In our Choosing the Best MBA Program for You series, you’ll learn how to create a list of business schools that are the best fit for your educational, social, and professional preferences and how creating this list will boost your chances of getting accepted.
In our last post, we began discussing evaluating what you need or want in an MBA program. In this post, we’ll delve deeper into the needs and wants issue by weighting them – though not rigidly. Simply, understanding the importance of a given factor will save you time up front by not considering schools that don’t meet your core needs. It will also help to uncover any contradictions that you might need to resolve (like if you prefer to attend schools in the southeast, but also want to be near your significant other in Boston).
For each of the wants/needs you’ve identified, assign one of the following categories:
• Essential: This category applies to things that you must have no matter what – without them, you can’t attend a program. If you are making a career change into marketing, you need a program with strong marketing curriculum and recruiting. Period.
• Very important: This category applies to the things that are highly important to you, but are not “must-haves” like those above. Things that you would consider compromising on if you really, really had to, but really, really don’t want to. For some people that might mean a geographic location, for others a warm and open community, for others the chance to take courses in the university’s law or public policy program.
• Important: Consider this the “nice to have” category – things that would make a program more attractive to you but wouldn’t necessarily be a deciding factor.
• Neutral: This category means simply not a factor. Some people would just as readily have curriculum flexibility or structure or would just as readily live in Palo Alto or Fontainebleau, strange as that may seem.
The main purpose of this exercise is to think about and define your priorities. Some people may be comfortable keeping these rankings in their head as they go through the next steps; others will make a spreadsheet with them.
You can significantly increase your chances of getting accepted by applying to the programs that are the best fit for your unique qualifications, goals, and preferences. Our MBA admissions consulting services will provide you with the one-on-one guidance you need to submit the best MBA applications to the best MBA programs for YOU!
Cindy Tokumitsu has advised hundreds of successful applicants, helping them gain acceptance to top MBA and EMBA programs in her 15+ years with Accepted. She would love to help you too. Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!
Related Resources:
• Navigate the MBA Maze: 9 Tips to Acceptance
• Are You Targeting the Right MBA Program for You?
• Which B-School is the Best for You?
The post Weighting Your Needs & Wants When Applying to Business School appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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