If you’re thinking about getting an MBA, you might be researching and visiting schools. Studying for the GMAT, or beginning your application process. What you may not have considered is how to prepare yourself once you’ve made your decision. There are things to consider and a few practical measures you can take to get ready for day one, whether you plan to attend an intense, two-year residential program or go part-time to a school nearby.
Over the years, the MBA program has grown in popularity among those interested in pursuing a degree in management. Because of its broad scope in both business and academic settings, the majority of students choose to pursue an MBA/PGDM after graduation. According to students and parents, MBA programs are thought to be the key to launching a fast-track career. However, in order to accomplish this opulent post-MBA career advancement, students must first select the appropriate MBA program. This article will assist you in making an informed and wiser decision while selecting an MBA program for laying the groundwork for a managerial career.
The conventional method of selecting business schools
In the absence of any obvious structure, the mind will seize any accessible data and label it as the peg. In this situation, that number is almost always the GMAT, along with the rankings. Most candidates choose a ranking range, then look at the average GMAT score, compare it to their own or their target score, and then apply. This strategy is flawed for various reasons. The first problem is determining which MBA ranking is the most appropriate for you. There are a number of them available, some of which are older, some of which are more popular, and some of which are questionable.
There is no ranking of these rankings to determine which one should be used as the foundation. The GMAT score is the next point to consider. Schools do not provide GMAT averages by profession, country, or other factors. Those characteristics, among others, mean that even if you are in the middle of a school’s average, you may be way off in one of your comparison peer groups. Remember that schools slice and dice the data in a variety of ways/groups, so there is no single comparison you can anticipate. If this has made you ponder, if your approach has been overly simplistic so far, that’s a positive step forward. After all, you’re going to invest your (or your family’s) hard-earned money into this, so every step should be thoroughly planned out.
Consider the following factors before deciding on an MBA program
What matters in your MBA application is a piece we wrote a while back. That should serve as a signal to you to proceed. Rather than relying on intuition, try to get data for each of them. For example, don’t only trust a school’s claim to foster international diversity; look at the percentage of international candidates; most institutions will provide this information. The information should be taken with a grain of salt in some circumstances. GMAT averages, for example, must be seen in a somewhat different perspective because the ‘Indian’ GMAT average at a specific school is typically far higher than the overall average.
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You won’t find concrete data on this, but if you do enough study, you’ll be able to get a reasonable figure for a specific institution or, at the very least, in general. You may also find it difficult to evaluate some things. Take, for example, your ability to communicate with others. Alternatively, the logic of your objectives. It’s all about striking a balance between using statistics and non-objective information to make the best conclusion possible. For such factors, you must have done your research, have stress-tested these, and are not relying only on your judgment.
Acceptance Rate for MBA Programs at School
Apart from the elements described, there is one more crucial parameter that might assist you in determining the likelihood of a school being cut. This is known as the selectivity rate, which is also known as the acceptance rate. Simply defined, this reflects how ‘exclusive’ the institution is — how many students are accepted out of, say, 100 applicants. Most colleges make this information available, but you’ll have to dig a little deeper to get it.
Factors that influence business school selection
So far, all of the factors listed have been external. Making a decision solely on the basis of detached, data-based analysis, on the other hand, is almost never the best option. There are a few ‘personal’ filters to consider as well. The first is the financial consideration. You should do some preliminary research into where the finances will come from; the worst you can do is ‘hope’ you’ll obtain a scholarship and manage things that way. MBA scholarships are difficult to come by and often impossible to forecast. Other personal filters may exist, ranging from odd weather preferences to industrial preferences.
If, for example, a certain school has had very few tech placements and you intend to work as an IT Consultant after graduating from that school, your odds of failure are high. So, if you can call it that, the playbook should be to look at all of the objective data about business schools and MBA programs first. After that, go to the target school list and match these with your unique filters.
When it comes to choosing business schools, an overly aggressive or under-aggressive strategy is rarely a good idea. Consider breaking your list down into multiple categories, such as ambitious, stretch, and practical. This is the next step in the analytical process, and it’s crucial to protect yourself. This classification will also serve as a check on the depth of your analysis and study.
