How do people decide to study an MBA and in which school? A good strategy is to follow these five steps to decide. These steps encourage candidates to take their time, evaluate their personal qualities and goals, and investigate programs to make sure they are making the right choice.
Step # 1: professional goals and feasibility
Try to minimize the options that you would like to follow. Your priority is to understand what employers want. Do you have geographic mobility? Do you have a good bachelor's degree and two or more years of relevant professional experience? Do you have an idea of how to progress in your specialty or occupation? Or simply wait for an MBA to help you do something new without having any concrete plan (risky in the current state of the market). Talk to the human resources directors of important companies for more information.
Step # 2: self-evaluation
Why do you want to study an MBA? A realistic self-assessment of your skills and abilities will allow you to make a more accurate selection of schools. Analyze your motivations. Do not choose to study an MBA because you have just finished your studies and can not find a job.
Most candidates choose to study an MBA to improve their career prospects, learn new practices and establish contacts. There are also people who want to change their career, earn more money or start their own business.
If you have lost your job because of the current economic situation, you may want to start an MBA to cope with the crisis, but for most it is a rather strategic decision. Maybe the economy recovers in one or two years and business leaders with their profile will be needed, and with an MBA could be in an advantageous position.
Step # 3: budget and study modality
Full-time MBAs remain the most common programs. Executive MBAs, which require a minimum of six years of prior professional experience and allow study by modules while continuing to work, are becoming increasingly popular. There are also options to study part time and distance.
There are financial aid. Different organizations give scholarships and several banks offer low initial interest loans.
Step 4: research and selection criteria
With so many schools to choose from, you need to have a rational approach when it comes to selecting. Decide which criteria are most important to you and try to identify five schools that meet these criteria and for which you believe you meet the access requirements. As there are many rankings that give different results, candidates tend to look at alternative criteria. According to QS TopMBA, the most popular selection criteria in order of importance are: relationship of incorporation to employment, return on capital invested, reputation of the school, quality of the academic staff, specializations, student profile, ranking, scholarships and location .
Many candidates choose the school because of the specialization offered. For example, someone who wants to start their own business, should look for a school that has a faculty with a strong entrepreneur spirit, business incubator and access to venture capital. In Europe there are several specialized schools in this area.
Step # 5: Visit the schools personally
It is important to know representatives and alumni of the schools to make sure it fits and to confirm the outcome of your research. The ideal thing is to visit the campus of the school, but if this is not possible, the QS World MBA Tour is an alternative.
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