{"id":24056,"date":"2014-05-27T08:02:14","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T15:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=24056"},"modified":"2014-05-27T02:09:32","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T09:09:32","slug":"researching-mba-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/researching-mba-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Researching MBA Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"New-York\"<\/a>\u201cResearching MBA Programs\u201d is excerpted from the Accepted.com special report, <\/em>Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One<\/a>. To download the entire free special report, <\/i>click here<\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n

You may be researching schools already. Going through the steps previously outlined in this guide will help you do so efficiently. It will also help you remain objective.<\/p>\n

That means eliminate from consideration programs that<\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>lack elements you consider essential and\/or<\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>where you are not qualified.<\/p>\n

Some applicants will immediately run into a dilemma here: What if you need a globally recognized brand, yet you don\u2019t qualify for schools that carry the desired panache? In some cases, you might find it worthwhile to apply to such schools\u2019 part-time<\/a> or EMBA<\/a> programs. Or you may target programs recognized globally in your niche, but not for overall brand. Or you may decide it\u2019s not worth it to pursue an MBA. Luckily, most people can find programs that offer their must-haves.<\/p>\n

When you identify schools that meet your needs and important wants, determine whether they are reasonable reach, on-par, or safety schools. First examine the GMAT and GPA ranges, and analyze student profiles. How do you compare? The numbers are easier to compare; it might take some digging and some thoughtful self-critique to determine how you stack up in terms of quality of work experience and leadership. But it\u2019s at least as, if not more, important than the numbers for competitive programs, so buckle down and do the qualitative<\/em> evaluation of your work experience and compare it to the level of achievement of students in your desired schools. Otherwise you won\u2019t know where you really stand.<\/p>\n

Then look at other qualitative factors that would make you a great fit or a challenging fit for the school. One main point is status in an under- or over-represented group. Then there are the individual qualitative factors. For example, you\u2019re a finance professional<\/a>; one program you\u2019re considering has a great finance curriculum but is not reputed for it. Your finance status would be a plus for such a school, whereas you might not stand out from the army of finance applicants at a known finance school.<\/p>\n

Finally, combine all these factors\u2014your scores, qualitative analysis of your work experience, and any other issues pro or con\u2014to refine your determination of reasonable reach, on par, or safety for each school of interest.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that you should be objective. Still, don\u2019t ignore the subjective factor in your research. If you find yourself falling for a school that doesn\u2019t seem like a great fit \u2013 you wanted intimate campus and yet when you visited NYU<\/a> while on a business trip to the Big Apple, you found its downtown vibe utterly scintillating\u2014well, great! It\u2019s possible you\u2019re momentarily infatuated, and it\u2019s also possible that there\u2019s a side of you that this environment has opened up and brought to light. Allow yourself to be enchanted and surprised in the process.<\/p>\n

\"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Cindy<\/a> By Cindy Tokumitsu<\/a>, co-author of The 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.com.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants<\/a> can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages<\/a>, <\/i><\/b>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!
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog<\/a>, the official blog of Accepted.com.<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cResearching MBA Programs\u201d is excerpted from the Accepted.com special report, Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One. To download the entire free special report, click here. You…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1,939,775,113,243],"tags":[1264,1262,782,1114],"class_list":["post-24056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-uncategorized","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-choose-business-school","tag-choose-mba-program","tag-choosing-a-business-school","tag-choosing-an-mba-program","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24056","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=24056"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24059,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24056\/revisions\/24059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}