Which MBA school should you choose?
For my final article in this series on the MBA, I wanted to write about choosing the right school. In order of importance, here are the top five factors I think you should consider in making the decision of which school to attend for your MBA.
#1 - Location
I think the most important factor in choosing your school is where in the world that school is located relative to where you want to be and work after the program. Being able to build a network in the country you intend to work in is so helpful and you can’t replace just being in a room with a recruiter. Additionally, especially if you have a weaker passport, getting access to a post-program visa that will allow you to stay in the country for a period of time to search for jobs is invaluable.
For me, I wasn’t sure exactly where in the world I would be, but I knew it would be in the EMEA region. Part of the reason I picked INSEAD was the fact that it gave me access to a variety of options - Europe, Asia, the US, and the Middle East, where I eventually made the move to. Without the exchange I did to Abu Dhabi, I'm certain I wouldn't have been able to move here.
#2 - Niche and brand
No matter how much people don’t want this to be the case, it is incredibly important that the school you go to is known, and that it is known for something that aligns with your professional goals. While I don’t think the exact ranking is the most important factor, if you’re going to be investing so much money on the program it is important to be associated with a respected brand.
Besides the repute, every school has their “niche” or career path that they are more known for. This is important because the school will have more access to career opportunities in these fields. INSEAD has historically been known as the school for consultants, and is still heavily represented by this group. However, I still decided to go there despite having no interest in consulting because there is a growing community of entrepreneurship within the school, and I felt like the other factors ultimately outweighed this one.
#3 - Strength (and accessibility) of the alumni network
They say the value of the MBA accrues over the years and this is certainly the case. Graduating from a particular school means you have a connection to everyone who went through the program. Going to a school with a strong alumni network that is open and accessible can make a major difference.
One of the strengths for a hyper-international school like INSEAD is that there really is a network everywhere in the world. And importantly, an active network that you can engage with through official platforms. In my first article in this series, I already spoke about how this showed up for me in being invited to the home of the former president of YC, but this has continued to be a positive as I’ve navigated moving to a new continent and building a new community.
#4 - A new experience
This factor is a bit difficult to describe, but I think it’s really important. Taking a year (or more) out of work to do something like an MBA is actually quite a big decision, and I think it’s important that it is additive to your life in terms of the experience itself. For me, this is one of the things that pushed INSEAD over the edge for me. It was the school that would take me the most out of my comfort zone and allow me to explore “unknown unknowns”.
#5 - Clubs, classes, exchanges, etc.
I place this last because, while it is important, every school will have something to offer. The curriculum of schools is all relatively similar, you’re not going to miss out on any core information by choosing one over another. This goes for clubs as well. Plus, even if some schools may have a particular club that aligns with your goals more, the absence of a club at another school can actually be a positive as it could be an opportunity for you to create something new.
A great example of this is that at INSEAD there weren’t any Africa trips, so we organised our own, taking some of my classmates to Accra, Abuja, and Lagos.
That’s it! I hope this series was helpful for you as you consider your MBA journey. A reminder that I have shared a few of my MBA application essays. If you’d like access to them, you can find them here. Good luck!
