Dear All,

Am offered a place in Strathclyde and Birmingham BS for fall 2011. I have been doing an extensive research for last one year or so and am having a fair idea regarding UK universities. But after FT 2011 rankings placing Birmingham in 68 and Strathclyde in 77, am confused! I know Strathclyde steals the show from a triple accredition, course content and strategic standpoint but Birmingham has the location advantage for better job prospects. Need you advise on which one to go for considering both post job prospects in UK (still recovering from the downturn) and resume weightage post MBA. Does location advantage really matter for jobs in UK and what would be a better ROI(Return Of Investment) in the long run?

Profile - MCA/7 yrs exp in IT/Junior Mgmt/Good Intl exposure
Thanks in advance!

Eagerly waiting for your valuable thoughts !!!

Please help.......

Ranking: Brimingham has beaten SBS for the first time in terms of FT ranking but I would like to read between the lines. The school was audited last at 2007 which was pre-recession and few of those schools like SBS which were audited in 2010 would have taken a big hit in the table as it was during/post-recession. Hence, SBS scores here!

Location: That's hands down Birmingham but again it depends on how much the criterion is important for you. If a school is able to use its alumni well, then its not really a must that it lie in the city centre, if u know what I mean.

Fees: Here's something Birmingham scores easily over SBS.

course: SBS doesn't really offer many electives but the content is very intense, atleast from the looks of it. Present students have a great opinion about the school which by any yardstick is an important factor.

cohort: Birmingham offers a better cohort from the kindov data I have seen so far.

As a conclusion, I would highlight the fact that post MBA, if you need to kickstart a job hunt of few months, then Birmingham is a better bet to place your arsenal than Glasgow but also important is what you have in that arsenal of yours.

Hi Kimster,

So bottom line is there is no significant advantage or disadvantage in either of the universities as both have its own Pros and Cons, isnt it? Think am zeroing out Strathclyde and going for Birmingham...

Anyways, excellent explanation, Thanks a ton Kimster!! :))

Hi,

I also received conditional offer from Strathclyde and Birmingham. Strathclyde is not asking for IELTS but Birmingham is asking for band 7. Have you taken IELTS and urs is conditional or unconditional offer.

Got Unconditional letter and CAS statement from Birmingham. Got unconditional from Strath as well. Had taken IELTS in APR 2010 (Band-7.5).

HTH.

i will say Birmingham now.............but a year and half back Strathclyde was better.......i am not saying Strathclyde is bad........both are good decide on your needs.......what you want it depends on course,module,elective,fees etc.....

Hi Could you tell me how many days did you get the reply from the college...I applied on 7th March and still pending for the responce

Hi All,

Anyone active in this thread??

I also have an offer with Strath and Birmingham.. Thinking on which to chose?? Could some one please advice agter this PSW scrap??

Regards,
Anusha

Hi,

I am also planning to apply for University of Birmingham for Sept 2011 intake , but i received the information that for MBA in strategy and procurement in University of Birmingham we require 3+ years managerial experience. I posses 3 years of full time professional experience and not managerial.
Can anything be done about it.
I satisfy all the other requirements except for this work experience.

Thanks,
Shwetha

either is good. Strathcylde is also nearby glasgow a huge city as big as birmingham and nearby edinrbugh the banking centre second largest after london

Birmingham is a very respected Uni in the UK as well as all other Russell Group Uni's (Oxbridge, Imperial, Warwick, Manchester, Bristol, etc) ...Strathclyde is just average..if you're planning to study at a Scottish Uni, you'll be better off at Edinburgh....

Cheers