I know when I was looking at different business schools I looked at all the rankings from US News and Business Week. I also recall thinking that a school ranked number one was the best and #7 was better than #8. The thing I realize now is the rankings are not that relevant because the rankings try to measure objectively something that is a very subjective experience.
Money Magazine recently conducted a poll on the best place to live focusing on small cities. They looked at crime, housing prices, employment and the #1 ranking was awarded to Eden Prairie, MN. #2 was Columbia, MD. I can guarantee you the residents of Columbia do not think to themselves that they should move to Minnesota so they can live in the #1 ranked town. Objective rankings can't capture things like the type of people that live there, climate preference, employment industry preference and lifestyle preference.
It is the same thing with the MBA program. A lot of it cannot be captured in a poll. To me here is what is important when considering schools:
Faculty: All the top schools will have amazing faculty. Find out if they are more focused on research or teaching and what they are like in the classroom. How accessible are they outside the classroom?
Classmates: Some schools are more competitive and some are more collaborative. Find what fits better with your personality.
Size of the school: This can vary a lot and it impacts your experience. Keep in mind larger schools have more alumni but also more current students. I have found that although we don't have as many alumni as other schools they are incredibly dedicated.
Understand how the "Core" is set up: Some schools require a full year of required courses and some only require a semester. Take the time to learn in depth how the program is structured.
Recruiting: Top companies have a core set of MBA schools that they recruit from. If you work for a McKinsey, Goldman, Google or any other large firm ask them where they hire from and that will give you a good sense of what schools you might want to target. Schools will also have a tilt. MIT has a lot of MBAs focused on tech so we probably have more tech companies coming than other schools. That being said, if a company doesn't come to campus, you can still network your way in.
The best way to assess these areas is to talk to current students or alumni and visit the campus, although I understand visiting is not always possible depending on distance. I hope people to come to Sloan, but I don't want people coming here because they see we are #3 in the US News Rankings. Come here because you like the people and the culture, and everything that is not captured in the ranking.
