How To Choose MBA Program 1

With the increasing reputation of an MBA degree as one of the greatest post graduate courses universally, there are now approximately thousands of business schools and the same quantity of MBA programs accessible to those who want to get an MBA degree. With such a vast and diversified option, it becomes very hard to discern which program is appropriate for you. Choosing an MBA course that serves your requirements best is definitely a rough job. To help narrow the field of schools you are taking into consideration, think about the career, lifestyle, financial issues, and curriculum that are significant to you. Use the next list of questions to help you work through the issues involved in choosing a program type. Financial Impact Your financial circumstances may help to determine what kind of program you choose. Be sure to ask yourself the following questions about your finances: *Do I need to maintain full-time employment? *Will the company I work for sponsor my education? *Do I need financial aid or a scholarship or loan? *Do I prefer to have financial aid? *Do I need to spread the cost of an MBA out over as many years as possible to minimize the funds I must borrow? Lifestyle Factors Going for an MBA will necessarily affect many aspects of your life. You should ask yourself the following questions about your lifestyle. Can I define a balance between work and life? *Could I handle a full-time workload and full-time course load? *Is it important that the school offer peer groups of people with my interests and experience level? *Will I want total immersion (learning activities outside of class and my network of people)? *Am I ready to assume the responsibilities of an MBA-level position? Does this decision affect my family? *How might the decision affect my family? *What special needs might my family have? *Will my spouse need to relocate and look for a job? What is the job market like near the schools I am considering? *Is there a school-run organization to help spouses and families? What type of program suits my work style and goals? *Do I plan to stay with my current employer after I earn my degree? *Do I know from my job what kind of learning environments work best for me? *Do I know what biases exist in my targeted industry or company that could affect my choice of program type? *Do I already have a functional or industry specialty? *Do I need an MBA to develop a functional/industry specialty? Do I know where I want to study? *Do I want to study in my home country or abroad? *Do I want to stay local, within my region, or try a new location? *Do I know what I need from a location—that is, do I want a college town, a city, convenience and access to services, safety, a low cost of living, or other things, for example? *Might the local business community be an advantage? A disadvantage? (Consider the school’s access to local speakers, the availability of local internships, access to local companies for class projects, etc.) Do I know what type of school culture is important to me? *Does the prevailing culture of a school fit with my personality? *Do I like the dominant personalities of the student body, staff, faculty, and alumni? (Keep in mind that MBA students, like all high achievers, are inherently competitive.) Once you have asked yourself the above questions in relation to the different MBA programs that may interest you, you can determine which of those programs is best for you and positively addresses all the above areas in which an MBA program can impact you. Most people want to go in for an MBA program that is offered by the top A grade business schools and which have the highest ratings. If given a chance to enroll in such a program, they jump at it without considering how it can affect them, and later have to live with the consequences. Although an education from the top business schools cannot be compared to other programs, you have to decide which course is best for you according to the above guidelines. If you choose to enroll into an MBA program just because it is THE best one available, but are unable to stay with the program or complete the course, then even the best of programs will not do you any good. So determine which program is best for YOU and then make the most of it. Source: www.unhmba.org www.mba.com