The decision process

I thought I'd finish my initial posts with a quick chat about how I came to the decisions that I did on which schools to apply to:

First of all, the easy bit - I knew I wanted to study in the US. I've done some work over there and like the idea of studying there. Plus I like the sound of a 2 year course better than most of the European single year courses. But which schools to choose?

I did make use of the rankings as a start point. My ranking ranking is here:
1. Financial times
Defo considered the authoritative source here in London. The methodology seems pretty comprehensive (although there are flaws). My view is that they are possibly a bit keen to place non-US schools higher up in the ranks!
2. Business Week
As far as I can tell, this one is probably the most authoritative in the US. Has slightly more info on each school than the FT, too.
3. US News
Basically sensible, but I dont hear people talking about it much
4. The Economist
Truly crazy rankings, in comparison to the above sources. This is slightly strange, as otherwise I pretty much consider The Economist as gospel on most subjects. Someone famously said "I don't have an opinion any more, I wait for The Economist to tell me what to think". I know that feeling! The rankings on this one are pretty strange and, as far as I can tell, not generally trusted. However, the fact sheets that go along with the rankings do give some good opinions on the schools.

From the rankings, I narrowed down my target schools to the top 20, and began to dig around their flashy websites a little.

Once I had a feel for each school, I tried to get opinions from as many alums as I could. Discounting the natural bias to always recommend their own school(!), I did get some great advice.

I heartily recommend that everyone asks as many alums as possible. I was given advice on the schools with the best reputation in the sectors that I want to go into post-MBA (This is hard to find out from websites alone - each school says its great at everything!). I was also given advice on the learning style that people think would best suit me - this came from people that know me well.

I think its also good to look at the personality of alums that went to each school, and see how they match with your own personality. I was quite lucky, in that I had contacts from most of the top business schools around. However, where I didnt, I used linked-in and other 'friends of friends' to connect.

Another good way of accessing alums were the school presentations and MBA fairs that came to London. Again, I'm quite lucky that all the top schools tend to take a trip to my home city sometime in the autumn. Yet another unintended consequence of the change in my job situation in the summer was that my plans to visit US schools were cancelled. I therefore had to rely on these tours more than I thought I would.

My last tip for anyone still deciding is to check the stats of the industries that recruit at each school. When job sectors are given as percentages (e.g . "16% technology"), it really does show the different ways that schools can skew.

My decisions:
East coast: NYU, Columbia, Wharton
West coast: Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA

No Harvard, despite the fact its probably got the best global rep. That was a tough decision, but I just dont think its right for me. Equally tough was discounting MIT. However, I know Boston well and am keen to experience a different American city.

Where are you applying, and what tools did you use to make your decision? Comments welcome!