• Roy Cherian
  IIMA, MBA, 1991. Founder, ASKIIMA

Lakshmanan, today there are many private universities in India that accept SAT scores for undergraduate admissions especially for International and NRI students. Some of the top Universities accepting SAT scores are Ashoka, Krea, Flame, Plaksha, Azim Premji. There are many more. A quick google search will help you with that. But as in most American Universities, SAT score are only part of the evaluation. Your School grades are equally important, though not the only criteria used for admissions unlike most public universities which go purely by academics. But this doesn't make life easier. These universities look for strong extra curricular activities in addition to good academics and SAT scores. I would say your resume building process should start at least by the 10th grade to have a strong profile while applying to Universities which goes beyond academics in their selection process. Hope this is of help to you. Wish you all the best for your college admissions.

• Prakash Seshadri Nathan
  IIMB, PGP, 1993. CEO and Executive Director, Kathari Water Management

Hello Sathvik, If there is one part of math in general which has many (business) applications that would be statistics. I also note that you also would like to pursue a career in finance, which in part deals with numbers and different ways of interpreting them. So, in my view, both relate to creating stories out of numbers and I am glad that you are inherently interested in these areas. Your unasked question could be, does this all make sense to build a profile and a career in finance? That is difficult to answer. At your age, it is ok not to have 100% clarity with respect to every decision that you make. But one thing I can say is that a deep understanding of numbers through statistics and finance would open up many doors for you including application areas such as data science. So go ahead and plunge right in.

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• Pankaj Rai
  IIMA, PGP, 1993. Group Chief Data and Analytics Officer

At any stage in life what is good and what is bad is difficult to answer as I think what is good for you is that which you enjoy, become good at and that pays :) so it’s a series of experiments that everyone needs to do to continue to discover what works for them. If intuitively you seem to like this line of thinking then go ahead as I don’t see any downside of that choice (which is relatively easier to assess) but hard to say this is the best for you. Happy to chat and discuss in more detail if you like WhatsApp me at 9880217069.

• Murli Nagasundaram
  IIMC, PGP, 1980. Retired Old Fogey/Professor, Manipal Global Education/Boise State University

The election results have no direct bearing on choosing to study in the US except for two things--getting a study visa; and, getting a position in the US post your MBA, given the large sums you will be paying to obtain the credentials. It's been getting harder to get a visa and also to land a position except for high demand fields. The heydays of the classical MBA are over. Peaked a decade or more ago. Many full-time classical MBAs have shuttered, scaled down or drastically pivoted. An MBA is worth the expense only if you get it from a brand name institution--that determines quality of your peer group, critical for a high grade academic experience as well as for lifelong networking. A quality MBA from India is no inferior. Ask yourself if you really need an MBA: it's most useful for landing a plum position in consulting and BFSI. Less useful for other areas except for "nice to have" reasons. Do you need to stay back in the US or are you OK with leaving upon graduation? Can you handle the financial debt that a US MBA entails?

Murli - An experience at an American institution is worthwhile in and of itself. Can you afford the debt which you might not be able to repay in the few years you might spend in the US? If you return to India, you don't have a network to plug back into. Or will you? It might still be worthwhile if you're able to leverage both your US and India networks.

Cherian K Cherian - Thanks for the answer Murli. I plan on going to a name brand college and wish to stay and work in the US for a while after graduating. The primary driver behind getting the MBA is a transition in my job role. Do you still think it is worth it?

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• Sujatha Kshirsagar
  IIMC, PGP, 1995. President, Career Launcher & Ex Banker

Aditya, It's wonderful that your son is passionate about music at such a young age. Exploring unconventional careers like music production and composition can lead to exciting and fulfilling opportunities. Commerce is a viable option for 11th grade, providing a strong foundation if he later combines music with business, such as music entrepreneurship or managing a studio. Alternatively, arts or humanities may offer more flexibility to dive into creative subjects like digital arts, which can complement music production. For college, in India, institutes like the Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music, KM Music Conservatory (founded by A.R. Rahman), and SAE Institute are excellent for music production and composition. Abroad, renowned schools include Berklee College of Music in the US, University of Westminster in the UK, and Amsterdam Conservatory in Europe. The key is to nurture his passion while equipping him with the knowledge and skills to thrive in a competitive industry. Online courses in music production, which is increasingly digital, could provide an extra edge. Best wishes Sujatha

Sanjay - This is insightful. Thanks for sharing.

