I am an HEC Alumni and an MBA consultant. From my experience, I can tell you that there is no straight answer. It really depends on what you want to do post-MBA and where you want to work.
ISB
PGP is a straight up affordable program with a total cost of INR 30–35 lakhs. It offers almost assured placements in India. That’s pretty much the selling point of ISB. But, if you want to go international, ISB PGP is not recognized as an MBA or a master’s degree.
HEC Paris
An MBA from HEC Paris will cost you around INR 70–80 lakhs, it offers really good placements in general management and marketing function roles in tech sector. But unlike ISB you would have to network for yourself to get a job of your choice. On Campus placements are very less as compared to ISB. Most of the placements happen through on campus and off campus networking events. Language barrier might be an issue if you are looking for customer facing roles like consulting or luxury marketing. The biggest positive for HEC is that in France Indians get up to 2 years of visa to stay back in France and look for a job. If you want to discuss more, you can reach me at My Facebook page: Ameer Khatri, MBA Consultant
UCLA
An MBA from UCLA is going to cost you well above INR 1.2 crores. It offers great opportunities for a good job in Silicon Valley and Tech sector. Campus placements are better than HEC Paris but not 100% assured like that of ISB. You still need to go to networking events to get an interview call. There are no language barriers. The biggest issue is H1B1 Visa. Current situation is very bad after Trump election. Companies have stopped hiring international students due to H1B1 issues.
Even if you get a job offer and start working after one year you would have to go through the H1B1 lucky draw and if you do not get it then you might loose your job. That’s a loss to you personally and to the company as well, that’s why not too many companies are willing to take that risk at the moment and waiting for things to clear up.
Conclusion
in conclusion, you need to manage your aspirations and pick your battles accordingly. If you want international job, go UCLA or HEC Paris. If you are willing to play on lucky draw for H1B1 or you already have 1 then go to US. In case you want a fighting chance to stay back and look for a job then come to France. We discuss a lot of this in our Facebook group GMAT Avengers Consulting Group which you can join and ask for opinions from other group members.
