Day 17: Shortlisting B-Schools

As none of us have Time Turners, we have to stick to the decisions we make! And you are about to make one of the biggest decisions of your life.

What is on your B-School shortlist?

How do you decide? Based on the criteria we have discussed over the past 16 days in the #21dayMBAPlan series! Here's how you can use them.

?? Day 1 article- Use this to decide why you want to do the MBA. This is the very first step. List down all YOUR reasons.

??And when you are considering an MBA, know that it just a means to your next destination in your career. The Day 2 article talks about how you can set your career goals.

??The next steps would be to decide on the type of program & which country you would want to consider. Day 3 and Day 4 articles would help here (a lot).

??Day 5 - Check the MBA rankings (if you need some reassurance about your choice or want a handy list to start your research).

??The easier parameters are costs (Day 16 article ), class size, duration of program, employment statistics, etc. as these are quantitative. (Check out the video in comment below). The challenge comes when you wish to understand more about the qualitative aspects like the culture, kind of peers you will have, focus of the school et al. This is where Day 12 article on the academics , Day 13 article on post-MBA careers and Day 14 article on networking can help you.

Shortlisting B-Schools- some more considerations

?? Go through the class profiles thoroughly. Where do you stand with respect to the class average in terms of GMAT/GRE scores & work experience?

??How much are you comfortable with the academics aspect?

??Are you convinced about the post-MBA employment opportunities? Career prospects matter!

??How much of help will the Career Management Services provide? If you are an international student, how will work permits, visas et al pan out? (Career again! It is important, don't you think?)

??What attracts you to the culture of the B-School? What do you know about it ? How much of this information was gained first-hand?

So now you have chosen your B-Schools . What next?

I have clients come and tell me that someone from their circle had gone to School X and so should they consider School X. Often, you may get swayed by the opinions of others or assume that what went right for someone should happen (in exactly the same way) for you.

A structured approach to B-School Schortlisting is absolutely necessary for ensuring you haven't missed out a great B-School.

While you could come to know of an MBA program's existence through many means, please do the research and prioritize schools as per YOUR criteria.

The most important step

??Now comes the most important part. Do you know if you are meeting the standards of your targeted B-Schools? This is where understanding the requirements for the application helps. As you see from the graph below, many of the averages in the most-sought after B-Schools will start upwards of 650. In fact, the top B-School programs have scores northwards of 720+ consistently.

Learn more about your chances for getting in. Apply to an optimal number of schools based on your situation (anywhere between 3-8). Between 1-3 if you are super confident. Above 8 only if you have a true gameplan, compassionate recommenders and a considerate boss (for all the time off you will need to complete those applications!).

And then again, this is where credible sources (like yours truly) can help. ??

Whichever your preference, seek out the right answer yourself by doing thorough research.

The competition out there is tough. Acceptance rates are extremely low. But there is always the right B-School waiting for you!

Happy B-School Shortlisting!

#21dayMBAplan #getMBAready #bschools #mbalife #mbaprep #management