B-School Selection Strategies

Always keep the ends-means distinction in mind: Most B-school applicants are seeking graduate education in business as a means to an end such as a job at Firm X or greater abilities in in Skill Y. Thus, you should consider all schools that can help you achieve that end. Far too many student get caught up in the "means" ie that they must attend a particular university to achieve that end. If you really want to study at a particular school for the sheer satisfaction of having done so (which is a tenable life goal), you should probably be in the humanities or at least a doctoral program.

This is not meant to sound flippant- carefully examine all of the pathways to your "dream job" and determine which schools constitute viable pathways.

Good that you put this post - IT certainly forewarns many aspiring candidates like me!

BUt - you know - this is a very difficult choice. I dream to make it to private equity. Which schools can probably lead to this end - perhaps a handful of top 10...but i feel that i am not very competitive there. Why? Because I am out of work force for quite a length of time...so what next?

Umm....then i have to fall back upon schools say which can get me into M&A kinds of role...then Rochester, Georgetown etc. crop up. I feel i am competitive at these schools and so I apply there.

But - I wish I could study at Washington Olin.....I like that school....now what? SHould i drop this one because in all probability this is not going to lead me towards my end? But i like the school...(

Regards

it's all about the fit. i have a friend who went to harvard. and he dropped out because he hated it. he just didn't fit in. i guess the case method + peer pressure really wore him out and forced him out. its just the whole athmosphere and the people you share your experience. if you don't like your fellow students or you profs, its just like working a dead end job where you hate your boss and your co-workers make fun of you. go somewhere, where you can fit in where you feel comfortable expressing yourself in-class or outside. just feel good wherever you go for your MBA. my 2 cents. cheers

Yes, fit is certainly important. However, the more schools you keep under active consideration, the more likely it seems that you can find a school that matches both your personal goals and your personality.

that's also true hjort.

visit the campus[es], talk to students, try to get to know them and most importanlty what they really think about the school/profs/experience/athmostphere and all kinds of stuff of common interest. that's the info you can't find in a fancy brochure or some rankings. do your homework - reasearch the cr*p out of the schools you're interested in. don't hesitate to ask questions. ask the right questions during your campus visit. the better you get to know the school and the people there, the better you'll fit.

Kayser, this is an incredible example you mentioned here. Harvard is most definitely not for everyone. Your analogy of the dead end job is also very correct. This is what people really need to hear. I think I did a decent job at researching the schools I liked. I like MICHIGAN, INDIANA, WASHINGTON, and ROCHESTER. Loved them so much, I am applying to just those.

This is absolutely wonderful!! I liked the school you mentioned... we are on the same wavelength. WASHINGTON - There's got to be some good professor's there in the field you like and you'll get more attention since it is a smaller program. ROCHESTER- Sadly this school is not ranking well... but hey it is still among the top 30 according to BusinessWeek. They seem to rank low on Communication and Analytic Skills. I can't see why... most of the grads head for finance careers... They also seem to have incredible teachers... better than at Columbia which ranks a "C" in teaching quality -- the first "C" I saw coming down those last to columns is the chart!! next to MIT's "C" for teamwork. Just how do those schools rank so high and have such bad grades???

Some interesting observations have been made. However, note that Rochester has made many appearances on BW's list of top schools. Further, small schools in relatively remote areas, even those with outstanding academic credentials, have a difficult time on many league tables.

Washington University has a number of fine attributes and should be given serious consideration by more candidates.

How is the placement at Rochester..some say it's around 65%,however shcools say it's 92%. Which one is correct..i'm confused.

How do you find out which schools "fit" your personality? What if you are someone that is shy?

What do you all think of this? Is ranking in a school more important? Or should you go with a school in the lower rankings if you like the program that the school offers?

>How do you find out which schools "fit" your personality? What if
>you are someone that is shy?

>What do you all think of this? Is ranking in a school more
>important? Or should you go with a school in the lower rankings if
>you like the program that the school offers?

You need to think about Why MBA question harder. Not because each and every school asks it but because you need to answer it to yourself.

Where do you want to end up?
Working for what company?
Doing what?
Where do you want to live?
How many hours would you be willing to work?
Do you have what it takes?

If you want to live in say California. Does it make sense for you to go to NYU Stern or Cornell for example?
Or say you want to live in NYC. Does it make sense to go to Mitchigan for MBA?

There are only four schools that will open probably each and every door around the world for you: Harward, Stanford, Wharton and MIT.
No matter what the rankings say.
All the rest of the schools are tight to regions.
Look at the employment reports. Where do most of the students go? 70% stay put.
Do you believe in TX ecomomy? Go to Austin.
Do you like living in Canada? Rotman is for you.
Your chanses of working in California after you get your MBA from Insead are are close to 0. USC gives much better chanses, and it doesn't matter what the rankings say 6... 37... Whatever.

If you have mentioned earlier that graduates from INSEAD would probably not be able to end up in California, why is that? Is it because people choose to stay where they are or is it because employers from California would not want a European MBA graduate?
Which region do you think is the best for international business (What i meant by that is basically a US company with global ties) along with Brand/product development? Are cities such as LA, San Francisco, and NYC? What about outside of the US? What cities would you recommend?

Tyr makes a number of good points regarding finding the right fit. It is certainly true that despite widespread talk of globalization there is still a very local component to many hiring decisions.

A good method to gauge the strength of a school in a particular firm/region/industry is see the types of firms that recruit at the school and see what region of the world the graduates tend to take jobs.

The following link might be helpful regarding Intl Business:
http://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=17484

Let me break out the news to you.
High paying job is extremely hard to get.
Studying at INSEAD you have 0 companies from California on campus and you can communicate with companies at California only via phone and mail.
Now take into the account 900 MBA grads each year from Stanford, Haas and Anderson with whom you will compete. Who has an unfair advantage?
What if we add next 900 students from USC, UCI and UC Davis?
How many high paying positions do you think are there each year?
You should be able to answer the question about "power" regions in the world after studying Macroeconomics.
It also depends on what would you like to do.
IB/PE/HF, Consulting, Finance, Accounting, Operations, etc.
Look what companies are hiring in the field you want to go to and where. Pick the best school "nearby".

I really find the feedbacks on this site very helpful, but yet I am still confused on what schools to apply to and which to eliminate.....For instance, top insitutions such as Stanford, Columbia, and UCLA...they have great programs, but its rather discouraging knowing a few thousand other people competing with you...etc. That's when I would try to lower my expectations and find lower tier schools (maybe schools that might offer less of what I want)...is this normal? or am I just thinking too much?

thanks for sharing, its helpful information.

then i have to fall back upon schools say which can get me into M&A kinds of role...then Rochester, Georgetown etc. crop up. I feel i am competitive at these schools and so I apply there.

Then how do we decide which school fits best to my profile? Does going for a lower ranked school pay out in the future or its just a waste of resources?