• Bhriguraj Singh
  IIMA, PGP, 1991. Chief Product Manager, HSBC

A career in music gives you the opportunity to turn your passion into a fulfilling profession. Music is not just about performing on stage—it's a versatile field that includes composing, teaching, producing, and sound engineering. It helps you dvelop creativity, discipline, and collaboration, essential skills in any career path. Whether performing live, working behind the scenes, or teaching others, a career in music can be both financially rewarding and personally enriching. There are reputed colleges in India that offer undergraduate courses in music like True School of Music (part of Vijaybhoomi University) and Global Music Institute. Some of the Indian institutes are affiliated with foreign universities so many students study 2 years in India and then complete their undergraduate degrees overseas. You could study any subject in high school, however, aspects of music like production and sound design are quite technical, where a background in physics or mathematics would be of help.

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• Harish Doraiswamy
  IIMC, PGP, 1991. Director, Central Square Foundation

Hi Rishabh! While some institutions offer sector-specific MBA programs (eg. IIM Ahmedabad in Food and Agri Business Management; Amity offers MBA in Construction Management, etc), I feel that the only reason to do an MBA is to acquire the ability to understand businesses across sectors and not just limit oneself to one sector. While there are certain roles within every sector that require specialist understanding, many of the business roles need a wider perspective, the ability to connect the dots and solve a wide variety of problems. You should read David Epstein’s book “Range - Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World”.

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• Rohit Joshi
  IIMB, PGFP, 1991. Ex - MD HSBC, Founder, Havit Consulting Pte Ltd

In most cases, an MBA is a general management program aimed at helping future leaders get an industry wide overview in key areas like Strategy, Marketing, Finance, Economics, Organisational Behaviour etc. Some courses you choose could very well lean towards your interest, skills and career choices like Finance, HR or Marketing. As a researcher (not sure about what you do exactly), you may look to an MBA to add to your skill sets with a view to get into the senior levels in a research organisation or use the knowledge to spin off, at a later stage, into your own research company.

Damini - This helps. Thank You.

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• Saurabh Chopra
  IIML, PGP, 2004. Director Partnerships & Strategic Initiatives, Central Square Foundation

Work experience before MBA will definitely help during the program. The concept taught during the program will be easier to understand if backed by some real-world experience. That is also the reason why many international business schools only admit candidates with work experience.

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• Sameera Anand
  IIMA, PGP, 1991. Senior Director, Charles Monat

Students who join an MBA program with work experience have a better idea of why they are doing an MBA and what direction they will go in after graduation. Some organisations will only consider students with work experience for job placements. If you are considering an MBA overseas many colleges will not entertain applicants without work experience.

• Ambi Parameswaran
  IIMC, PGP, 1979. Former CEO/ Independent Director / Coach / Author/ Professor of Marketing FCB Ulka Advertising; Brand Coach / Independent Director on Corporate Boards; CEO Coach; Author; Adjunct Prof of Marketing SPJIMR Mumbai, FCB Ulka Advertising

As someone who went to do his MBA straight after BTech, I feel i would have benefited a lot more if I had done my MBA after working for at least three years. I teach at a leading B School and I find that students in my class who have a few years workex tend to be a lot more serious about learning. They also bring a lot more to class in terms of knowledge. The challenge is that after you work for two or three years you will find it difficult to crack the CAT exam. But with sufficient preparation you can still do it. There is also the PGP-ex, or executive MBA program which is easier to get into and is of a 12-18 month duration.

• Roy Cherian
  IIMA, MBA, 1991. Founder, ASKIIMA

While we are in college a lot of us believe what we learn in college is not useful. But actually it is like a building block. The different things we learn in college come together to make our learning complete. There is no single language I can say is useful. One of the skills if you are doing a computer science programme is to develop skills in all languages and all aspects of coding. Of course you may find some part of it more interesting and may want to further your knowledge by doing projects or research. To sum it up, you have to have a basic understanding of all languages and aspects of software development. But you may choose your area of interest and enhance your knowledge by doing projects or research.

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• Prakash Sheshadri Nathan
  IIMB, PGP, 1993. Leadership coach and Mentor, Multiple leadership positions in privately funded infrastructure business, Climate Investment

Hello Ishan, Are you feeling that studying is a chore? Or are you genuinely not able to find time? Anyway, here are a few questions for you to ponder. - If you are given six hours in a day, what would you like to spend that time? What would be best way for you to spend that time - What times in the day are you able to concentrate the best? Are you happy waking up early or staying up late? - What are your distractions from studies? Friends, Sports, Mobile Phone, Others? - What are your favourite subjects? And least favourite ones? - Who are your favourite teachers? Once you answer the above, you will get a sense of what are your time wasters, when can you concentrate better and which subjects you would need help with. Prepare a schedule accordingly and seek the help of a classmate or your parents as accountability partners in helping you generate the six hours. Studying all your spare time may not be a good idea as well. You need to find time for friends and recreation. Finally, it is also about the quality of time and not only about the quantity. Best wishes.

