Does the School Actually Matter?

It’s easy to write off college rankings as a process rife with politicking, or a way for the more expensive schools to justify their enormous price tags, but the truth is that your choice of school absolutely does matter if you want to prepare yourself for a successful career.

That said, the ranking of a particular school is not the only factor to consider. The reasons behind your interest in earning an MBA are the key to finding the best business school to fit your needs. For example, certain business schools focus on different facets of business education, such as building a business from scratch or developing international business experience. With that in mind, the school and its faculty should weigh heavily in your choice of MBA program. Developing contacts and building a knowledge base are two reasons frequently cited by MBA graduates for why they chose a particular school. With that in mind, choose a school where the educational focus speaks to you, and where the professors share your interests and ambitions.

Location, Location, Location

Let’s explore the contact-building part of graduate education. Since much of business revolves around knowing the right people at the right times, and attending business school is, in part, about building contacts, it follows that you’ll want to choose a school in a part of the country that either (1) interests you for personal reasons or (2) is located in a business-centric region. You’ll probably not want to go very far to find a job after you graduate, and the people you meet at school can often be instrumental in opening doors for you. Choose a school, then, that’s located in a part of the country where you might see yourself living, or that you feel is rife with career potential.

Career Assistance

It’s easy to postpone the realities of post-graduate life during the long years at school. With that in mind, it’s important not to lose focus. Your choice of MBA program should also take into consideration what sort of placement assistance and career development you can expect as graduation draws nearer. You’ll want to pick a program that really takes care of its own, helping students to not only reach their potential and come away knowledgeable, but also helps to open doors for its students – and to know which doors are worth opening.

Final Thoughts

If there’s one thing to take away, it’s not to get too hung up on school rankings. They’re important, but the more intrinsic qualities of an MBA program should take precedence, such as location and the specific focus of the professors there. Whatever your reasons, an MBA program can be the start of a long and rewarding career.