4. Which program, what format and where?



Once you have worked out your personal and career objectives, you would be provided with a focus that you can use for which type of MBA program and which courses you want. Should you wish to become a strategy consultant on graduation, then the program content, the school you go to and its reputation will need to go towards achieving your goal.
MBA programs last from between one year for the shortest full-time course to five years for the longest part-time course. All programs that you take will involve a major time commitment. You must make sure you could give that commitment.

Then you should look at the type of MBA program and the course content and work out if it matches your needs. The first MBA program that was ever created was a full time course where the student needed to attend business school every day and most of the courses were compulsory. MBA programs are victim of their own practice. Today in order to satisfy different market segments and to differentiate themselves from competitions in this profitable business (“Business Education”), schools propose a vast variety of format, size and location:

Format
  • The Two Year MBA programs take place over two academic years (18 months) and are consider the norm in North America. The two-year programs are usually four semesters, spread over two academic years, with a three- or four-month break for an internship. The first year includes core courses required of all MBAs. The second year allows for functional specialization (a specific concentration of study and elective courses). Students enter with a reasonable amount of prior real-world work experience and take classes during weekdays like other university students.
  • The Accelerated MBA programs are a variation of the two year programs. They involve a higher course load and less "down time" during the program and between semesters, for example, with one rather than three to four weeks vacation between semesters.
  • The Part-Time MBA programs normally hold classes on weekday evenings, after normal working hours. Part-time MBA programs are designed for working professionals. They usually last three years or more and target working professionals, who take a light course load for a longer period of time until the graduation requirements are met.
  • The Executive MBA (E-MBA) programs have been developed to meet the educational needs of managers and executives, allowing students to earn an MBA in two years or less while working full time. Executive MBA (EMBA) programs are geared toward enhancing the careers of working executives, many of whom are company sponsored. These programs are for professionals who are already specialists in a field or industry and need to hone their general management skills to continue up the corporate ladder. EMBA participant typically have a higher level of work experience (often over 10 years), and come from every type and size of organization (profit, nonprofit, government), and vast a variety of industries. In response to the increasing number of EMBA programs offered, The Executive MBA Council was formed in 1981 to advance executive education.
  • The Distance Learning MBA programs hold classes off-campus. These programs can be offered in a number of different formats: correspondence courses by postal mail or email, non-interactive broadcast video, pre-recorded video, live teleconference or videoconference, offline or online computer courses. Check school's accreditation before undertaking distance learning coursework.
  • The Dual MBA programs combine MBA degree with others (such as an MS or a J.D., etc) to let students cut costs (dual programs usually cost less than pursuing 2 degrees separately), save time on education and to tailor the business education courses to their needs.



Location
One of the most important benefits in doing an MBA is the network you gain as soon as you cross the entrance door. And most of the time the most diverse, and dense network is from the city the MBA was tough. Therefore, the only thing you have to keep in mind while choosing the location of your MBA program is where is the Alumni Network most dense. If Europe is the place you want to work in, you better choose a European school. If US is the place you want to work in, you better choose an American school. If you are sure you want to leave in Vancouver and not move out the place, you better choose the local MBA in UBC instead of any other school, even over a more prestigious school in the US/Europe.

Only a handful number of schools (maybe 2 or 3) have a star power and could outcast temporally any local MBA. Which one are these … check the next post. Although I am too sure about that anymore.

Choose the school where you want to work after!


Where to get information on MBA programs?

