The art of finding the right MBA

Business Schools Barbara Barkhausen / 02-17-2011

An MBA is a lifetime investment: into your career, into your network and into your life in general. Choosing the right MBA is essential for the career path that you want to take.Of course, there are always two basics that influence the selection process:
A) Can you afford the program?
B) Are your GMAT scores high enough for certain programs?

If you have a bad GMAT score for example, Harvard might not be an option.
Otherwise you should look closely which schools actually fit best.

Some criteria should be:

1.     Compare the various business school rankings from the Financial Times, The Economist, and Businessweek. You should not base your decision on them but they will give you a good first insight.

2.     Find out which school has which specialty and which might suit your career path. Such areas could be entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, nonprofit, real-estate, it management or health care. (You can compare schools in the database of http://www.mba-channel.com)

3.     Inform yourself about the recruiters that work with particular schools and look at the job placement statistics.

4.     Speak to people who have similar jobs that you are seeking. Find out how they achieved it.

5.     Speak to alumni of your preferred schools and ask them about their experience. Most schools will help you find alumni to talk to or otherwise there are networks like LinkedIn or Xing that allow you to search for them.

6.     Visit the school campus and attend school-sponsored events to find out more detail about the programs. Talk to administrators and current students.

7.     Make sure you choose the school also according to its location. If you want a career in finance you might want to look into business schools in Chicago, New York or London which are close to financial markets and can offer support in finding internships and potential jobs. Schools on America's west coast might be more suitable for students looking for a career in the Silicon Valley. If international experience and languages are a key factor for you, you should consider schools in non English speaking countries.

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