Demand for places at the best business schools keeps growing every year. Rosemaria Martinelli, former Director of Admissions at The Wharton School reports that applications have increased by 30% in the last few years. The Wharton School receives over 15 completed applications for each of the 780 places available. Of these, students from outside the US take up approximately 350 places. London Business School and INSEAD receive over 10 applications for every place available and also report demand increasing by over 15%
per annum.
Thinking about an MBA Qualification
With such intense competition for MBA places, I hope that some of my experiences can be of assistance in helping people to think about where to apply.
When I first started to consider taking an MBA myself, I was in my early twenties, working as a consultant in London. I knew that I did not want to remain a consultant for life, but rather wanted to run my own business, or have a role that would allow me great autonomy. I had read about the MBA qualification whilst at University and decided that I would like to have a professional qualification that could help me fulfil these career objectives.
My advice to anyone thinking about taking an MBA to change career, is to undertake a self-analysis of why you wish to study for the qualification and what your objectives will be. The first thing to do when considering business school is to try to narrow down the types of career you might like to pursue, balanced by a realistic self-assessment of your current abilities and skills base. Examine your motives carefully. Determining where you want to work after your studies should be a major part of this process.
Why ask these questions first? For practical reasons, most application forms ask for your career aspirations and want to see a clear, cogent explanation of where you want to be in the future, and why that school can help you get there. For example, if you think you want to become a management consultant or an investment banker with starting salaries of over US$90,000, there are only 50 or 60 international business schools, of which 50% are in the US, where these companies actively recruit.
How much time can I realistically invest in an MBA? What can I afford to pay?
Once I had decided to take an MBA, I had to decide on my budget. MBAs are not cheap!
The standard period for an international full time MBA in the US is two years. Schools like Wharton, Harvard and Stanford cost approximately US$34,000 for tuition per annum. In Europe, London Business School offers a two-year programme, whereas IMD, INSEAD, Cranfield, Warwick and other leading programmes are one year. In Europe, the annual cost of an MBA can be as little as US$9000 or as much as US$42,000 for tuition, with books and living expenses a further cost.
However financial aid opportunities exist that can make the most expensive programmes affordable. Scholarships are offered by a variety of organisations, and many local banks offer low start loans for the period of your study. I was also aware that many companies pay back the tuition fees of an MBA qualification in the form of a ‘sign-on’ bonus. I managed to receive some partial sponsorship from my previous employer, but still had to pay for much of the course through a bank loan. I was confident I could find a job afterwards that would repay the cost of even the most expensive MBA programmes. So I applied to the schools that I felt were the most prestigious and which also offered strong ‘entrepreneurship’ faculty.
I would advise candidates to make realistic estimates of their earnings potential post-MBA to judge what they can afford. MBA salaries in Latin America, Central Europe and some parts of Asia are well below US salary levels, though when taking into account cost of living, MBAs are often better-off even at these lower salary levels. On average, in Central Europe, the pre-MBA salary for an MBA is US$20,000 and the post-MBA starting salary is US$49,000. On average in Latin America, the pre-MBA salary is US$27,000 and post-MBA starting salary is US$51,000. On average in Asia, the pre-MBA salary is US$35,000 and post-MBA starting salary is US$69,000. The salaries in the US and UK are significantly higher, with the average pre-MBA salary across these two regions being US$42,000 and the post-MBA starting salary being US$78,000. Any one with a strong academic background, blue-chip work experience and a commitment to work hard, will find that an MBA qualification will pay back within three to four years of completion.
Part-time and distance learning MBA study are also serious alternatives. Over 35,000 people are now using distance learning for an MBA or similar diploma with institutions outside the US and a further 60,000 are using US institutions. An estimated 30,000 people are studying part-time. This approach is popular because it avoids the need to leave your employment during your study period, and allows you to live at home. For those not seeking an international experience, this is a sensible option. Average costs for distance learning vary from US$7,000 to US$35,000 spread over three to eight years. Within the Distance Learning arena, the schools most often referenced by HR Directors in The MBA Career Guide research include: Aston, Durham, Henley, Heriot-Watt, Manchester Business School Worldwide, Open Business School, Strathclyde, Warwick (listed in alphabetical order). By contrast US distance learning providers tend to target a less well educated domestic US audience.
How to choose the right school?
How does anyone about to embark on one of the major personal investments in their lifetime make a decision (certainly more important than buying a house because it will affect your stream of income for the rest of your life)?
There are many rankings that claim to demonstrate which are the best business schools. Every ranking contains weaknesses. More importantly, each ranking uses criteria that may be vastly different from the needs and interests of the individual reader. When I chose to attend The Wharton School, I rejected offers from schools that were more highly ranked at that time, in the late 1980s. Instead, I focused on the strength of the school in the fields of entrepreneurship and finance, the two areas of greatest interest to me. I was also attracted by the numerous alumni from the school whom I met during the interview process and at the fairs I attended. These factors combined with a strong reputation were enough for me.
Today Wharton is one of the best-ranked schools, but not everyone should aim to study there. There are forty or fifty other schools that offer an excellent international MBA, and many more local schools with excellent networks into their local business community. In addition, with such strong demand for places at the top schools, you must be realistic about the probability of gaining a place. Targeting schools just outside the top tier, will significantly improve your chance of being offered a place.
I recommend that a systematic process should be adopted for selecting a business school. I recommend the following factors should be considered:
1. International reputation: Reputation amongst recruiters is an indicator of the quality of a programme.
2. Reputation locally: How the school is regarded by employers in the country in which one wishes to work is clearly significant.
3. Flexibility and convenience: How does the programme to meet your personal requirements: Part-time, one year etc.
4. Areas of specialisation: E.g. entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, technology.
5. Profile of participants: Average age, educational background, work experience, languages required.
What are the next steps for MBA Applicants?
I hope that the detailed profiles of over 200 business schools within The MBA Career Guide, combined with the opportunity to meet and interview with top schools at the World MBA Tour, will provide sufficient insight to help the most discerning and analytical MBA candidate make an informed choice.
• The MBA Career Guide (www.topmba.com) – compares and contrasts key facts about 200 different MBA programmes: costs, specialisations, entry requirements, reputation etc. The Guide is available at all World MBA Tour fairs.
• Global 100 Business Schools Research – asks MBA recruiters to identify the schools they target for MBA recruitment. This helps identify the 80 most popular schools in the US and Europe as well as the 20 most popular schools in Australasia and Latin America. In addition a detailed report on MBA salaries, recruitment trends and school specialisations is provided. The report costs US$12 and can be ordered on the web site www.topmba.com/bookstore/ or at The Fairs.
• WORLD MBA TOUR 2006. One of the best ways to choose the right school is to actually meet with Admissions officers. Admissions offices of over 200 US, UK, European, Asian, Australian and Latin American schools visit cities around the world, as part of the World MBA Tour. Cranfield School of Management says, “Schools rely on MBA fairs to reach the growing international audience, and for candidate and school alike, this remains the most important tool in the application process”. Rose Martinelli, Admissions Director of The Wharton School agrees: “…these fairs are well organised and attract the types of candidates we seek.” Venue dates and registration details are available on www.topmba.com.
Source: www.TopMBA.com