Every year we talk to hundreds of applicants advising them on questions related to selecting target MBA programs. During these discussions, we hear some confusing statements from almost all applicants. So in this blog, I have put down my 10 years of experience of helping applicants as an MBA admissions consultant to help you in selecting business schools.
1. Region/ country/ b-school location: One of the most common areas of confusion from MBA aspirants is about the country from where they will do their MBA. For example, an applicant may be living in the USA with plans to stay on, but wishes to do an MBA in Europe. Nothing wrong if you wish to gain experience of living in another country. However, remember, a b-school’s reputation is strongest within its own country or region. Your b-school will help you build the largest network and provide you the best resources within that country and then, within the region. So, decide upon your b-school based on the country/ region where you wish to work at least for a few years after completing the MBA. This is not to say that you will have no mobility to work in other countries. Global firms such as management consulting companies may recruit you for a global location. However, that’s more dependent on chance and is not a norm.
2. Target industry – The primary reason why most professionals do an MBA is to find a job of their choice, which could be in an industry and/or in a functional area. So while you are selecting business schools, pay special attention to the employment reports– how many candidates get recruited in your target industry, and who are the potential employers. Very often a city or a region builds a cluster of companies from an industry, such as Pharmaceuticals or Venture Capital or media and entertainment and therefore it will make sense for you to apply to a b-school in the area if you are looking to find employment in that industry post your MBA. This would allow you to build a larger professional network in your area of interest, which will eventually aid your job search.
Read: Make the best of the MBA Employment Report for B-school Research
3. Network within your own country – Although most applicants wish to gain at least some experience in the region where they did their MBA, many plan to come back to their own countries in the mid to long term. A b-school network lasts a lifetime, and if your plan is to come back to your own county, you’d want to know how strong and supportive your prospect b-school’s network is. If you are looking to build a big part of your career in your home country, you would like to leverage your most valuable network in this journey, be it in your job search or in building professional relationships that will help you grow.
Read: Factors to Consider When Selecing Business Schools
4. Apply to b-schools that you will definitely attend. When applicants are drawing up their list of target b-schools, they mostly categorize them into Reach, at-par and safety MBA programs. Applicants apply to safe programs without thinking much about what the program has to offer them. If they get admission there (and that could be the only program they got admission into), they decide not to attend. The point is, you spend so much time and energy writing applications and if you don’t eventually attend that MBA program then it is wasted effort. It was probably your lack of research about the business school in the first place that led you to apply. However when decision time came, you were not excited about spending the next two years of your life in that b-school. I suggest that you do this research upfront and include only those programs in your list to apply where you will attend if that is the only one where you get admission.
5. Apply where you will learn not the just from your teachers from others as well. Consider ‘caliber of the class’ as an important criteria.
Robin Sharma, the leadership coach and bestselling author, says that if you wish to develop yourself, be in the company of people who are better than you. I believe this to be very apt for a business school setting. When selecting a business school it’s important to assess the caliber of the MBA class you will be amongst for two crucial years of your life. In a b-school, learning happens not only from the faculty and lectures, but from discussions with other students. You will collaborate with your classmates for projects, case discussions, during club activities, experiential learning projects, events and for social dos. You will get inspired, encouraged and supported by your peers. You will definitely learn a lot them as they will from you. How do you find out the caliber of the class? The best way to do this is by engaging with students and alumni on their experiences during business school. Set up informational discussions with students and read student blogs because they will give you a chance to know about students’ motivations and priorities. Once you get into business school, there would be a chance for you to attend Admit weekends, where you can meet current students and form your opinions about the caliber of your MBA class.
6. Lastly b-school is not just about academics, but your overall personality development. Almost every opportunity outside the classroom will require your team and leadership skills, time management, interpersonal and organizational skills. So, while selecting business schools, pay special attention to the features outside the curriculum- how active are the students in community activities, what are the clubs of your interest and how active are they, what are the experiential learning opportunities, do you travel abroad on global immersion trips and what is the experience like, how easy is it to start something new, like say a Club. Exposure from these activities will expand your student as well as professional network, and the various activities that you participate in will enhance your leadership skills.
All these together constitute the ‘fit’ between you and the b-school. This is one of your most important decisions. Now that you know, I hope that you will find the right fit while selecting business schools- one which helps you realize your dreams.
Additional Reading: How to research business schools for applying