Find your reason to do an MBA: MBA is a costly degree and it also takes two precious years to be completed. All aspirants should have a goal in sight before moving for an MBA. Once inside an IIM, the race is between elites and good performance only occurs if long strides are made towards the right goals. We should not use a sword where a needle may work out fine.
Are you ready to learn and deliver: Interacting with 900 students in a year can be quite an experience. Competition is immense and you get a sense of graduating from the rat race to a more mature rat race (yeah, the anti-climax!). In fact, IIM graduates have this special power of partying their hearts out during the night while they are being beaten like a pinata during the days from classes, quizzes and placement prep. Do you see yourself thriving in this environment? Can you add value to yourself (through studies, competitions, committees, networking and what not) without feeling a sense of entitlement because of your background?
Is this the right time for an MBA: There is a right time for everything. Most of the classroom learning can be much more impacting if a student has relevant work experience. Also, there is a bridge between the entrance exams and what is taught in the classrooms. Having seen 99.9+ percentiles struggle while 95 percentilers succeed with ease, I can testify to this fact. Therefore, it makes sense to gather resources and find out whether the learning can be maximised by building some experience before joining the college. This should also be looked at in terms of the placement opportunity which you might have after coming in. More than the required amount of experience may also prove to be an issue.
These are three factors which should be considered before joining or attempting to join a b-school. The whole process of getting selected is an arduous one, it takes a lot of effort, time and money to get a seat in the coveted b-schools. An informed choice can only help the aspirant get maximum value in the right direction.
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