Researching about top Business Schools should be the most important activity in your MBA application process. If you get this process right, then all your efforts in GMAT Preparation, Essay Writing & Editing, Interview Preparation, and coordinating Recommendation Letters will fall into place.
In this deep dive into the factors to consider before choosing an MBA program, we cover:
1) Post-MBA Goal
2) Location
3) Duration
4) Culture
5) Feasibility
6) Ranking
7) Curriculum
8) Experiential Learning
9) Class Diversity
10) Alumni Network
11) Post-MBA Salary and Increase in Salary
12) Alumni Feedback
13) Career Service
14) Accreditation
1) Post-MBA Goal
Almost all of you want a change in job function, except those who are in Finance. Some a switch in the industry. Many want to try new geography and leverage the location’s growth, while a few are interested in accelerating their understanding of an evolving industry or a new job function by taking advantage of the university’s cutting-edge research in the specialization. Whatever is your post-MBA goal, articulate it clearly for yourself, for your consultant and capture the essence of the goal in your essays. The MBA consultant will help you customize the goal to fit the school’s culture & expectations, but the clarity and the specifics of what you have done to reach this goal cannot be faked.
Related: Subscribe to F1GMAT's Career Planning Service (Define Post-MBA goal, Shortlist Schools, and Develop a holistic plan to meet your MBA admission targets)
2) Location
At the start of the 2016 Republican Presidency, the higher education publications were on an overdrive stating that the dominance of US schools could come to an end. We had also experienced hesitations from Indian and Chinese applicants to consider the US as a post-MBA location when the nationalistic tone of policymakers turned into steps to curb visas for legitimate international applicants. The fightback from Fortune 500 companies who recognized that limiting talent by location is a sure way to deteriorate their intellectual property soon led to a turnaround to old ways. It is no secret that Indian Tech companies take advantage of the US visa rules for H1-B visas. The uproar of foreign talent taking over local talent led to fines and a few plugging of loopholes in visa rules, but experts miss out on an interesting fact – 55-70% of top schools in the world are in the US.
The legitimate demand for quality education cannot be replaced by schools in Canada, the UK, France, or Germany.
The closest competitors are Chinese schools that have shown a resurgence in the latest FT ranking but the language barrier, and cultural differences from the home country limit the influence of the schools.
Quality of Life: Another reason many of you should consider the post-MBA location is the quality of life. Once you parse beyond the holiday destinations in Europe and research seriously about countries with world-class universities and Business Schools, a few economies stand out.
Quality of Life Ranking – Top Economies (with world-class Universities)
5. Australia
7. Germany
15. United States
18. Spain
20. Portugal
22. United Kingdom
23. Canada
26. France
30. Singapore
Source: Numbeo
Despite an inefficient healthcare system, United States is ahead of Canada, the UK, France, and Singapore by a big margin. Only Australia and Germany are ahead but is no match to the opportunities in Consulting, Technology and Finance that the US offers.
Purchasing Power: For the self-funded or those who are raising funds, be realistic about the ROI. It would take at least 3 years to get an ROI on your MBA program. Another important factor when choosing the post-MBA location should be purchasing power.
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Ranking – Top Economies (with world-class Universities)
1 China
2 United States
3 India
5 Germany
9 United Kingdom
10 France
17. Canada
19. Australia
Source: Index Mundi
The UK, Canada, and Australia are viable alternatives. Unfortunately, the purchasing power of the UK (#9), Canada (#17), or Australia (#19) is no match for the US (#2)
When top schools are mostly placing students in Technology, Consulting, and Finance, with Consulting consistently leading, the language barrier becomes evident. No consulting office in France, Japan, Germany, and Spain is going to recruit an international talent without meeting the local language requirements. The same challenge exists for those working in Marketing, Product Management, and Operations. The interaction with local businesses and regulators while understanding the nuanced preferences of the locals is mandatory for meeting client requirements.
3) Duration
The 1-year vs. 2-year conundrum remains a conundrum for applicants from the military, career switchers from the creative or sports, and entrepreneurial applicants who failed or want to leverage the alumni network. For the rest of you crossing the age of 30 or even 32, the 1-year program is a better-suited format.
