ISB Hyderabad is known for its lack of specialization in Finance. It’s a common understanding now that even if one is preferring ISB Hyderabad for admission, they know that they should go for anything but Finance. Studying some aspects will give you a deeper insight as to why MBA in Finance from ISB Hyderabad is not recommended.

Faculty: Although the visiting faculty is quite decent, it’s the domestic faculty that has ruined the culture at ISB. They are arrogant, pathetic, and extremely incapable. They insult the students regularly and disturb student-teacher relations.

Placements: The roles offered in Finance were below average like Operations, Sales, and BD roles. Such roles were offered in abundance by the banks or start-ups. However, the superior roles like IB/PE/VC/M&A/FP&A/Equity Research/Credit Rating/Asset Management/TAS were offered scarcely. For instance 

• only 10 FP and A roles were allotted that too only to CAs
• Only one Investment banking role was offered by Barclays
• Only 5 PE/bc roles were offered and there was a strong preference for a prior IB/PE/VC experience and IIT undergraduate background.
• One M and A role was offered only
• 4 Asset Management and zero Equity Research and Credit Rating roles were offered.

So the best roles were offered limitedly while the batch size stood at 900. Most students ended up with unsatisfactory placements. Now you can decide whether or not to join if you are confident to face the placement scenario.

Let’s compare IIM Nagpur with the older IIMs generally. IIM Nagpur lacks in the following aspects

• Permanent Campus
• Permanent faculty 
• Good number and standard of peers

But what’s amazing is that these shortcomings don’t bring down their worth even a bit. It has more merits than demerits. Some include

• IIM Ahmedabad’s mentorship brings in the best faculties and helps maintain a learning environment.
• Various industry interaction programs are held to inculcate management skills and live experiences 
• It enjoys a good location advantage as it attracts companies from around the country 
• The Foreign Exchange Program provides excellent exposure to the international corporate world
• Lower fees compared to other IIMs
• The hostel and infrastructure facility are at par with that of other IIMs.

Coming to the ROI, IIM Nagpur definitely excels at this one. This is because its fees are lower than other IIMs while the packages offered are almost similar. At the end of the day what matters is that despite being a new IIM it has grown leaps and bounds and it is expected to do more in the future.

In India, IIM Lucknow is worth far more than ISB, particularly in MNCs and finance/marketing jobs.

The talk of a consulting and network-building pedigree revolves more around their flagship PGPX program and their tentacles in Microsoft and Cisco, both of which recognize the limited role of an MBA in their industry and provide well-defined jumps to ISB graduates back on campus. In the last 2-3 years, IIM Lucknow has done fairly well in global placements, and the sky is the limit for the right student.

It is clear that your decision should be motivated by your prospects of performance at either campus and should be carefully considered. 

It is true that those who can balance pressures and perform consistently have an advantage when it comes to placements on campus. Also, mobility in the industry should matter without the help of your b-school label and should be about your performance on the job in making friends. Students from each campus meet everyone on an equal footing in the industry.

Only if you accepted a different field in your campus placement or were assigned a backroom job will you face unequal pressure, as neither pedigree allows you much mobility.

In comparison to the IIMs, FMS retains the advantages of small batch size and a fee structure that is relatively low. The small batch size simplifies placements significantly. With the exception of a few foreign consultancies, most of the top companies that visit the IIMs also visit FMS. Despite all of the university's bureaucracy, etc., there is a well-established alumni network that still ensures that things work out for the current batches.

Because of the small batch size, people are extremely competitive. This was in stark contrast to what you hear about the IIMs. Even though they have competition but they maintain some semblance of sanity due to the large batch. FMS can be difficult to manage at times, both in obvious behaviours and subtle actions by people you study with.

The culture at FMS is influenced by the culture of Delhi. In comparison, IIMs are unquestionably more cosmopolitan. Unless you have prior exposure, adjusting to a new environment can be difficult for people from very different cultures, such as the South or East. Otherwise, you'll have to learn to adjust the hard way. But it's still worth the effort. The people you meet in both locations are of the highest calibre. It is up to you to make the best of the situation.

Even if given the chance, there's no way one would like to trade places with the IIMs.

• Placements: While median/average salary is one way to judge placement quality, considering the roles offered at summer and final placements is a more comprehensive way to get an idea of the quality of placements. In terms of finance and consulting firms visiting the campus for summer and final placements, IIM BAC received more diverse offers. MBB firms have begun to visit IIM L as well. 

• International Reputation: IIMs BAC is one of the world's top business schools. Even if IIML is not widely known in the international community, the fact that it is part of the IIM family lends credibility to its name. FMS does not appear in any international rankings.

• Student Exchange: IIMB has over 150 outgoing students and over 90 incoming students. The figures at IIML would be lower, but significantly higher than at FMS.

• Pedagogy: The pedagogy at IIMs is a mix of case studies and class-based theoretical discussions. This provides a more in-depth understanding of various topics.

• Campus Life: Campus life at IIMs is vibrant, whereas it is almost nonexistent at FMS.

• Research: The research output of IIMs at BAC and even L is higher than that of FMS. You could, for example, work with a professor to publish a paper or write a case study as part of your course.