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Originally Posted by Neo2000  Would love to see a post on How to Research Colleges. How did you go about it, what you did, whom did you speak to, what and where did you read, how did you connect........ |
While 'I' will answer your query, here are my 2 cents.
Filters to apply
1. Post MBA career
Start with schools that place students in their desired fields.
If Finance/ consulting are your aim, its prettly much the same. All top schools place 30-40 % of the class there. In this case,research which schools place most students in ur desired concentrations. Eg : Chicago has a lot many ppl going to Hedge Funds, Tuck places 10% of the class in McKinsey. Hass has great placements in the Biotech industry and so on.
If you have a specific goal, Health care management, Real estate, read the placement stats well.
2. Preferred Location /size ( urban / non-urban)
Where would you rather study- in a big urban place like NY ( Stern, Columbia ) or in a remote place like Hanover ( Tuck). There are disticnt advantages to both location and size and it entirely depends on you , your interests and your life style. Also consider where you want to work after your MBA. Some school have great placement irrespective of the location. Some other schools place good in their vincinity.
3. Program strength, teaching methods :
How many electives does a particular school offer?
What is the breadth of the courses offered ?
What is the teaching method, Case/ Lecture, experimental and what percent ?
What subjects are taught in which way?
Needless to say if you are a Humanities student, you'll be stumped out in a case based financial accounting class- lecture would suit you better.
How much is experimental learning popular ?- like leadersip lessons in mountain treks, economics in fare-wars. Wharton is a great experimental school. Again Experimental learning is also dependent on professors- so watch that.
These should be A band filters.
Then drill down to specifics. Band B filters
1 Business network fostering
Most top schools are good at these. Schools like Tuck are very strong at alumni contacts. alumni contribute to like 65% of the endowment each year. Every student is at times place in one-one mentorship program with an alumnus in the field.
One good way to know this is watch how many jobs at the school originated from alumni contacts. Second way, how many alumns are present in the country you want to work / firm you want to work with. Three, just talk to an alumnus. It helps.
2. School Environment
Try to learn about the school beyond the site and the brochure.
Talk to students - that's the best. What do they exactly do at the clubs ?
How much does the career services help in switching careers ( if that is what you are looking to )
What it the party scene like ? How tough is the competition ?
How is the faculty- student interactions ?
3. Rankings
Frankly, they do not matter as much. Any top 10 schools is good. Top 5 is better . Try to look for a pattern of a school in the ranks over the 2 3 years and acrosss all the lists. You must discount the influences and ignore real numbers.
H/W/S are the best no matter who ranks them where
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(albeit a bit late )
Linear Mode
