'What are the job prospects after MBA in Australia?'

In an online chat with readers, on July 4, 2012, Dr Pete Manasantivongs, Director of the Full-time MBA programme at Melbourne Business School, Australia addressed queries related to pursuing MBA in Australia and offered guidance on the admission process at the Melbourne Business School.

For those who missed the live chat, here's the unedited transcript:

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Pete Manasantivongs says, G'day everyone! I'm Dr Pete Manasantivongs, Director of the full-time MBA program at Melbourne Business School.
Thank you for making the effort to attend this chat. I'm delighted to answer your questions.

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deepa asked, hi, Dr Pete, can you tell me about the fast track MBA program at Melbourne Business School? The criteria and the admission process?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, at 2012-07-04 11:01:37Hi Deepa. Our new 12-month full-time MBA program is an intensive, integrated experience that combines learning in all the functional areas you expect out of an MBA program, but also integrated learning that demonstrates in real-life business examples how those different functions come together.

We also have a special focus on Asia - one of the required subjects is Business in Asia, which allows students to work on a live consulting project, helping Australian organisations enter the Chinese market.

In addition, we have an alumni mentoring program, where each student is paired up with a member of the MBS alumni community who serves as an additional resource for our students' growth. Furthermore, there is support with personal leadership coaches as part of the program.

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mel asked, Hello Pete..what is the last date for admission? and what is the procedure and requirements?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, In general, our full-time MBA cohort consists of students with an average of around 5 years of work experience and an average GMAT of 660. Minimum requirements for admission include: an undergraduate degree, at least two years of work experience, GMAT, four personal statements, two letters of reference, and a Skype interview. Further information can be found at our website: mba.mbs.edu on specific deadlines and details about the admissions process.

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Ayaan asked, In what terms MBA program of MBS is unique and would is the total costs

Pete Manasantivongs answers, Excellent question, Ayaan. The following are what I feel are the unique aspects of the MBS MBA program that you wouldn't find at any other leading global business school:

1) Integrated learning the way we do it, through a distinctive combination of case studies, simulations, guest speakers and other activities that few other institutions can provide. For example, on an Integrative Friday during the term where you study marketing, finance, operations, and managerial economics, one of the activities we do is a pricing simulation exercise, where students, in their syndicates, compete with each other to maximise share price and profit of the consumer goods companies that they are running in the simulation.

2) One-on-one pairing between students and MBS alumni in our mentoring program.

3) Leadership coaches who are available for students to consult to receive ongoing feedback throughout the program on areas of professional and personal growth

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mel asked, What about GRE? is it applicable at MBS?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, We do not currently accept the GRE for admissions purposes. Only the GMAT is accepted.

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Aditi asked, Are fast track MBA courses as good as conventional 2 year MBA's?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, My response would be that you have to find the right fit for you in terms of program length. There are strengths and drawbacks for both 1-year and 2-year programs. In a 1-year program, there is less opportunity cost of being out of the workforce.

In a 2-year program, you might have more time to explore various professional and personal interests before you return to the workforce. I would like to point out that our 1-year program is the same number of contact hours as our previous 16- and 20-month programs.

What we've done is honour students' commitment to full-time study by using their daytime better (e.g., students do 35 hours a week of core subject study now, versus 15 hours in the previous version), and also by greatly shortening the break time in between terms.

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mbaaus asked, hi sir, can you tell me what is the admission criteria for joining business school?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, For information on admission criteria and processes, fees, and the duration and structure of our MBA program, I encourage you to visit mba.mbs.edu .

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rakesh asked, Job prospects for indian candidates after MBA in Australia?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, Our Career Services department bring organisations on campus to recruit for internships and post-MBA employment. Some of these organisations will sponsor non-Australians for work visas.

One of our goals is to get more organisations onto campus that will be keen to sponsor talent that they want to hire from our MBA program. For example, Ernst and Young, AT Kearney, IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Mckinsey are just a few examples of on-campus recruiters that have in the past sponsored students they've hired from MBS.

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zia asked, Sir, what measures is the aus govt taking to stop discrimination.indians are apprehensive about opting for aus for further studies

Pete Manasantivongs answers, In 2009, there was a series of criminal attacks against Indian students in Australia. There was much debate here and in India over whether they were racially motivated and opportunistic and whether media coverage fuelled copy cat incidents.