Pre-MBA salary influences the offers that you receive. Although an MBA has the best ROI compared to other master’s programs, there are limitations for Employers to offer an increase in salary that is proportional to your age or work experience. Schools in the US understand these limitations and chooses candidates who are in the sweet spot – the 27 to 29 age group. For anyone older, it is a risk as almost all MBA rankings are based on Increase in Salary.
While selecting a 1-year vs. 2-year program, understand the school’s perspective. It will help you set realistic expectations.
Related: Subscribe to F1GMATs Career Planning Service (Choose MBA programs based on your profile)
4) Culture
I have the fortune of placing applicants in some of the best schools and saw a clear difference in the traits that worked for Wharton, Stanford, Chicago Booth, Harvard and MIT – to name a few. I don’t want to generalize and typecast each school on a public platform, but some of the observations about what matters to each school are ‘interesting.’ Feel free to reach out to me through LinkedIn or use the contact form to start a conversation on your admission chances.
The best way to understand the culture is by networking with Alumni. We have shared some of the best practices for asking questions during the MBA Tour’s Q&A. The strategy applies while engaging in a one-on-one conversation. Prepare early. Be respectful of the Alumni and LISTEN! Many times, the awkward silence is filled by the alumni. The interesting perspective is unlikely to be found in any popular forums or blogs, or analyses. This is where you must show your networking and conversational skills.
5) Feasibility
Feasibility is a tricky factor. There are Consultants who do pre-interview to weed out less competitive applicants and then promote with slogans like 99% placement to top schools, while a few do take the risk of changing an applicant’s life. We have supported diverse applicants over the past 13 years.
Once you cross the GMAT and GPA median for your target Business School, it is a matter of branding, storytelling and understanding the essay structure.
International Percentage: For US schools, there are limitations to accepting international applicants as the number has been consistently in the 25-35% of the class size. This demographic also includes Dual Citizens and applicants with Permanent Residency. So, for a truly international applicant with no connection with the US to stand out, the academic competence, experience, and story element of the application must align.
Pre-MBA Job Function: Another limitations school face is the Pre-MBA job function. Finance candidates are less likely to change function. So is a Management Consultant. For the remaining 45-60% of the applicants, the primary goal with an MBA is a change in function. Technology applicants want to get into Product Management. Many want to transition from subject matter expert to core Finance functions while the allure of Marketing fades away in favor of a measurable impact-oriented function like Project Management.
Understanding the competition from your Pre-MBA function should be the first feasibility study before you shortlist schools. Subscribe to Career Planning Service for assistance.
Pre-MBA Industry: A less likely goal is a change in the industry. Switching them is not easy unless you are in a dying industry like Oil & Gas. When you explore the feasibility of entering an MBA class, find the Pre-MBA industry representation of your target schools.
6) Ranking
MBA Rankings from top publications like The Economist, Financial Times, US News, and BusinessWeek are great tools to compare Business Schools for Recruiter Reputation, Alumni Feedback, Increase in Salary, and Value for Money.
The methodologies used in each of the rankings might be completely different and sometimes are not based on the latest data. Some schools might share the latest data while others will share the data that are 1-2 years back. The percentage response might also differ. In some surveys, only 20-35% of alumni will respond. The rest will not respond due to work schedules or dissatisfaction. It is tough to gauge the quality of an MBA program when there is no unified process or data to compare the response in surveys.
The nature of the survey follows the “Multiple Choice” format, where the alumni or recruiters are forced to pick program attributes based on limited options. Despite the deficiencies, averaging the MBA ranking will help you shortlist the top 10 programs.
See which ranking is right for you
7) Curriculum and Internship
The goals essay or the ‘Why MBA’ essay requires you to mention the electives, core, and experiential learning elements of the MBA curriculum. Studying the MBA curriculum in detail would also help you explore the relevant courses for your post-MBA goals. Some applicants blindly assume that a school known for Finance or Marketing will continue to offer a large concentration of cutting-edge research and courses in the subject area. Despite the best research of the university, the course structure of the MBA program is customized according to the post-MBA job market.
We have seen many schools pivoting from Finance schools to Consulting schools and then back to Finance with the surge in demand for Private Equity and Venture Capital, a Marketing school pivoting to Consulting, a school known for placing MBAs to Operations in Automobile industry pivoting to Technology to accommodate the strategic value of Technology development, and many Consulting Schools, accommodating Investment Banking to reduce the risk of saturation in Management Consulting.
