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.

ISB and FMS are the premier business schools in India, with distinct USPs.

Global Value:

In terms of global value, ISB, Hyderabad is far ahead of its Indian counterparts. On a global scale, even IIMs struggle to compete with ISB. When it comes to global values, ISB is far ahead of FMS. It is ranked as India's top management college for a 1-year MBA in QS Rankings and the 7th best management college in the world in the Forbes list. FMS, New Delhi, lacks international exposure.

ROI:

FMS has no competition in the world in terms of ROI. ISB charges around Rs 35 lakhs for a one-year MBA, whereas FMS charges around Rs 2 lakhs for a fully residential two-year MBA program. Furthermore, the average CTC of both schools is nearly identical. FMS wins this race by a long shot. 

Masters’ Union School of Business PGP is a new and distinct program but it lives up to the hype. The program offered good learning resources and can be compared to ISB PGP. Here is a brief comparison of the two PGP programs. 

Masters’ Union PGP course work is demanding due to its highly practical nature. You often have to go beyond the mandate for most courses. The peer group includes students from diverse backgrounds such as law, consulting, commerce, etc. 

The institute offers students a C-suite mentor during the early stages of the program. The mentor makes sure that you are staying updated with the coursework. 

Master’ Union placements for the first PGP course were excellent. Students received an average CTC of INR 3.75 LPA. Companies like EY, McKinsey, ITC, visited the campus drive. 

The institute offers fundraising assistance, legal help, and mentorships to budding entrepreneurs. The founding cohort had three start-ups. They received equity-free grants to start.