I am returning to Pakistan upon completing my bachelor’s in electrical engineering. I plan on giving the admission test for IBA’s MBA. I have a decent GPA (above 3.75) and I have been working part time in Project Management for the past 2 years in General Electric.
My main concern is clearing the admission test for the IBA MBA. Can anyone here please shed light on how it is like? How may I prepare for it? Besides the admission test, what other factors are important? Also, is there a difference in the full time day MBA program and the evening one, in terms of demand? Or does it count as the same degree?
My semester ends in the 2nd week of May, I hope I can make it back in time to give the admission test or I’ll have to wait for another year!
eveing program is generally for executives working in the morning, who need retraining. morning program will prob be for regular students, and thus the real thing.
well after readin ur profile up there i dun fink so wud b havin any trbl in clearin da entrance test, however after da test u also hv 2 appear in a 1 to 1 interview, Group Discussions, Presentation etc. tis is where they actually test ur abilitiez whether u wud b able 2 prosper in da corporate world or not but i hope u r gonna clear dat 2.
However i wud like 2 clear a misconception i.e. IBA is IBA whether u r studyin in mornin or evenin. I did ma MBA frm there in eve n no relaxation was given 2 us in terms of attendance, entry time in class, assigntment submissions, minimum coarse etc. despite da fact dat all of us were already involved professionaly sumwhere. similarly da industry treats both degrees da same infact eve is preferred in sum places coz these ppl had really SUFFERED n CLEARED it. Baichara Lever Brothers ka Marketing Manager rauta reh gaya lekin IBA didn't retook his exam. :)
da only relaxation u get in evening prog @ IBA is dat k u can drop da semesterz in b/w dat is da duration of MBA can extend from 1.5 yr to 5 yrs depending on u.
da admission comprises of English esp Vocablury, General Maths, Picture Series n General Knowledge esp Current Affairs.
wish u best of luck 4 da admissions.
u can contact m if u need any further information :)
skhan there are notes you can get for the IBA test preparation. you should try to get your hands on those to get an idea abt the test. the math and english sections should not be that bad, but they have some weird general knowledge questions which most people don't know. plus you have to be fast at solving the math questions, they are kinda like SAT 1. one of my friends who is a good student and has excellent english couldn't clear the test recently because she couldn't complete the math section. its easy but you have to practice a bit and make sure you're up to speed. most local students study for the test for months.
i'm sure you'll do good but don't consider it an absolute breeze either is basically what i mean to say.
anees hussain is prolly most famous for iba test prep. sunday dawn classified section carries a lot of adverts abt iba test prep u shud check that out when u get back.
anyways, why are you coming to pakistan and doing your mba from here? if you have to for any reasons then that's another thing, but personally i think career wise and academically as well its best to cap a foreign undergrad degree with a foreign grad degree as well. i was considering doing an MBA from iba or lums as well but after a lot of thought i've dropped the idea atleast for now.
if u have a choice to go for an american grad degree u shud go for that rather than the mba from iba/lums, that would make you more "in demand" in the local market.
if you do end up working in pakistan at any point in the future, you can always enroll in the evening mba from iba and do it then.
its true that the lums and iba mba's r very much in demand in the local market too, and its a very marketable qualification to have, and according to pakistani educational standards iba and lums are excellent, but the educational system here is very different from what we experienced in undergrad in the us, and its not as good as american college standards for sure. lums is still a bit better than iba in this regard. its a bti more expensive but they do give finaid.
ofcourse there are many pluses to doing the mba from pakistan as well. you get a real feel for the pakistani work environment and get some solid preparation for the pakistani market from many many different aspects, not to mention the college experience socially is entirely different.
however, the standard of professors and quality of academics is not comparable to good american colleges...grading policies and methods are not transparent...that stuff is a bit disconcerting...but then aagin, many people say the experience makes you street smart, sharpens your people skills and makes you ready for the big bad corporate world which perhaps an american college won't do...
Thanks for the reply Irem. It was a very informative post. I have certain family constraints, which is why I am returning after my undergrad. I had to return to Pakistan eventually anyway, so I think it will be better in the long run as you mentioned in your other reasons. The only worrying thing is, I will probly reach Pakistan only days before the actual test, so not much time in the way of preparation. I have heard about the model papers you mentioned, I will practise those before I take the exam. What about the interview and general discussion? How were those? You mentioned general knowledge was weird, in what way? Is it regarding current affairs? I am confident about my Math and English, only need to practise the timings.
welcome skhan :-)
Do you have those model papers? If you know someone who has Anees Hussain's IBA prep notes you should try to get a hold of those.
The interview and general discussion is not tough.
I am not too sure about how the general knowledge is weird or what its about, this is just stuff I have heard.
hmmm....
Simply Seema, since I think she would have taken the test, I hope will be able to tell you more about it. we have another guppie monasha who is in IBA. maybe you should PM her and ask her as well.
hmmmm...