Applicants must understand this dynamic before blindly following some urban legend about the school’s reputation as a Finance, Consulting, or Marketing School.
The best place to explore is our Post-MBA Salary Analysis and Placement trends
Recruiters value the Job Function at Past Work Experience (61%), Industry of Past Work Experience (51%), Years of Pre-MBA Experience (44%), Business School (36%), and Internships (27%). Since the majority of MBA Applicants’ goal is to switch job functions or advance in their industry, the only factors that they can base their decision on are the school’s reputation and internship opportunity.
For entering Investment Banking or any Finance function, an internship is mandatory. Interestingly, our analysis shows that the internship opportunity facilitated by candidates has lower conversion than school-initiated ones. Looking closely at school-initiated internship opportunities would help you shortlist schools where your post-MBA goals are likely to be achieved.
The faculty, teaching methodology, and the relevance of the course for the recruiter’s industry influence the school’s reputation. When recruiters are aware that most of the courses are action-oriented and students get to apply what they have learned, they can overlook the pre-MBA Job Function and select students who have proven their expertise with real projects and internships.
8) Experiential Learning
The structure and relevance of experiential learning are more important that an experiential learning element in the curriculum as most schools follow a five-region formula - Latin America, Africa, China, Europe, and India. Pay close attention to the courses. If the schools have electives catering to the industry-specific and region-specific problems, the experiential learning would be relevant for candidates interested in Management Consulting.
A niche category of schools takes advantage of the host city (NYU Stern & Columbia - New York, HEC Paris - Paris, SDA Bocconi – Milan, Stanford – Silicon Valley). The courses, speaker series, and industry visits would be structured around the city’s strengths.
For applicants with specific goals to enter an industry, leveraging the school’s experiential learning in a host city known for the industry would offer the best value.
A few rare schools approach experiential learning, holistically. NYU Stern's Doing Business In… electives covering 22 countries, Kellogg's 7 Global Initiatives in Management, Yale's 14 International Courses with the Global Network for Advanced Management, Darden's 11 destinations Experiential learning while offering a dedicated scholarship – the Batten Worldwide Scholarship, for all full-time MBA students, IESE's capstone project with the option to choose from 55 countries are some unique initiative among the world's best MBA programs.
9) Class Diversity
Business Schools value Diversity. It influences the classroom experience, post-MBA employment trends and expands the reach of the Business School. For students, the unique class composition is an opportunity to interact with students from different cultures, experiences, industries, and job functions. Experiences from your classmates can teach you about scenarios that you would have never imagined. Also, the connections open opportunities in new geographies and niche functions. In many cases, peers join the startup board or support the candidates through their entrepreneurial journey as an investor.
More than diversity based on nationality, look at diversity in experience. Often Alumni have cited how they have learned more from their classmates than from the professors through case discussions and group tasks. With such interaction, students are exposed to a wide range of opinions, experiences, and perspective that can only be deeper if it comes from a qualified & diverse class. This is an advantage that top Business Schools have. Since the selection process is stringent, the admissions team ensures that the class is composed of a diverse cross-section, culturally and professionally.
10) Alumni Network
More than the size of the alumni network, the approachability of the alumni will influence your ability to find new opportunities through the network. This factor should always be kept in mind when you see stats like the 40000+ alumni network. Also, when Business Schools mention the size of the alumni network, it is not limited to the MBA program. It can also include other programs.
While researching the network, find the reach of the alumni geographically.
If your post-MBA goal is to get into a marketing lead position in Spain, then it is important to research how active the Alumni network is in Spain.
Can you get in touch with them easily?
What are the tools that Business schools offer to contact the alumni?
Is there privileged access to the alumni’s database?
Most top schools offer portals to login and contact alumni. The networking opportunities are not limited to database access. Several schools conduct events and speaker series in association with the alumni network. The events section of the Business School would offer several clues on the influence of alumni.
The more involved the alumni, the better would be the ROI. The tribal instinct to recruit a candidate from the alma matter or facilitate a meeting with a client or key decision-maker work in favor of the candidate during the job search and closing deals.
