How to overcome Decision Fatigue in Business School Research: Don’t drain your energy on researching first two schools

Most Business School research starts with browsing through hundreds of websites, school pages, and discussion forums. What MBA Applicants often miss is a concept called Decision Fatigue. When an applicant’s energy is mostly spent on collecting data, and corroborating with alumni, current students and experts in the field, the decision to pick the Business School that is within the applicant’s reach will be impacted.

The 3rd School in the list is the most important selection as applicants often pick top 2 schools that are a little out of their reach. Unfortunately, by the time applicants reach the third school, the intense process required to map schools with the post MBA goals for the first two schools would have exhausted their will and ability to select the third school effectively.

Here are six easy to adopt tips for handling decision fatigue.

1) Start with 3rd

We are not suggesting that you aim low, but when it comes to getting into top MBA programs, your uniqueness alone does not guarantee an entry into Stanford, Harvard, MIT Sloan or other top schools. Start with the schools where your GMAT, GPA and Years of experience matches the class median or average.

Once the entry criteria match is taken care of, the next phase of research should be on achieving your post MBA goals. Can the school help you reach your goals?

2) Research Based on Deadline

If you have read our first round deadline list, most schools have their first round of deadlines in October. However, you can choose Round 1 or Round 2 depending on the strategy that you have adopted for each school.

By applying in Round1 and Round 2, the time and attention required to handle each application can be met. Instead of researching your top five schools, start with your third school and meet the Round 1 deadline. For the top two schools, apply on round one for one school and round two for other.

3) Early Day Research

Even if you are a night owl, the ability to make sense of data is often higher early in the day. There is a reason why major meetings about expansion and growth are held in the morning, and firefighting meetings that involve laying off employees are taken in the afternoon. We are more fatigued and defensive in the afternoon – not a good time to pick schools that can influence your life goals.

4) Information Overload

The number one reason why decision fatigue has become a major stumbling block for individuals and companies is information overload. Gathering information and analyzing data should be to make a decision.

Set deadlines for:

a) Information Collection
b) Inferring Information
c) Mapping School’s abilities with your Post MBA Goals
d) Decision

Stick with the deadlines for each process.

5) Influencer List

Research Data, Alumni, Current Students, and the Admissions team influence our ability to pick Business Schools. Create a list of influencers for your decision, and make sure that you cross them out of the list, once their advice or recommendations have been summarized. Procrastination is seen when applicants are not sure about the data or influencers that can support decision-making.

6) GMAT Score

Between First Round of deadline and second, there is a 2 to 3 months gap. Take your GMAT or retake if necessary, and utilize this period to reevaluate your target Business School list. There is no harm in developing a backup strategy, and applying to a list of tier-2 schools if the GMAT Score is not in the acceptable range of + or – 20 points from the class median.

You would be investing 1 year for the MBA Admission process. Your motivation for an MBA is at the optimum level right now. Reapplying next year might get you into a top school but the motivation would be below par, and this can impact your performance and experience in the MBA Class.