Asif,

I have chosen nottingham...1 or 2 points up or down in the FT rankings dont count much...its the average of the years.

Neha

Dear All,

Even after another week of discussions with people and some more research, I am still finding it hard to choose between Leeds and Birmingham. I guess I have cancelled out Nottingham as most of their "current" reputation and ranking (as a B-School) is based on their undergrad courses in Economics, Finance, Business and MSc degrees etc. (not the full-time MBA). We are looking for a good MBA program and not just a good B-School.

Between Leeds and Birmingham, factors like Fees, Location, Size of Alumni, Employability (after MBA), Ranking, Reputation, Size, Industry Links, Class Diversity, Course Content all point towards Birmingham.....the only factor pointing towards Leeds is that it had the FT audit in 2010 whereas Birmingham had it in 2007 (pre-recession).

More opinions needed, fellas!!! Will finalize before Friday :)

I think Birmingham is the sensible choice, and Leeds is a risky one. Leeds' ranking is really unstable and that has big impact on the quality of students and recruiters. The two MBAs are very similar in content. Looking at the FT ranking, Birmingham is ahead on ranking; salary; value; careers; placements; employment; women faculty, broad and students; international faculty, experience, mobility and students...

Leeds has more British students and much less regional competiton than Birmingham, considering that, careers and placement scores at Leeds are surprisingly low. But the reality is that the West Midlands is really central for job hunting and the economic situation in the private sector is almost certainly much better than in West Yorkshire.

The Bimmingham campus is also prettier.

Hi Duncan,

I agree with you; reputation-wise Birmingham is much better and I finally seem to be arriving at a decision based on a bit of research.

That said, I am yet to receive the offer letter from Birmingham. I received an Email from their admissions department confirming that an unconditional offer will be made in due course......but it has been 3 weeks now. Their portal also has the same message displayed. I checked with them today and it turns out that there's a backlog of applications queued over the easter break, and it might still take some time.

Although my Nottingham offer has lapsed in the process, I have received an offer from Strathclyde now (they have waived off my low GMAT score). Birmingham's snail paced admissions procedure is compelling me to take the SBS offer, or perhaps the Leeds one. The confusion starts all over again :)

Maybe you should take Strathclyde. It's higher ranked and better value when you think of salary. Bur Birmingham is rising in the baking and Strathclyde is falling. And Strathclyde is really an export school, not really serving the UK labour market. Personally, I would take Birmingham at their word. Explain the situation to them and ask them to confirm you quickly.

I did explain my case to them but I guess they must be really busy sorting out the applications (judging by the fact that they did not make any extra effort to help out a potential student). Their answer was "wait!".

The few problems I have with Strathclyde are their concentration on strategic management (subsequent lack of marketing electives), and their lack of student diversity. During the interview with Strath, I expressed my concerns over the diversity issue; to which the lady over the phone confirmed that the high concentration of Indian and Chinese students on the MBA program is due to the demand. From my perspective, it really does mean that they make no effort whatsoever to maintain a diverse cohort. They cave in to the demand. My friends in Strath tell me that the current class has more than 80% Indians. The rest are Chinese!

I also hear that Birmingham as a city is much better than Glasgow on most counts. In terms of Fees: Bham is 18000 and Strath is 23500. I guess Bham is worth a li'l more wait!

If it was me, I would chose Birmingham anyday over Leeds or Glasgow. The city, campus, business school and cohort will all be better in Brum. My friend did her PhD there, and it was a great place to be a graduate student.

80% Indians does make their average reported salary look interesting.

Hi Duncan,

Then Birmingham it is! Received the offer today; will confirm by tomorrow, and fulfill the formalities.

Hey Nazir,

did u already have started ur mba?
kind regards from germany