My comments are in italics.
Professors Take Academic Road East (Financial Times) – Singapore Business Schools are paying top dollar to attract top faculty from all over the world. Having world-class professors at a lower price tag makes Singapore MBA programs great value for money (especially relative to US MBA programs)
“Financial investment is particularly evident in Singapore, where business schools are paying “telephone number salaries” to lure top professors. “I think we all have the feeling that the governments are very committed to investing in education and in institutions,” says Prof de Meyer, now president at Singapore Management University. “The willingness to invest in research and education is very high.”
“The investment in research means many Asian schools can now compete at the highest levels in the type of rigorous, data-driven study favoured in US business schools, says Prof Thomas, dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business at SMU. There are 10 Asian business schools in the 2011 ranking of the top 100 research institutions, compiled by the University of Texas at Dallas, compared with six European schools. (Insead has campuses in Asia and Europe.)”
“A decade ago most aspiring business professors headed west, to the US. These days they are heading in the opposite direction: Asia is becoming the hotspot for the top management thinkers.”
Looking for an Edge (Wall Street Journal) – gives an overview of the growth and effectiveness of the MBA admissions consulting industry.
“It is often said that the hardest part of an M.B.A. program is getting in, which may explain why applicants like Ms. Lo are willing to shell out thousands of dollars for a coach to help them through the nerve-jangling admissions process. Though exact numbers on admissions help aren’t available, there is some indication of how much applicants are leaning on consultants: Twenty percent of respondents in a recent global survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council said they had used an admissions consultant to help them gather information about M.B.A. programs.”
How to Woo the MBA Admissions Committee (Financial Post) – despite what the interviewed admissions officers say, your GMAT score is very important to Singapore MBA programs, as well as your fit and perceived future contribution to the program.
Nanyang Business School Promotes Green Trading (Business Because)
NTU’s Nanyang Business School Gets $3 Million SGD Dollar Gift (Channel News Asia)
Steve Jobs: 4 Lessons for MBA Applicants (Technorati) – impact, passion and leadership are essential to winning MBA applications.
Can MBAs Guarantee You get the Big Bucks? (Independent.ie) – practical, down-to-earth analysis over whether MBAs are worth it. It’s important that you have realistic expectations over what an MBA can do for your career – unfortunately, it is NOT the career panacea many applicants believe it to be.
“A decade ago you could come out of a good programme and get a six-figure salary when you finished,” says Rowan Manahan, managing director of Fortify Services, the career management firm. “But things are different now. Top jobs like that are still around, they are few and far between, so don’t jump into an MBA without thinking.”
“Don’t let timing be a factor; you should do an MBA when you are ready, not when the market is ready,” says the Dean ofInsead Business School in France, Dipak C Jain.
MBA may give you higher salary but this is not a guarantee. There are a lot of other factors to be considered. Before jumping into MBA, make sure that you are ready for the possible risks.