The Australian federal government and the Victorian government responded by creating a taskforce on violence, there were high level visits by government officials to India. The state of Victoria ended up making racial violence a factor in sentencing. The higher education sector also reviewed what it was doing to prevent violence.

Although MBS students were not directly affected, the events were distressing. Having said that, Melbourne remains one of the safest study destinations in the world, and is a welcoming, multicultural city where more than one in four residents is overseas-born.

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raj asked, For applicants with ample work experience, can GMAT requirement be waived off?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, No, the GMAT is required for all applicants.

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Anil asked, Sir, What does MBS look for in a candidate for 12 month MBA program?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, Some of the qualities we look for in the candidates we admit into the MBS MBA:

1. Leadership abilities -- someone who is not going to be a passive member of the community, but who will take the initiative and motivate and inspire others

2. Interpersonal and communication skills -- someone who can empathise and relate well with others, and who can influence, persuade and convey effectively with interlocutors

3. Community spirit -- someone who has a strong sense of purpose, who has a clear understanding of why s/he is doing an MBA, an awareness that leadership entails responsibility, and a commitment to contributing to the life and vibrancy of the school, both during the program but also well after they have completed their studies.

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saswat asked, Are there any scholarships for doing MBA in abroad?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, We give scholarships to approximately 35 per cent of the full-time MBA intake. These scholarships range anywhere from around 20 per cent of tuition fee remission, up to full-fee coverage for international students. Criteria that we use in the admissions and scholarship allocation process include: leadership potential, strong academic merit, and the potential for unique and diverse contributions to the MBS community.

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decosta asked, last year, how many students applied at MBS from India, and how many were accepted? Has the percentage of Indian students changed significantly in the past few years?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, In terms of student composition, over the past few intakes, Indian students have made up the largest non-Australian contingent within the cohort. While we do not have firm quotas on any nationality or region, we strive hard in our admissions process to achieve a balanced cohort in the classroom.

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pakoraji asked, pete sir, what is the male to female ratio in MBS schoools in australia and can i marry a australian in mbs?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, In fact, we anticipate that 40 per cent of the full-time August 2012 MBA intake that will start next month will be women. This is a rate that is higher than the vast majority of other leading business schools around the world, and we're proud of that achievement. Speaking in a personal capacity as an alumnus (I completed the MBA/Master of Marketing dual-degree in 2009 from MBS), four of my classmates actually ended up marrying other people within our cohort. So it is possible! (Although I certainly couldn't guarantee it.)

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Venkat asked, Dear Pete, what are the financing options available for MBA aspirants? What about scholarships and venues for working on the job? Any Teaching/ Research Assistanships?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, Aside from scholarships we offer to about 35 per cent of our full-time MBA cohort, the student visa you obtain from the Australian immigration department allows you to work up to 40 hours per fortnight. I am also delighted to share that it is easier for Indians to get an Australian student visa now than it has been in recent years. You can find more details here: https://www.immi.gov.au/students/knight/

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jiak asked, is there any arrangement of sorts for potential applicants who want to visit the school before applying?

Pete Manasantivongs answers, Yes. If you are a prospective student and happen to be passing through Melbourne, we would love to host you for a tour around the campus. Please notify us via the Admissions and Enquiries e-mail address or phone number, and we'll be delighted to set it up.

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MBAS asked, what is the average salary is offered by the companies vist MBS campus and what is the percent of hire every year

Pete Manasantivongs answers, Our full-time MBA Class of 2012 have just graduated, so I don't have any final statistics on them yet, but I can share that for our Class of 2011, the average salary of their jobs right after graduation was around AUD107,000. 91 per cent of our students had secured employment by three months after graduation (i.e., August 2011).

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Pete Manasantivongs says, Thank you again for taking part in this discussion. I wish I had the opportunity to address everyone's queries, but I hope you get a sense from the responses I was able to provide. To find out more about our full-time MBA program, please visit mba.mbs.edu . We look forward to hearing from you. Best of luck with your pursuits of an MBA education.

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