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Finding The Right Business School

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By QS Contributor Updated Sep 30, 2014
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Finding The Right Business School

There are many factors to consider when deciding upon which MBA program, or business school to apply to. Here, TopMBA.com looks at the most important ones. 

Globally, the QS TopMBA.com Applicant Survey shows that the top five factors that MBA applicants consider in selecting which MBA programs to apply to are: availability of scholarships or financial aid, a business school’s reputation, a program’s career placement record, the quality of academic staff, and the overall return on investment.

Interestingly, the recent MBA ranking or rating of a business school was only the tenth most important factor, according to QS’ survey, which collates almost 4,000 responses from MBA applicants around the world that attend the QS World MBA Tour.

Which MBA program?

The lack of significance of MBA rankings in candidates’ selection criteria is telling, as business school applicants look more towards personal factors when assessing a program’s suitability.

The location of a business school is always going to be a huge factor in selecting a suitable institution. This is not only due to visa and work restrictions after graduation, but also as a result of general differences between programs based in differing regions, such as the length of a course, availability of MBA funding, and the background of class-mates.

MBA specializations

MBA specializations can also play an important role for candidates in ensuring they select the right business school.

Although MBAs are traditionally considered to be general management degrees, some schools place a greater emphasis on what they deem to be important in their MBA curriculum, or give students the option to specialize through elective modules.

If an MBA candidate wishes to pursue a career in finance after they graduate, then selecting a school which allows them to focus their MBA in finance would have obvious merits. The same is true for an MBA in marketing, or any other specialization.

Here, QS' Global 200 Top Business School Report  should prove useful, as it asks employers to rate business schools on the ability of their graduates in ten different specializations.

MBA finance

The majority of MBA applicants will also have to consider how much they can afford to pay for their management degree, and if they can source funding from elsewhere. This will mainly be determined by the location of both the school, and the candidate.

While many MBA loans are only available to students studying in their home country or region, many MBA scholarships are designed to bring diversity to the classroom and so are aimed at students from abroad.

Further, living costs, the cost of returning home, and various other expenses will all be affected by the location of a business school.

Personal MBA ranking systems, such as TopMBA.com’s Scorecard are ideal tools in narrowing down any business school search. Criteria such as tuition fees, specializations, and target industry allow candidates to quickly assess which MBA program is right for them, before commencing the application process.