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($) Deciding on a school: Qualitative factors

January 22, 2020 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

Finances are often a big part of the picture in deciding between different MBA programs. If one school offers free money and another does not, that can tilt the scale significantly. Or, if one school is in a very expensive city, and another has a more reasonable cost of living, these factors do matter.

But there’s other dimensions that are at least as important, we believe, and those are what we call qualitative factors.

The “big city” part is an element of this for sure. What type of life experience do you want to have while you pursue your MBA?

And, geography matters a lot, too. If you know now that you want to end up in a particular part of the world post-MBA, then it often makes sense to go to school in that area. For example, someone who has family in Delaware may choose NYU over Berkeley Haas for very good reasons. Conversely, recruiting into West Coast companies would likely be easier at Haas, especially since it sometimes seems Stern is not even a known brand name once you get outside of New York — but this also can be industry-specific.

Here’s the more counterintuitive part, which some BSers are already aware of and place a premium on when they make decisions on where to go to bschool: What school is most different to what you’ve done before? Sometimes people intentionally seek out a very different environment and experience than what they’ve had in the past — so, someone who went to a small college might now opt for a very large school, or someone who’s only lived in big cities would go for a small town — or if they’ve never lived in snow, they choose that school. Etc.

There are lots of ways to slice and dice the decision based on opportunities for change. Depends on your priorities!

If it’s possible for you, our main advice to offer is to attend both schools’ Welcome Weekends if possible (sometimes they’re unfortunately both scheduled on the same weekend though!). That’s where many candidates really decide which school clicks for them the most and where they belong. Many schools trumpet similar values about community and collaboration, yet those values are expressed quite differently at the different places because the type of students who choose each school can be very different from place to place. This seems most pronounced geographically, where you may find that students who attend Darden are different in difficult-to-identify ways from those who go to Haas. Same with UCLA compared to Tuck. People all choose a school for different reasons, and yet there are interesting commonalities that surface when you interact with students at one school for a weekend. The flavor of a school will come out. These things can be hard to articulate but it can be visceral when you’re immersed in the respective cultures.

Take lots of notes in real-time as you’re going through these experiences! This may help you to sort through your preferences later on when you have more distance. If you try to capture your feelings about the weekend once you get home and several days have gone by, it’s likely you will have lost the essence of many of those moments. Do it on breaks and as you go through the events and have the interactions with others. Pay attention to the other candidates who are there but also especially to the students themselves. Both pools of people are going to give you valuable vibes about whether it’s the right place for you.

A great way to evaluate is to keep asking the question: Is this where I will experience the most growth? Can I see myself with these people for two years, and a lifetime? Because not to make it bigger than it already is, but this school will be with you forever.

At the same time, if you’re in the privileged position (after having worked very, very hard!) of being able to decide between multiple offers, then honestly, you can’t make a wrong choice! All of the programs that you tried for will deliver a transformative experience and set you up for success in a new life. Bschool is what you make of it, and this choice is about maximizing the things that you value the most. Hopefully you already have insight into some of those things, based on all the hard work of introspection and reflection you did in writing your essays! Going back to the notes you captured in that process might even be an interesting exercise now, either as a reminder and reinforcement of what you want from an MBA, or to show you how your thinking has evolved in certain respects.

One reason that this decision can be difficult is because there’s so much you don’t know. It always feels like you’re operating on a limited view of the important variables. That’s because you really don’t! Sitting here today, trying to maximize the opportunity, you’re looking at it through the eyes of who you are today. But who knows what the Future You will value! You won’t know that until you actually have the experience. This can add to the analysis paralysis that happens with many folks at this stage.

If that’s you, then try the trick we describe here for choosing between schools.

And hit us up if we can offer any input! If we worked with you extensively over this season then you can describe your decision dilemma in the notes field below the School Targets form in SnarkCenter and we’re happy to give our two cents. Another option is our Private Consult if we’ve not had the pleasure of hearing about your fabulous successes before.

Either way, we hope you’ll let us know what you decide! We’re always so eager to learn what goes into a final decision like this and gain insight into the choices that you make. Please stay in touch through this process! And if you’re earlier than this in your cycle, we also are around to help with questions if you have them!

Filed Under: deciding on a school (multiple offers)

« Previous: ($) Updating the admissions office on changes to your profile post-submit: GMAT/GRE/classes
Next: ($) What does the Round 1 waitlist look like for Class of 2022 candidates? »

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From a BSer January 2020:
"love the guide books!"


CLASS OF 2023 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

     
    The 2020 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2023 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2020-2021 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the main essay, the EQ Endorsement and Pick Six!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2023 essays!
   
    The 2020-2021 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2020-2021 applications
   
    The 2020 Harvard MBA Application Guide - completely overhauled and updated for the coronavirus era!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
    The 2020-2021 Duke Essay Guide - covers the 25 Random Things essay and all the rest too!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Duke Fuqua - up to date for the current season!
   
    The 2020-2021 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the contacts for two references, and additional tips for the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2023!
   
    The 2020-2021 Tuck Essay Guide has been refreshed with latest insights and advice for your essays about "investing generously" and "why Tuck"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Dartmouth Tuck MBA - completely overhauled for 2020, to help you demonstrate how you are nice, aware, etc stuff!
   
    The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2023 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2020-2021
   
    The 2020-2021 Chicago Booth MBA Application Guide - ready to go to support your Class of 2023 essay strategy!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Chicago Booth for this year's MBA app!
   
    The 2020 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with new tips for 2020!
   
    The 2020 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values' -- plus tips on 2020 world events and applicability to your essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - updated and revised for the new realities of 2020!    
      The 2020 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2023
   
    The 2020-2021 UCLA Anderson MBA Application Guide - updated for Class of 2023 on "impact"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for 
UCLA
   
   

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What were we snarking about at this time in past years?

  • 2020: This is why tuition at top schools shouldn't be reduced
  • 2019: The secret to how to get into HBS
  • 2019: ($) Canceling your GMAT score is a bad idea (plus, how many schools should you apply to?)
  • 2018: ($) Deciding between the U.S. and a good school at home
  • 2018: Our quasi-annual predictions on the coming MBA application season
  • 2017: International student headed to the US for school? DO NOT BREAK THE LAW.
  • 2017: ($) The reality of GMAT scores and top schools. Featuring Darden.
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