Hi,

I have got offers from Aston, Strathclyde and Henley for their full time MBA program.

Background: 6+ years of IT experience which includes 3 years of working as a team manage and an year of working on business aspects (rfp's, po's etc.,)

I am aiming at a management consulting role post MBA. I have already given my GMAT and scored a 600. Below is what I feel about these schools:

ASTON: Located at heart of Birmingham I was hoping the job opportunities would be good till I came across this
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10604117. Not sure howmuch emphasis can be place on the report. But the school is reputed and as I know has a good career service as well.

STRATHCYLDE: Has decent placement record. Consistently ranked. Alumni strength. Has campus/presence in quite a few places across the globe.

HENLEY: If we are to purely go by the 'Linkedin method' (big thanks to JK for this), Henley seems the obvious choice for Management Consulting. But I feel the statistical data for Henley in Linkedin is mis-leading as most of the Alumni on Linkedin would be from Henley's EMBA program, which is what its renowned for. None the less it great to have Alumni sitting higher up in the management ladder. My concern is that the full time MBA program has been relaunched in Whiteknights campus so is there any recent placement data for this program..? Proximity to London is a positive.

The idea is to work in UK post MBA. Also I cannot afford to be out of work for more than a year, hence UK and the 1 year program. Considering the change in visa rules for Non EU students which would be the safest option when it comes to getting a job within 3 months of graduation..?

Still waiting for a reply from Birmingham and Edinburgh....

Henley could be the better choice, but it's a risky one because it's a new programme. I took a course at Henley recently and, talking to a few students from the full-time MBA, it didn't sound like they had been able to overcome the real challenges in the UK market.

Are you able to take the time to retake your GMAT and aim for a better MBA? With 650, then Cass, Imperial or Warwick would be possible. Maybe ESADE or Rotterdam?

How about only Aston vs Strath?

Which one would you recommend then.. specific reasons if any?

Looking at your profile, I recommend that you consider the following schools also:

Manchester Business School
CASS
Imperial

The above 3 schools may ask for your resume initial (Pre-screening). After assessment, they will be up-front with you and tell you whether you should apply or not.

Warwick and Cranfield follow a similar resume pre-screening method, but your GMAT falls below their cut-off (Warwick:650 and Cranfield 680).

with current GMAT score I would suggest Edinburgh and Lancaster could be a better option. As as Duncan said, try for Manchester as well you might be lucky to get through.
Provided you have already taken GMAT and have scored 600, I would not recommend non GMAT schools.

If you live in the UK or you have chance to fly over there, you could try the Cranfield's internal test..
Regards

Thanks for all the inputs..!

@JK: I have already given two attempts this year and I know it will take me a good month or two to move my score upto the 650 mark, by which time I would missed the deadlines. So for the time being I am not contemplating on giving my GMAT again. Also due to some commitments I need a admit this year. I had shortlisted the schools you mentioned, with Warwick being on the top of my list.

So in effect could Reading be better than Strathcylde in terms of post MBA placements..? Also regionally is the Henley brand more reputed than Strathclyde..?

@WanttoRock: 2013 Admissions for FTMBA at MBS is closed. I did get a reply from CASS on the pre-screen. They mentioned that I 'may be considered' for their program.

@ Mamit: Lancaster seems to be ranked consistently across FT, BW and Economist, but I see a concern with the post MBA placement (I could be wrong).

@ Maubia: That would be difficult..

Quality of Students going to GMAT schools are better than non GMAT schools (in general) the overall outcome will be more with GMAT schools.

Is Henley classified as a GMAT school..?

No. I dont think they ask for GMAT.

If I were to choose between Cass and Imperial, which one would be better in terms of job prospects..?

Also I do not understand the FT European ranking. Henley is 29th in Europe which is higher than Manchester, which is ranked 47th.

Henley asks for the GMAT for the FT MBA and has a site to help prepare for it http://gmat.henley.ac.uk/

If you read the FT articles about the European ranking, you can see the methodology. It is a composite of other rankings. Manchester is higher than Henley on some things, like the PhD and full-time MBA, and worse on other things (Manchester does not have an EMBA, for example). Focus on the ranking that matters for you.

Thanks JK. That helps..!

What would be your pick between Cass and Imperial..?

Cass is better in almost every way.

Down to Henley and Strathclyde. Which one would be a better investment..?

Hard to choose. Try for better schools.

I did get 50% scholarship from Henley Business School (Not ranked in FT Global and 53rd in FT European college ranking) and I did get into Ashridge Business School(Not ranked in FT Global but 45th in FT European college ranking), Durham Business School(ranked 97th in FT Global and 52nd in FT European college ranking), Aston Business School (Not ranked in FT Global but 47th in FT European college ranking) and University of Bath (ranked 84th by FT global and 50th in European college ranking) also. I already have offer from Strathclyde Business School (SBS) and CEU Business School.

After 50% scholarship from Henley total fees would be around GBP 13000 and with rest of them is around GBP 25000.

SBS is ranked by FT at 73rd Globally, 29th in Europe and by The Economist at 40th place in world. It has placement record of 94% after 3 months. poetsandquants.com/2014/01/27/best-worst-2013-mba-job-placem?

SBS was ranked 4th in the world in ?Corporate Strategy? category by Financial Times? 2014 Specialized Ranking im.ft-static.com/content/images/38fd980a-81d4-11e3-a600-0014?

gmatclub.com/blog/2014/02/the-specialization-rankings-by-fin?

What you guys suggest now? Is it okay to save GBP 12000 now or shall I go for highest ranked B-school after taking loan from bank (Strathclyde Business School) for long term benefits? Or it doesn't matter much when college is not among top 50 or so?

Any help will be much appreciated!

I suggest people reply to you at http://www.find-mba.com/board/41094/ where you have asked a similar question.

Anyone?

It looks like Duncan helped you out quite a bit here:

http://www.find-mba.com/board/41094/

At this point, I don't know if anybody here can add more advice. You're far enough along in the process where you can just connect directly with the schools, ask them about employment stats, and even get in touch with alumni. Congratulations and good luck!