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While the majority of\u00a0business school\u00a0applicants we\u2019ve surveyed in recent years say reputation is the most important factor they consider when choosing which MBA programs to target, prospective students should consider other equally \u2013 or perhaps more \u2013 important things as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Round one\u00a0application deadlines are just around the corner, and you\u2019ll need to finalize your shortlist of programs ASAP. Look beyond rankings and reputation to weigh these other aspects that will help you narrow your choices to the MBA programs that will truly meet your professional and personal needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
1. Flexible or fixed curriculum:\u00a0<\/b>There are two common approaches to coursework at the world\u2019s top business schools: one is a first year of foundational classes followed by second-year elective coursework tailored to your specific objectives and the other is a flexible curriculum from the outset.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Which option is right for you depends entirely on your professional background,\u00a0career goals, personal preference and, often, skill areas that need strengthening. A required core curriculum provides all students with a broad understanding of business fundamentals and is a format common to schools such as\u00a0Harvard Business School, Dartmouth College\u2019s\u00a0Tuck School of Business\u00a0and University of Virginia\u2019s\u00a0Darden School of Business.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A flexible curriculum \u2013 like that found at\u00a0London Business School,\u00a0Stanford University Graduate School of Business, the University of Chicago\u2019s\u00a0Booth School of Business\u00a0and the University of California\u2014Los Angeles\u2019\u00a0Anderson School of Management\u00a0\u2013 allows students to design their MBA program in a way that best accommodates their career objectives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There\u2019s an upside and downside to having a required core curriculum. For students who already have a deep background in, say,\u00a0finance\u00a0or\u00a0marketing, the first-year experience may be somewhat boring academically. The considerable benefit of having all students take the same core classes early on is that the shared experience fosters strong social connections among classmates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A final thought on MBA courses and their importance where school selection is concerned: Only apply to programs where you can clearly see how its core and elective courses over the next two years will thoroughly prepare you to reach your post-MBA professional goals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 2. Career services:\u00a0<\/b>When you\u2019re researching potential business schools, one of the most important and often overlooked things to consider is the career center. After all, a primary reason for going for an MBA is to land a much better job upon graduation, and business schools know that a major selling point for MBA programs is their alumni\u2019s career success rate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Several programs involve the career center in the admissions process to make sure the applicant\u2019s professional goals can be reached using the school\u2019s resources. Having\u00a0well-defined career goals\u00a0is crucial to determining the best MBA program for you, so find out whether the career services office specializes in specific industries or sectors or has dedicated consultants for each industry. And if you are interested in working for specific companies after you graduate, don\u2019t forget to call those companies directly and ask them where they recruit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Some career services departments also include\u00a0personal and leadership coaching, knowing that tomorrow\u2019s MBAs will change jobs more often than previous generations and, therefore, need transferable tools and skills for long-term career success. You are ultimately the one in charge of your professional growth, so once admitted, stay proactive and start working with the career services department as soon as you hit campus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 3. Community culture:\u00a0<\/b>In\u00a0SBC\u2019s 2016 survey of MBA applicants<\/a>, a mere 12.7 percent of respondents said that the MBA program\u2019s culture was the most important factor influencing their decision to attend a particular business school. This is surprising, since we believe that finding that good fit with the MBA programs you\u2019re targeting is one of the best predictors of your overall enjoyment of the b-school experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you\u2019re an applicant for whom getting into the best-ranked school takes precedence over all other considerations, the vibe of the school\u2019s MBA community won\u2019t matter. If that\u2019s not you, talk to current and former students,\u00a0visit the campus\u00a0and evaluate your interactions with the admissions team to find out how comfortable you would be attending the program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Are there clubs you can\u2019t wait to join? Trips abroad that sound fascinating?\u00a0Experiential learning\u00a0opportunities that are completely in synch with your personal or career goals? A friendly or more competitive energy on campus? There are so many factors that shape the MBA experience \u2013 try not to focus too heavily on rankings and prestige over finding a program where you will truly be able to thrive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For some applicants, there may be a clear winner after studying all of the quantitative and qualitative data. Or after researching all of these elements, you may still feel pulled in different directions. But at least you have a head start in finding the programs that fit you best.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While the majority of\u00a0business school\u00a0applicants we\u2019ve surveyed in recent years say reputation is the most important factor they consider when choosing which MBA programs to target, prospective students should consider…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,749,775,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-stacy-blackman","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39152","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\/122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39152"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39307,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39152\/revisions\/39307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n***<\/span>
\n<\/i><\/div>\nIf you are looking for guidance on your\u00a0<\/i>MBA\u00a0<\/span>application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with\u00a0hourly<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0comprehensive<\/a>\u00a0consulting services.\u00a0Contact us<\/a>\u00a0to learn more. Visit the website for\u00a0Stacy Blackman Reviews<\/a>, and check out the company\u2019s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.<\/i><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"