11) Post-MBA Salary and Increase in Salary
Post-MBA Salary and Increase in Salary are two metrics that MBA applicants should research.
The increase in salary is a vanity metric if you switch countries and don’t consider PPP.
Convert the income using a Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Calculator.
If you are earning INR 25,00,000 in India and your target schools are in the US and UK, find the equivalent salary in USD and GBP, respectively.
Once the salary is converted to the host country’s currency, calculate the Increase in Salary with the formula.
Increase in Salary = Post-MBA salary - (Pre-MBA Salary in local currency + Opportunity cost)
The 110-140% increase in salary for most will turn into a realistic percentage (40-65%)
Related: Follow our Net Present Value illustration to understand how to calculate the ROI for your MBA
US candidates typically earn 40-65% more than their pre-MBA remuneration. It is highly dependent on the post-MBA function as Management Consulting offers in top schools have a $165,000 median base salary, Finance ($150,000 median base), Investment Banking ($150,000 - $175,000 median base), Private Equity ($160,000-$170,00), Product Management ($130,000 - $140,000 median base), Marketing ($130,000 - $150,000 median base), and General Management ($140,000 - $150,000 median base)
Once you know the range for the best schools (top 20), it becomes easier to set the right expectations.
12) Alumni Feedback
The most important factor that you must consider while doing Business School research is Alumni Feedback, preferably someone who has graduated from the school in the past 2-3 years.
When you contact Alumni, get in touch with MBAs from a similar background or nationality. If you are an international student, visa restrictions and language barriers will affect the post-MBA job opportunities.
Understanding the challenges that MBAs from your Country face, their personal preferences, and circumstances would help you set realistic expectations and evaluate the MBA program accurately. One person who switched to Management Consulting found opportunities in Germany despite most of his peers getting placed in the US. His pre-MBA experience in the automotive industry in Germany was a factor that influenced the placement. Now, if the candidate explores the career choices without understanding the unique circumstances, the data will look skewed.
Current Students and Recent Alumni would be too shortsighted to give you a perspective on the impact of the MBA program. However, current students would be a great resource to get an insider view of the classroom experience, the reputation of the school among peers and to find strategies for converting an internship to a full-time offer.
Recent Alumni (1-2 Years) can share what they were immediately able to achieve with an MBA (networking opportunities, job offers, and salary increase). The insight is useful and offers a snap of the resilience of the MBA brand during a crisis, especially during a pandemic, financial, or geopolitical disruption.
13) Career Service
Career Service Center plays a critical role in networking and building relationship with recruiters around the world. Don’t forget to search for the Career Service section in our post-MBA placement trends and salary analysis. If they do not have any statistics on recruitment – list of recruiters, industry, job function, and worst no salary or bonus data, be suspicious about the school’s ability to help you reach your post-MBA goals.
Services like Resume Review and Interview Etiquette training are important but look for the job offers that come through the career service center. This indicates the team’s effectiveness in placing candidates.
If more than 60% of the job offers came through the career service, then you can be confident about the ability of the school to facilitate the job search process. But realistically, the onus is on the student to find a job through the Alumni network or leverage the Career Service Center. That is why you won’t see great numbers for Harvard and Stanford MBA. The kind of applicants the two programs attract don’t typically follow the lead of the career service team. They are connected and self-driven.
Related Service
Hope you got great value from my analysis. You can connect with me Atul Jose (Founding Consultant F1GMAT) through LinkedIn or start a free consulting
14) Accreditation
Although triple accreditation is an overhyped concept, mostly used by European Business Schools to differentiate from Asian, Australian, and US Business Schools, having at least one accreditation – AACSB, AMBA, or EQUIS, is a seal of approval and shows that the Business School has taken the effort to follow the best practices and standards that the accrediting bodies demand. Also, International recruiters, mostly in Asia and the Middle East, value a Business School with accreditation over the one without any.
If you analyze the Top 100 MBA with Accreditation, it shows that most top US Business Schools are only AACSB accredited. When you compare accredited schools, the number of accreditations should not play a role in selecting one over the other. Sure, the school has made an effort to comply with the standards of multiple accrediting bodies, but it does not necessarily mean that the learning experience and post-MBA opportunities will be better with multiple accreditations.
