How to Decide Between MBA Programs

If  you’ve been accepted into more than one MBA program, congratulations! Let’s just take a moment to appreciate how many people wish they were you right now. We certainly hope you understand how impressive this achievement is and have taken some time to celebrate accordingly.

But, now you have a tough decision to make. You probably only applied to schools you were truly interested in, and soon it will be time to choose between two of them (or more). How should you figure out where to spend eighteen months of your life—not to mention tens of thousands of dollars?

Step one is to attend each program’s Admit Weekend. Spending time on campus and around current students and other admitted applicants will go a long way in helping you decide which program is the better fit. If you cannot find a way to go to the Admit Weekend for each school you’ve been accepted to, do everything else you can to at least visit campus and sit in on a few classes. Worst-case scenario: try to speak or Skype with alumni and current students.

Then think about where you want to end up geographically after graduation. Is one program in your desired city—or at least in the same overall region? Does one program have a reputation for helping its students land jobs in the area you want to live?

If location isn’t a concern, then focus on what does matter most to you: recruitment stats for certain industries? Diversity? International opportunities? We know you reviewed all of this information when you were deciding where to apply in the first place, but now it warrants a second, closer look.

In the end, this may be the best advice of all:

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