MBA. I know this for sure that I want to be in Germany and I am confident that I can learn German language having spent some time in Germany a few years ago.

My Profile:
I am an Electronics Engineer and also a Computer Scientist. I have a BSc and an MSc degree from top schools in Pakistan and USA. My Masters was from Carnegie Mellon University which is one of the best universities in computer sciences. I have also around 9 years of working experience in the software industry and academia.

I don't want to give GMAT and I have consulted some schools and they will waive the TOEFL score as well for me. But I don't want to spend too much on the tuition part. My budget is only between 7000-15000 euros and I am confident that I should be able to land a scholarship or some study loan.

I will be grateful to you if you could suggest some potential schools that land in my ball park and who also have good career placements.

Regards,
Imran

If you want a good job, take the GMAT. See:-
Do you need to speak the local language? www.find-mba.com/board/34713

Why you should take the GMAT http://bit.ly/WhyGMAT

Best schools for international students' placement http://www.find-mba.com/board/41143

To be frank, I think you may be looking for something that doesn't exist.

For international students, inexpensive and decent career placements are usually mutually exclusive. The schools where international students have the best chances of landing a job in Germany after graduation are usually the top-ranked ones, Mannheim + ESMT, plus maybe the Frankfurt School. These schools are (relatively) expensive, and the kinds of scholarships you need to get the cost down to your budget don't generally go to people without something exceptional about their background (or who can get superb GMAT scores).

And on that note, all of those schools, as you probably gather, also need you to take the GMAT.

A school like WHU would be closer to your budget, but again, this school also requires you to take the GMAT.

Another issue would obviously be a command of the German language. A high-level familiarity and a great accent are very important in landing a job in the country after graduation. Many are confident they can achieve this, but in reality, this takes a huge amount of dedication, which tends to not be possible while doing a full-time MBA program.

Thank you for your candid reply. I sometimes don't understand why these schools offer an english program if ultimately you will excellent german skills to land a good job. Anyways, why germany appealed to me was the fact that international people can have around 18months to search for a job after graduation. I have seen some student profiles on many german schools' websites who managed to land a job after graduation and those schools claim to have good placements within a period of 3 months. I looked at CBS, Offenburg and WHU programs. Clearly WHU is the best one but CBS and Offenburg don't need GMAT and there cost is also manageable with good payment options especially in case of CBS. I also haven't forgotton the prodigy finance scheme which is quite relevant if you want to pay your tuition but that is only applicable to good schools, may be a school like Mannheim or ESMT. I personally know some pakistanis who faced problems after graduation from ESMT due to the german language skills but they ultimately found something in germany. This makes me wonder if may be Ireland or UK will be better suited to my needs, I would love to hear your comments about that as well.

If your goal is to work in the country after the MBA then UK is tough. It has strict visa laws and unless you are from some top school like LSB, Judge, Ox then it will difficult. As you are reluctant to take GMAT you are already out of these options. Republic of Ireland has two good schools Trinity and UCD Smurfit but for them as well you will need the GMAT. Ireland gives you 6 months - 1year post graduate visa to work. Either cases, you will need GMAT

Having said that you have a Masters from USA, why don't you try your MBA too in US? It has got many programs with and without the requirement of GMAT, and after completing any of the MBA, reputed or non-reputed, you can work there at least for 1 year.

Most employers in the US would prefer an expensive rated school to consider you for employment and things are getting tighter day by day as far as H1B quota is concerned so I am not very hopeful about job prospects in the US in the coming years. Europe appealed to me because the cost is not much and job prospects in my opinion are better although salaries might be a bit lower as compared to the US. The only problem is my reluctance to take GMAT, which have shut down some prospects for me but I think since I have a good degree from Carnegie Mellon all I need is a foot in the door thing which an MBA can provide and I should land a decent enough job. I lived in Germany before so I know the country and can adjust well that is why I was considering it and still am.

Just take the GMAT. Even a low score is better than no score, since some schools will be flexible towards you but have policies that rule out people who refuse the GMAT. ALso see http://find-mba.com/board/uk-ireland/international-students-and-working-in-the-uk-44329