Q&A Highlights from the chat!
Q1. What are the principal factors related to a b-school that one has to consider as a student before taking the final decision?SiaAdmissions: The principal factors in making the final decision are academics, academic/social experience, setting and location, and career prospects. Academics - how good is the program? is it the right program for you? Social experience - is it the right environment? Does it have the right support structures? setting and location - is this a place you want to live and be for the next two years of your life? and for your career - does it impact your progression advancement and income sufficient enough to justify the investment?
Q2. Follow up question on this... How an international admit should deal with this? It’s difficult to find out whether the environment/campus culture is good for you unless you visit the school.SiaAdmissions: Understanding the campus culture and environment can be difficult for international students. If there is any way to arrange a live visit, I strongly encourage it. However, in the event, you are living abroad, and cannot set foot on campus, here are a few tips to help get a feel for the environment. 1. Look for local alumni chapters - most top b-schools have local chapters and can be a great opportunity to network and chat with former students that have spent time on campus. 2. Reach out to counselors and club presidents and online community leaders to have conversations with them about their experiences and opinions as they relate to the culture. 3. Speak with Admissions representatives and ask about the university’s efforts to build community with students of similar background. 4. Speak to alumni.
Q3. What information is available from universities to know employment stats post MBA and income possibilities?SiaAdmissions: Great question! Most universities publish employment reports and job statistics under a variety of titles. These reports are posted on the university’s website and include a variety of different stats. The stats that I find interesting and helpful are:(i) % of graduates employed 6-months post-graduation, (ii) the sectors or industries graduates have chosen to work in, (iii) functions and geographic region – meaning, what jobs are they doing and where. In short, they help you get a feel for the success of the alumni.
Q4. How crucial scholarship offers are when evaluating admission offers? Quite often people have to choose between an offer from a good school and an offer from a slightly lower ranked school with good scholarship. In this scenario in what circumstances one should not take scholarship factor in to account?SiaAdmissions: Scholarships are important, but their level of importance is a deeply personal issue. If finances are no concern, i.e. the perfect world, you would want to make your decision to attend the best school, as it relates to all the items outlined above. Assuming this perfect scenario is not a luxury you get to afford, the scholarship decision becomes one of opportunity cost. First, do you have the credit facilities or finances to be able to attend with an inferior scholarship? Second, you need to make a cost-benefit analysis to determine if the expenditure on the superior school returns sufficient career impact, i.e. income, to justify the expense. This question is a bit of a gray zone that will be different for every individual. I have found that if a student’s financial situation is so stressed that the scholarship not only provides access to the school but allows them to pursue their studies with focus and less stress, the scholarship carries more weight in the decision process.
Q5. Leveraging scholarship offer of one school to negotiate the scholarship offered by other school (preferred choice). People often ask us whether they can do such bargain. What is your take on this? Can such scholarship negotiation attempts give any positive results?SiaAdmissions: Scholarship negotiations can happen and students have done so, provided, of course, that you have a compelling profile. The advantage of negotiating a scholarship, like any deal negotiation, is you can leverage better terms, i.e. more funding. The important detail to keep in mind is that the prospect of having you as a student over the next most closely qualified applicant has to be so compelling for the university that they are willing to offer you an additional scholarship. The stronger your candidate profile, the more likely you are to have negotiation success. Such scholarship negotiation can yield positive results. To be frank, something to keep in mind is the worst case scenario is a "no," in which case you are no worse off than before asking
Q6. Choosing between Brand and Fit: At what point it doesn’t make sense to go with the brand and choose the school where you heart is? (especially if the school that fits you is not much less prestigious. e.g. Choosing between Wharton and Yale)?SiaAdmissions: I feel that education is much more than pursuing a brand to enhance or promote your career. Education is empowerment, a lifelong journey, and the universities you choose to attend have a profound impact on your life path and your character. If you have a school that speaks to your heart and simply feels right, it’s probably the school you want to attend. Obviously, choosing Area 1 community college (fictional) over Harvard is going to have a fairly significant impact on your career projection. In your example of Wharton vs. Yale, both are highly rated and worthy institutions. If one is a better fit, you are likely going to thrive there, better alight with culture, community, and alumni, and possibly be more successful as a result. A brand can be important, but if there are minor degrees of difference in brands, fit should trump all else.
Q7. Which are the good schools giving a degree of Data science or data analytics?SiaAdmissions: Data Science/Data Analytics is a hot topic, and many top universities are currently investing in these programs to make a more robust offering in data related degrees. For example, I recently profiled a top Canadian university that just launched a program specializing in AI. Of course, the top tier schools attract top-tier talent, including Data Scientists and Data Analysts. Without doing a deep dive research, when I think top data science programs, I think of MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, and Stanford. Anyone who is interested in reading the profile of the Smith’s AI program can find a full profile on my website:
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