The next big round of MBA Admissions decisions have gone out or are due to come out in the next week, which makes this a very exciting and stressful time. Many prospective applicants are trying to make decisions that will impact the rest of their career. Unfortunately, these decisions are not all cut and dried. There are many nuances to them such as scholarship money, waitlist, loans, etc that sometimes make it difficult to either make a decision or equally evaluate competing offers.
To help prospective admits thin through this process, I’d like to offer some insights that might provide clarity in your decision making process.
A deposit is not the end of the world
In some instances, you will have to make a decision on a school before you’ve heard back from other schools. This is a tricky situation as if you turn down the offer and get dinged elsewhere you’re out of luck. While deposits can seem like huge investments and I don’t mean to belittle a $500-$1500 investment, you can make that back relatively quickly.
Most schools discourage you from double depositing, and while I don’t condone doing it unless you absolutely have to, there are few repercussions for people who deposit and then end up going elsewhere – it happens regularly each year. I say this because a deposit can seem like a huge commitment but don’t let it prevent you from going to business school.
Rankings are important, but culture and career fit is too
If you’re deciding between schools it can be easy to rely on the rankings as your barometer. We all want to go to the best school, but finding the best school means finding the best school for you, not necessarily the best school deemed by the rankings. In many cases, you will end up going to the higher ranked school, however that’s not always the case.
A better question to ask yourself is “which school is better equipped to help me meet my personal and professional goals?” On the professional side, which school is better equipped for your career desires? On the personal side, which group of students did you see yourself wanting to be your classmates? There are plenty of other considerations to think about (geography, size of program, etc.) but the goal is to define your individual “rankings” and not to rely solely on someone else’s.
Think about your time horizon as the length of your career
Business school costs a lot of money, and in some cases a lot more than the actual sticker price. When you factor in living expenses, recruiting trips, themed party costumes and travel it starts to add up. While I’m not suggesting you live outside your means, I do suggest you try to think about this as a career investment that spans over your entire career as opposed to the two years of school.
Money is a weird thing in business school. While none of us are earning income, we have some level of cash on hand either from our own savings, loans, etc. How we spend (and how much) is up to the individual, but it can be easy to push something away because it seems frivolous and just as easy to green light a big expense because, well, YOLO. While you can’t say yes to everything, consider thinking of expenses, particularly ones that are rather significant such as study abroad, travel, etc. as long-term investments in your career.
This is an exciting time and there are exciting opportunities ahead. While it can be stressful and nerve-wracking, it’s important to keep a good perspective and remember that regardless of what you choose you have an exciting experience awaiting you just months away. Above all, with any decision, define what you think is best for you, and evaluate your criteria to select a choice that fits your criteria.