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• Anil Nayar
  IIMA, PGP, 1977. Managing Partner, Strategic Management Services

It is better to opt for your choice of engineering. Both BCA and Petroleum engineering are good. Whichever interests you should be your choice. Check the placement record of your university also. BCA would always find better job opportunities both geographically and in the number of employers. Also connect with seniors for more advice

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• Anil Nayar
  IIMA, PGP, 1977. Managing Partner, Strategic Management Services

Graphic Era is a very new University, well known only in Uttrakhand. It is better to do JEE, and opt for a better known university, if it is possible. Placements are usually tough from lesser ranked colleges. Also check where past students were placed and check if any internships are available in those companies. Also, don’t give up your current program, till you get a JEE success

• Kakul Paul
  IIMA, PGP, 2005. Partner, Tiger Analytics

Apart from the curriculum and ratings of colleges, one of the key stats to be looked at is their placements. Giving JEE will open up your horizon and allow you to choose colleges with proven placements. Often enough, colleges in and around metropolitans have better placements given ease for recruiters to travel. Having said that, don't drop anything on your current course till you clear and have a better alternative - Bird in hand is worth two in a bush!!

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• Havovi Joshi
  IIMA, PGP, 1991. Director, Centre for Practice, Singapore Management University

I really don’t think there are any futile courses in the MBA program. In fact, the way it is structured at many business schools, one completes a core curriculum which provides a wide but shallow learning on a host of subjects. That is really useful for you to then decide what you would like to specialize in, and you now have an opportunity to pick a specific stream like marketing or operations management to focus on. Again there, the range of choices available are very broad. So you really don’t “waste time” on any invaluable topic as such. One thing I would like to add though is that there is a tendency for students to focus on the “hard” subjects, like Information Systems… but looking back, I think a number of us wish we had paid more attention to the “soft” ones like say the OB-HR ones. They are incredibly useful as you progress in your career.

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• Prakash Sheshadri Nathan
  IIMB, PGP, 1993. Leadership coach and Mentor, Multiple leadership positions in privately funded infrastructure business, Climate Investment

Hello Ananya, there is nothing like a futile course in an MBA. It is all a matter of perspective. Many of the courses are foundational such that those in Finance, Marketing, HR, Strategy, Data Analytics etc. Different students come with different backgrounds. And in business each function has a role. Thus all the foundational courses are relevant. However, since you may not start off as a CEO (unless of course you start your own venture after MBA), some of these may be in the background till you become one. Then comes the courses which are specialised or deepen functional areas. Let us say you want to start your career in Marketing. A number of courses are taught around the theme of Marketing including Behavior, Statistics, Forecasting, AI, Design Thinking etc. Here it comes down to personal choice on where you want to focus on. Finally, everything about business or human behaviour or leadership cannot be taught in the classroom. Be prepared to unlearn and relearn continuously during your career. Best wishes!

• Kakul Paul
  IIMA, PGP, 2005. Partner, Tiger Analytics

Every school has their own nuanced curriculum - no wrong or right, rather what meets your goals and aspirations. Having said that, I do feel B schools should include these 2 more actively (some are already doing it) - 1) Active participation with Corporates to continuously tailor their content in sync with the current industry trends and problems - some of the case studies are archaic and need to be re-looked at given so much as changed in the industry (Covid was a major catalyst and the wave of digitisation has been phenomenal). Also increase Corporate partnership through guest lectures, Capstone equivalent projects, seminars etc. 2) Industry application of Analytics / Gen AI - while not all of us would have a flair for statistics / would want to pick Analytics as a major / subsequently a career in this field - this stream will influence businesses all over and change the way things are executed. Hence, a course that provides an overview with reasonable depth through industry use cases is a must.

• Roy Cherian
  IIMA, MBA, 1991. Founder, ASKIIMA

Ann, I will need some more details liek which course you want to pursue, which country, which universities etc to give a specific answer. But at I high level I would say almost all international universities give good scholarships for higher studies depending on the strength of your application. Your first job is to figure out what you want to do in your higher studies.