What is “fit”? The best way to answer this question is to go back to your self-assessment results. Hopefully, you’ve gotten a sense of what your personal and professional needs are, and know yourself well enough to make selections from a diverse array of program options. How do you learn best? Are you more entrepreneurial or do you prefer to follow a structured pathway? Have you already taken the foundation courses at an earlier point in your career? Once you’ve addressed these types of questions, you should identify what are the most important factors in making your school choices (location, size, curriculum structure, brand recognition, etc.) and rank them accordingly.
Once you’ve done this, it is time to move on to selecting your set of schools. You might start with a slightly larger group of schools should the issue of enrolling next fall be more important than a particular school choice. While there is only one MBA degree, no two MBA programs are the same. From curriculum structures to size and location, each program is unique in its blend of resources across a continuum of options.
For example, let’s compare core curriculums across two ends of the spectrum, flexible versus fixed (Booth and Harvard Business School). At Booth you will have the opportunity to select courses based on the level, faculty or teaching method and at the time of day, year or location of your preference (of course provided you successfully bid for them). Our curriculum structure covers the foundation courses, functions, management and the business environment. Chicago, however, provides you the flexibility to choose from a menu of options based on your background and aspirations. At the opposite end of the continuum is HBS which has a fully fixed core during your first year with all courses taught via the case-method. Both programs have specific reasons for their structure, which is why there are so many types of programs from which to choose. If you expand this analysis across the many other options (general management vs. concentrations, size, location, etc.), there can be any number of variations available to you.
Do your research! There are many resources available to you to do your research once you have prioritized your selection factors -- rankings, school and consulting websites, visiting campuses, or talking to students and alumni from these programs. Once you’ve figured out your set of schools, try to answer why you feel that particular school’s features meets your needs for an MBA from both a personal and professional perspective. Then figure out where you see yourself contributing to that community. In summary, knowing yourself and articulating how a particular school suits your needs is the essence of fit. | 
