{"id":2695,"date":"2010-03-23T17:13:03","date_gmt":"2010-03-24T01:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=2695"},"modified":"2010-03-23T17:13:03","modified_gmt":"2010-03-24T01:13:03","slug":"mba-program-selection-putting-it-all-together-your-initial-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/mba-program-selection-putting-it-all-together-your-initial-list\/","title":{"rendered":"MBA Program Selection: Putting It All Together — Your Initial List"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOTE<\/em><\/strong>: This is #8 in a series of blog posts on the topic, \u201cHow to Select the Right MBA Programs.\u201d To see previous segments, link to the following: <\/em><\/p>\n

Post #1, Introducing the Series<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Post #7, How Many Schools Should You Apply To?<\/a> <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Creating a list of schools may seem like a formality by now \u2013 as you have gone through the previous steps, a list of feasible and appealing programs most likely has evolved almost organically.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to firm it up in preparation for the hands-on application process.<\/p>\n

Establish your desired balance among the three categories: reach, on-par, and safety.\u00a0 (Note that these categories have variation within them.)\u00a0 Whether you are applying to ten programs or two, you should be clear about where they fall on this continuum vis-\u00e0-vis your profile.\u00a0 Out of the total number of programs you\u2019ll apply to, how many do you want in each category, and why?<\/strong> Answer this question based on your previous evaluations, and make your list accordingly.\u00a0 This allocation should be deliberate and informed, not accidental.<\/p>\n

Now take the list of schools that meet your needs and, ideally, fulfill your important wants<\/a>, and also are viable targets (i.e., they are not out of reach).\u00a0 Separate these schools by reach, on-par, safety<\/a>.\u00a0 Ideally your research efforts will have yielded more programs than you want to apply to and you have the pleasant task of weeding in each category.\u00a0 You can weed simply by deciding which among the programs in a category you like the most based on your previously identified factors; you can also consider where you have the better chance of admission, since the programs within a category will vary in competitiveness.<\/p>\n

What if you find after this process that you have an imbalance? You wanted two reaches, three on-pars, and one safety.\u00a0 You ended up with no safeties, one on-par, and an overabundance of reaches.\u00a0 It\u2019s not uncommon.\u00a0 First, consider whether some reaches might be close enough to on-par to almost work in that category or straddle it.\u00a0 If not, you have some hard choices.\u00a0 You can proceed with this less than ideal balance, fully aware of the situation and doing your best.\u00a0 You can research more programs, looking at some again more closely and\/or broadening your scope \u2013 maybe considering new geographic regions or part-time programs.<\/p>\n

Especially if you are applying to a good number of programs, consider balance within categories as well, and try to widen your scope of programs.\u00a0 Say you\u2019re a consultant<\/a>.\u00a0 The majority of consultants will gravitate to the known consulting programs.\u00a0 You\u2019ll stand out more in other programs.\u00a0 This balance within categories is especially helpful because the vicissitudes of the upcoming admissions season are still unknown.\u00a0 If a flood of consultants apply, your breadth of programs will be all the more important.<\/p>\n

Now you should have your list of MBA programs.\u00a0 Or, I should say, your preliminary list.\u00a0 Since you continue to learn as you go through the application process, it\u2019s quite possible that you may modify this list.\u00a0 This list should be firm but not rigid; you shouldn\u2019t veer from it on a whim (otherwise no point doing it in the first place), but you should for a solid reason that \u201cpushes against\u201d your initial assumptions or preferences.<\/p>\n

By Cindy Tokumitsu<\/a>, co-author of The Finance Professional\u2019s Guide to MBA Success<\/a>, The Consultants\u2019 Guide to MBA Admission<\/a>, T<\/span><\/em>he EMBA Edge<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0and author of several articles and the free, email mini-course,<\/em><\/span><\/em> \"Ace the EMBA.\"<\/em><\/a>
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NOTE: This is #8 in a series of blog posts on the topic, \u201cHow to Select the Right MBA Programs.\u201d To see previous segments, link to the following: Post #1,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,6],"tags":[39,472],"class_list":["post-2695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-current-events","tag-mba-admissions","tag-mba-program-selection","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2695","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=2695"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2697,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2695\/revisions\/2697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}