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How to choose the right business school
Advice for applicants based on the results of TopMBA.com Research in 2005/6
Over 100,000 people around the world choose to study for an MBA every year With young professionals recognising that there are no “jobs for life”, an MBA can provide skills to make an individual more marketable and provide greater career choice.
If you are interested in becoming an international manager, you my soon join the ranks of qualified MBAs. But business schools are not all the same. You need to carefully research your choice of school to ensure that it matches your personal requirements.
A systematic process for making your business school choice should be adopted. QS World MBA Tour and TopMBA.com conduct annual research of 400 business schools, 50,000 MBA applicants and 500 MBA recruiters to assist you, and some of the findings are summarised below.
Step 1: Why should I take an MBA?
The very first step is to analyse your personal motivations for taking an MBA. Are you a career switcher, or a career progresser? Is a jump in salary what matters most, or do you seek international experience? Is your primary goal to broaden your education and your horizons, or to develop specialist skills for career enhancement? An honest self-assessment will save you a great deal of time and energy and help you make a more focused selection of schools.
Our research demonstrates that MBA applicants around the world take an MBA for career-related reasons. Consistently, career progression and skills development are the main motivators for taking an MBA. Building a professional network and career change are the next priorities, with salary enhancement less important. Few people take an MBA just for the education, though we have seen a jump among respondents selecting this option in recent years.
Step 2: Self-assessment to identify my career goals
The second thing to do when considering business school is to try to narrow down the types of career you might like to pursue, balanced by a realistic self-assessment of your current abilities and skills base. Examine your motives carefully. Determining where you want to work after your studies should be a major part of this process.
Why ask these questions? For practical reasons, most business school application forms ask for your career aspirations. They want to see a clear, cogent explanation of where you want to be in the future and why that school can help you get there. For example, if you think you want to become a management consultant or an investment banker with a starting salary of over US$90,000, there are only 50 or 60 international business schools, of which 50% are in the US, where these companies actively recruit. If you wish to work in a particular country, you may well be better off taking your MBA in that county and accessing the school’s local recruiter and alumni network.
Step 3: Budget and study mode
The full-time MBA is still by far the most popular programme in terms of candidate numbers. Part time and executive MBAs are growing, but are still quite small by comparison. The standard period for an international full time MBA in the US is two years. Schools such as Wharton, Harvard and Stanford cost approximately US$35,000 for tuition per annum.
In Europe, London Business School offers a two year programme, whereas IMD, INSEAD, Cranfield, Warwick and other leading programmes are one year.
In Europe, the annual cost of an MBA can be as little as £5000 or over £30,000 for tuition, with books and living expenses a further cost. However, financial aid opportunities exist that can make the most costly programmes affordable. Scholarships are offered by a variety of organisations, and many local banks offer low-start loans for the period of your study. Individuals are advised to apply to the school of their choice and to make specific enquiries about funding options.
MBA Research
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