Career Goals Should Dictate School Choice

By Katherine Ters STAFF WRITER

Once an MBA applicant has a few business schools in mind, what steps should they take to decide which program is best for them? Local experts and graduates agree that looking at the prestige of the business school, considering future career goals and weighing up everyday practicalities should all play a part in the decision.

Stanislav Alexeyev, the managing partner at the recruitment firm THI Selection, said that career goals and expectations should be the most important consideration.

"The reasons for obtaining business education vary greatly from student to student," Alexeyev said. "And, making the wrong choice may cause students to move away from their ultimate goal."

The first thing applicants should consider is whether they can quit their jobs while they do their MBA, he said, adding that St. Petersburg's LETI-Lovanium, or the International School of Management are both good options for full-time students, while the International Management Institute of St. Petersburg (IMISP) had a wide range of evening lecture times.

Tatiana Shved, the director of Andrews Travel House St. Petersburg, obtained her MBA at the International Management Institute of St. Petersburg (IMISP) in 2002. She said that she chose IMISP from its competitors mainly because it had a convenient schedule.

Shved continued to work while she studied her MBA. "Back then, I was going on a lot of business trips and didn't have much time," she said. "So, I was looking for evening and weekend schedules. I was hesitating choosing between IMISP and the Stockholm School of Economics, but Stockholm School offered education in block format, which would have meant I wouldn't have had a life for weeks at a time, and I just wouldn't have been able to do that," she said.

While the times of classes were a practical consideration for Shved, she said that other key factors in her choice of school were: specialization, partner schools, the experience of the teachers and the price.

According to AMBA (the Association of MBAs), one of Europe's top two MBA accreditation organizations, most MBA students combine work and study. If applicants choose to study via distance learning, "tutor groups and good administrative support are vital," the AMBA web site says. It also says that most distance-learning programs require attendance at workshops and residential weekends and take between 3 to 5 years to complete.

The second thing applicants should do is weigh the knowledge and experience they already have with their professional growth expectations, Alexeyev said. "This will help them figure out possible gaps in their knowledge and decide which coursework fits their needs in the best way," Alexeyex continued. "For instance, students can figure whether they need courses that are theory-focused or more practice-oriented," he said.

"They should choose coursework that fits their career goals, whether that be general management or an area of specialization, like finance, HR or marketing," he said.

The reputation of the institution is the most important thing in choosing a business school, according to the AMBA. "Reputation is essentially 'quality,'" the AMBA web site says. "So, check that your MBA program is accredited before making your decision."

The MBA information web site http://www.mba-advice.us.com says that applicants should be extremely careful when they check the reputation of the business school they are considering attending. It says that applicants should: ask in the sector or industry that they are working in how well regarded the program is; check the press and business journals for references to the school; and finally, look at different rankings in the business media.

It does warn, however, that rankings should always be taken with a pinch of salt, because ranking criteria vary considerably in different regions. "In general, anything in the top 75 schools in the world is going to be very good, but the top ten obviously helps," the web site says.

The site also recommends checking that the school has good links with local and international companies and says that applicants should also consider practicalities like the size and culture of the school, the program's content, the quality of the faculty and facilities and the location.

Sergey Kiryukov, the director of the MBA Program at St. Petersburg State University's School of Management advised would-be students of Russian business schools to pay attention to the following factors.

First, he says applicants should become familiar with the curriculum of the program to check for conformity to state standards. Second, he recommends checking the entrance tests, because they are a sign of the standard of the program. Third, he says applicants should visit the school and meet the teachers.

Finally, Kiryukov recommends that applicants speak to current students of the program and the program's graduates.

"The presence of an association of graduates is the sign of a high-level business school," he said. "MBA applicants should keep in mind that the base of graduates will be the applicant's future business contacts."

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