{"id":17760,"date":"2013-04-05T08:00:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-05T15:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=17760"},"modified":"2013-04-05T01:47:48","modified_gmt":"2013-04-05T08:47:48","slug":"mba-application-planning-program-research-phase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/mba-application-planning-program-research-phase\/","title":{"rendered":"MBA Application Planning: Program Research Phase"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"There<\/a>
There is a sea of information out there: Make sure you\u2019re not swimming in circles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Phase 1 done! You\u2019ve defined\u00a0your goals<\/a>, assessed your qualifications. Now, how do you organize your research of MBA programs? There is a sea of information out there: rankings, books, MBA program websites,\u00a0MBA fairs<\/a>,\u00a0poetsandquants.com<\/a>, newspaper and magazine articles on MBA programs, consultant websites (including ours<\/a>), student and adcom blogs, school open houses, etc.<\/p>\n

Time to dive in! But\u00a0do<\/em>\u00a0impose some structure to the process so you\u2019re not swimming in circles after you dive.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve read our blog posts,\u00a0ebooks<\/a>, etc., you know we at Accepted.com caution against relying on rankings to decide where to go (\u201cI\u2019m just gonna apply to the top-5\u201d). Well, here\u2019s a contrarian suggestion: use the\u00a0rankings<\/a>. They\u2019re helpful at the start (see Step 1 below).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve developed a macro process for doing\u00a0MBA program research<\/a>\u00a0in a way that (a) yields\u00a0meaningful<\/em>\u00a0info for decision-making and list-making, and simultaneously (b) is efficient and focused \u2013 conserving and respecting your precious time.<\/p>\n

Step 1<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 With your competitive profile in mind,\u00a0look at several broad\u00a0MBA rankings<\/a><\/strong>. Determine what levels\/ranges of programs you\u2019re competitive generally. Note plural \u2013 rankings \u2013 as each has its idiosyncrasies (US News, Financial Times, Business Week, etc.).\u00a0Takeaway<\/strong>: a general understanding of what competitive range to focus on (including \u201creasonable reach\u201d programs, \u201con-par\u201d programs, and maybe \u201csafeties\u201d).<\/p>\n

Step 1A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 At this point it\u2019s good to\u00a0start talking to people with MBA experience<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 colleagues, friends, mentors, etc. \u2013 and add a qualitative dimension to the above takeaway. Ask about their impressions and experiences, how it aligns or not with what you gleaned from the rankings vis-\u00e0-vis competitive fit.<\/p>\n

Step 2<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Search industry- and\/or function-specific rankings<\/strong>\u00a0in your area(s) of interest. Identify programs from these rankings that overlap with those from Step 1 (and factoring in any learning from Step 1A).\u00a0Takeaway<\/strong>: a group of MBA programs that are strong in your field and where you also are competitive.<\/p>\n

Step 3<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Start digging deeper<\/strong>. Go to the source \u2013 the websites of programs in the Step 2 takeaway. Look for specifics that you care about (structure of curriculum? flexibility? strong concentrations? students from a given industry or geographic region? etc.). Listen to your gut as well as objective response; does it feel like a good fit?\u00a0Takeaway<\/strong>: a \u201cfirst pass\u201d list of potential programs to apply to.<\/p>\n

Step 3A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 From here on you can also get the most out of\u00a0MBA fairs, school information sessions, and\u00a0school visits<\/a><\/strong>, by directing your energies to feasible programs.<\/p>\n

Step 4<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 You\u2019re narrowing and refining a list. Now you can\u00a0spend time meaningfully (i.e., with informed focus) on adcom and student blog posts<\/strong>, searching the web for articles and information, and attending\u00a0school information sessions<\/a>, and of course continuing to talk to people with MBA program experience and insight.\u00a0Takeaway<\/strong>: A finalized or near-finalized list of programs to apply to, prioritized (note: while you should decide the first 2-4 programs at this point, you can continue refining the list and deciding on other programs later).<\/p>\n

IMPORTANT CAVEATS:<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0 \u00a0This is a guideline, not rigid process.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0For purposes of process, this list assumes a blank-slate starting point. This is something you are not! Of course you\u2019ll come to it with some ideas, plans, assumptions, and impressions.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Sometimes a program will be below or above your target competitive range, but it still might make sense to apply for some reason. (Step 1A is particularly helpful in this regard.)
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0There may well be programs in your competitive range that do meet your academic needs but\u00a0don\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0show up on specialization rankings (e.g.,\u00a0Kellogg<\/a>\u00a0isn\u2019t known as a finance school but offers much in this area and might be great for someone in PE who will be doing a lot of managing;\u00a0Columbia<\/a>\u00a0doesn\u2019t often appear on entrepreneurship rankings but is quite strong in it). So indulge in some unstructured exploring, to \u201csee what you might see.\u201d
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Similar to above point,\u00a0always<\/em>\u00a0stay open to discovery \u2013 maybe you\u2019ll come across a school in a blog or a respected colleague suggests a program you hadn\u2019t considered. Maybe you thought you wanted to stay in the US but got seduced by ESADE\u2026 Who doesn\u2019t love a pleasant surprise?<\/p>\n

\"Cindy<\/a>By Cindy Tokumitsu<\/a>,\u00a0co-author of\u00a0The Finance Professional\u2019s Guide to MBA Admissions Success<\/a>, and author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her last fifteen years with Accepted.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants<\/a> can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages<\/a>, <\/em><\/strong>or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs<\/a> to designing a dazzling resume<\/a>, constructing engaging essays<\/a>, or preparing for intense interview<\/a>s<\/a>\u2026and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 \u2013 we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us<\/a> to get started now!<\/em><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog<\/a>, the official blog of Accepted.com.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"Accepted.com\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phase 1 done! You\u2019ve defined\u00a0your goals, assessed your qualifications. Now, how do you organize your research of MBA programs? There is a sea of information out there: rankings, books, MBA…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,113],"tags":[824,827],"class_list":["post-17760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","tag-mba-rankings","tag-school-research","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17760"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17764,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17760\/revisions\/17764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}