  • The best place to start your research about MBA is certainly the Business Week business school web portal. It is very detail and well updated on regular basis. It also gives you applications deadlines, and most importantly some real feedback from participants in the forum section and blogs directory (personal favorite).
  • Among all the great things that Accepted is running, the best functionality is probably the online chat with various admission committee members are doing on regular basis.
  • Clear Admit has been in the MBA admission business (and yes, it’s a very lucrative business) for quite a long time. The site has a well deserve and important web traffic due to its clear, detail and pertinent comments on each program. Recently Clear Admit took advantage of the Wiki technology to enhance the ongoing dialogue between past applicants and future candidates. The Wiki is intended to serve as a repository of information learned by applicants as they progress through the MBA admissions process.
  • Getting into a Top 5 MBA is a document that has been prepared by a group of graduates of various top US business schools, now working for an international strategy consulting firm. It is intended as an information resource for people who are considering applying to business school.
  • Which MBA online had a lot of controversy and should be taken with a pinch of salt.
  • You might have to face the difficult reality of getting an US Visa or to have to deal with US immigration, and you might want to check your position before starting the full battle.
  • Kennedy Research report on Strategy consulting firms....might be interesting reading.
  • On the Canadian MBA: Ivey is unarguably the most prestigious and well-known name, Harvard of Canada, the strongest alumni network of all, the best school for GM/Consulting, low cost of living in London (Ontario) BUT has a reputation of having a poor career services and poor quantitative skills. Rotman is the most prestigious school for Finance, location advantage, perhaps the best faculty BUT doesn't prepare candidates very well for Consulting. Queens is a 1 yr, good visibility in Canada BUT the class very different from other schools because of the science and tech background requirement and thus lacks the diversity that a typical program should have. York has a good value for money very high due to very low cost BUT no other advantage as such. McGill is cheap. Number of applications for the full-time MBA in 2004: York (1367); Rotman (1110), McGill (674), Ivey (580) and Queens (313)
  • Infozee is a very detail web site to crawl through to get a good general sense of what a MBA could be.
  • Personal MBA will help you as well to get in, stay in and get out of Grad School.
  • Foreign MBA was originally designed by foreign MBA students to help all non-U.S. citizens in pursuing their goals through an MBA it has grown into an independent online resources for everything related to the MBA
  • MBA Info is the a comprehensive MBA program database, containing details of 2,400 MBA programs, from more than 1,000 universities, Business Schools & Management Colleges, throughout 100’s countries.
  • MBA Global Net is a global business network for MBA professionals and a proven recruiting resource for corporations and start-ups.
  • MBA Depot is a free online community that aims to ease information overload and provide networking and collaboration opportunities for MBAs and like-minded individuals.
  • Whitefield Consulting Worldwide is a management consultancy specializing in business education, careers, and recruitment. The firm operates and runs the mba4success Business Education News Network.
  • MBA Association is also a comprehensive and growing MBA portal, offering a multitude of information and services, including career management, discussion forums, articles and downloads.
  • The Official MBA Guide - Search the comprehensive database to find vital information on MBA programs that best meet your graduate education needs, and rank programs on criteria important to you.
  • The mission at MBA Prep Advantage is to ensure that you receive a thick envelope indicating acceptance into your top MBA school
  • MBA is the Graduate Management Admission Council's Web site, and it's a great place to get consistent, useful information about M.B.A. programs. It also has great advice on choosing the right school and career
  • MBA Jungle has for mission to inform, entertain and provide tools to master the GMAT
  • STUDYlink MBA Worldwide, is the only website that is fully endorsed by The Association of MBAs and is its official online supplier of information about MBA opportunities.
  • The MBA Career Service Council (MBA CSC) - A global association for graduate management career professionals.
  • MBA Zone is an online community and complete resource for all phases of the MBA experience.
  • MBA Buzz plot out MBA applicants by school, and organize them by round, status, age, GPA, etc. Each data point is clickable and will take you to the user profile
  • Business Finance Magazine proposes online solutions for finance executives.
  • Family Business Magazine is a Family Business, founded in 1989, is the magazine published for and about family-owned companies.
  • The MBA Association of Germany meet the Intellectual Capital, in German language.
  • Characteristics of the Top Business Schools: Applying to multiple schools can be a daunting task, and everyone should have a backup plan in case they don't get into their first choice. Here are some guidelines for analyzing the differences between the top programs, based on interviews with graduates of nearly 20 top US business schools.
  • John put together 2 pages to translate in plain English the Jargon learn at an MBA school
    Business Administration (MBA) Graduate School Directory
  • Are you wondering how many MBA applicants have been accepted, waitlisted, or dinged (rejected) by top U.S. business schools? Admissions411.com can find out in running some stats by school and by candidates.
  • Official MBA Guide runs by an American unicorn.
  • Business Week Forum, Student Wharton Forum, Chicago GSB Forum and Yale Forum could be a very interesting source to discover the school of your dream.

Blogs

  • MBA blogs aggregator, MBA League, is place where you can spend also many hours surfing through the personal life of the MBA student of your choice.
  • Full MBA experience from a Ross graduate in a Blog, with an interesting on what differentiate Ross from other schools
  • This article appeared in the Stanford MBA Admissions Newsletter, and is useful both in terms of understanding the perspective of one of their Admissions Officers and in gaining more intimate knowledge of the program and its character.
  • It’s quite rare to have a Blog from an HAAS MBA student, have a pick at Chunky Pitbull's, an MBA blog, submitted at the last minute in 2004. Otherwise if you want some information about the Berkeley school of Management, email the Haas Student Ambassadors (hsa@haas.berkeley.edu) and ask them to put you in touch with a current student.
  • Doing an MBA is a decision that has to be done carefully and Christian Schraga blog did a good job at pointing out some of the flows of doing an expensive education.
  • Over a period of ten months (8/2002 - 6/2003), Tad Holbie had maintained a detail Blog of his business school application experiences. Having been admitted to Ross Business School, I am sure that his story could help those who are in the process of applying to business school, in providing a sense of the process, timing, and difficulties involved at each step.
  • Another fellow who detailed his journey whom I recommend to read is Dave. I don’t know where or if he did an MBA, but his blog is definitely a place that source of lot of information about Business Education.

Association

  • TopMBA.com is a global career and education network providing the platform for educators and employers to target meet and select the best qualified candidates from around the world.
  • TheMBATour.com is a great place to received key insights into the application process and was able to network with admission representatives and alumni. It was founded in 1993 and has hosted more than 165 MBA events in 28 countries.
  • The MBA Global Career Forum organized every year an online event.

Books