September of 2009, I was searching for a school to enroll MBA with. My first choice was at UP Diliman, I even had submitted my registration and recommendation of my boss (unfortunately, I lacked one, UP requires two reco). I called the UP graduate school office and inquired about the amount per unit, it's P2,500 and it's heavy on my pocket. I asked if they are offering scholarship, yes they are, but only for the full time student, I am very interested to take one, yet, my schedule definitely will not permit me, I am a full time employee and will not be able to skip my work for the sake of my class, additionally, Diliman is quite far from the place where I stay. It will take me one hour travelling to get me there, stress! Traffic!
I set aside my dream of studying at UP, I cannot remember why I thought of PLM, who suggested me and why. I just found myself browsing the net and called their trunkline right away. It was November then, and fortunately, the schedule for their entrance examination was on December and I was not late. Came December, I took the examination for three hours, it was composed of reading comprehension, vocabulary, sentence structure, mathematical ability and an essay. Ah before you take the examination, you have to fill out a form and you must bring with you the requirements such as, original copy of your transcript of record, two 2 x 2 ID pictures, recommendation letter from your superior and a certificate of employment. Then you are ready to take the exam, oooppsss I forgot, a fee amounting to P300 is to be paid before taking the examination. Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila or PLM's per unit is P600 +, MBA is 45 units, each subject is 3 units and the program is trimester. So it will take you one and half year to finish the program, that is if you pass the comprehensive examination (Marketing, Financial Management, Production Operations Management and Human Behavior in Organization) and the case analysis defense. By the way, MBA at PLM is non-thesis, analysis of many cases are the ones that will hone your decision making skills. You can do it all the way until the end, just persevere, focus, study harder and you must know what to prioritize and be able to know time management. You should also have to bear in mind that sometimes, you need to set aside other things no matter how important they are, especially if you will take the course during Saturdays, the class starts at 8:30 until 6:00 in the afternoon. Tiring isn't it? Yet you need to sacrifice and fulfilling... You will forget the tiring day if you have bubbly and funny classmates like me :-)
According to one of our professors, PLM is one of the top 10 schools in the Philippines, this is why, cheap, yet good quality of education.
Till then,
