Got offers from Cranfield and Warwick, conditional from Henley and still waiting from Bath and Lancaster. Can say I decided to go to Cranfield, but still want to double check what other forum members think about Cranfield and other schools.
The reasons for Cranfield so far are the following. Cranfield for almost 10 years keeps very good reputation among almost all MBA ranking organisations. It has the highest employment rate among the schools I mentioned and the salary growth is very good. I was told during interview that Cranfield MBA had more career development officers than in Careers Service of Cranfield University. Cranfield MBA Careers Service is one of the best in the UK, at least it has the best recruitment results in the world among business schools of similar quality. GMat score among applicants is high, work experience is also high, so the environment to learn from fellow students is very good. Cranfield recruits a lot of full-time MBA students, therefore it can maintain good facilities, I did not hear any complaints from current students on limited facilities there. Reputation among recruitment agencies and MBA graduates from other schools is very high about Cranfield school. Cranfield likes to mention that Harvard Business School does almost all its European activities through Cranfield. Cranfield consistently improved its ranking for the last 12 years. It is relatively well known abroad. Living facilities are really good and reasonably priced. Tuition fees are high.
The reason why I still consider other business schools is the following:
Warwick - when I started thinking about doing MBA 12 years ago, Warwick was almost as well ranked as London Business School. Well, Oxford and Cambridge did not have MBA courses then, and Cranfield was behind Warwick. Fees are reasonable. Facilities are excellent, lecturers are great, but I have a feeling Cranfield has similarly good lecturers. GMat score, number and age of full-time MBA students in Warwick is lower than in Cranfield. When I asked MBA graduate recruitment agencies, I was told Cranfield and Warwick were the best business schools from this list. Even in time of economic depression, Warwick managed to improve the employability of their graduates. This is because they paid a lot of attention to career development part of the course. However, I was told a few times by MBA graduates from other business schools that Warwick now is not what it used to be. Accommodation facilities are great, but expensive.
Henley - my friend who does distance learning in Henley is not that impressed by the course, though he struggles. Another friend of mine graduated from this school and found a very good job. During interview I was told that 100% of MBA graduates found jobs within 6 months from graduation. Various forums and other friends of mine mention Henley as very reputable school. It does not require GMat score (because you can beat it
), but work experience is really important. School itself is located in excellent place, school's building is beautiful (similar to Ashridge, Cambridge or Oxford). Average are of students is quite high, i.e. a lot of experience. High tuition fees, cannot live near to school, but I was told that some students commuted almost 100 miles every day to school without much problem (students in all other schools told me I would not have time for anything, this is because Henley tries to develops your management skills based on your previous knowledge, it does not try to push information into you all the time, I do not know how good it is).
Bath - good location, relatively cheap course, I can commute there from home. My both employing companies had managers who did MBA there and therefore praised the school highly. Career service is poor though, but i suspect this is because many organisations send their own employees there and want to get them back after graduation, therefore there is really no need for Career Service.
Lancaster - good ranking by FT and some other MBA ranking organisations. Reasonable fees. I read it has excellent facilities. While average age of full-time MBA students is less than in many other schools, GMat score among students is high. What I am concerned about is that it does not have high reputation among recruiters, the number of employed MBA students after graduation is quite low compared to other business schools and the Career Service does not have good reputation.
For the reasons above I think Cranfield seems the best option as long as I can afford it. I read some topics where people say that Cranfield is good at marketing, Warwick in Operational Management etc, but I think it is over-simplification. Cranfield has much more full-time MBA students than Warwick, Lancaster or Bath, perhaps 4 times of Henley's full-time students. When you have so many students, it is almost a supermarket of MBA degrees with many electives so that you could tailor the course to your interests. I am thinking to go to business consultancy, but I was already told many times by MBA students that you frequently change your career objectives during the course, therefore it is good to have a General MBA. And all these business schools, to my knowledge, provide General MBA.
So, what do you think? Which business school is the best option?
I also would like to say an advice of one of my MBA friends - be careful going to the best business school. Yes, you will have a great career and fantastic salary, but you may not have time for family life. I read statistics confirming this point, and this does concern me.
Thanks.
The reasons for Cranfield so far are the following. Cranfield for almost 10 years keeps very good reputation among almost all MBA ranking organisations. It has the highest employment rate among the schools I mentioned and the salary growth is very good. I was told during interview that Cranfield MBA had more career development officers than in Careers Service of Cranfield University. Cranfield MBA Careers Service is one of the best in the UK, at least it has the best recruitment results in the world among business schools of similar quality. GMat score among applicants is high, work experience is also high, so the environment to learn from fellow students is very good. Cranfield recruits a lot of full-time MBA students, therefore it can maintain good facilities, I did not hear any complaints from current students on limited facilities there. Reputation among recruitment agencies and MBA graduates from other schools is very high about Cranfield school. Cranfield likes to mention that Harvard Business School does almost all its European activities through Cranfield. Cranfield consistently improved its ranking for the last 12 years. It is relatively well known abroad. Living facilities are really good and reasonably priced. Tuition fees are high.
The reason why I still consider other business schools is the following:
Warwick - when I started thinking about doing MBA 12 years ago, Warwick was almost as well ranked as London Business School. Well, Oxford and Cambridge did not have MBA courses then, and Cranfield was behind Warwick. Fees are reasonable. Facilities are excellent, lecturers are great, but I have a feeling Cranfield has similarly good lecturers. GMat score, number and age of full-time MBA students in Warwick is lower than in Cranfield. When I asked MBA graduate recruitment agencies, I was told Cranfield and Warwick were the best business schools from this list. Even in time of economic depression, Warwick managed to improve the employability of their graduates. This is because they paid a lot of attention to career development part of the course. However, I was told a few times by MBA graduates from other business schools that Warwick now is not what it used to be. Accommodation facilities are great, but expensive.
Henley - my friend who does distance learning in Henley is not that impressed by the course, though he struggles. Another friend of mine graduated from this school and found a very good job. During interview I was told that 100% of MBA graduates found jobs within 6 months from graduation. Various forums and other friends of mine mention Henley as very reputable school. It does not require GMat score (because you can beat it
), but work experience is really important. School itself is located in excellent place, school's building is beautiful (similar to Ashridge, Cambridge or Oxford). Average are of students is quite high, i.e. a lot of experience. High tuition fees, cannot live near to school, but I was told that some students commuted almost 100 miles every day to school without much problem (students in all other schools told me I would not have time for anything, this is because Henley tries to develops your management skills based on your previous knowledge, it does not try to push information into you all the time, I do not know how good it is).Bath - good location, relatively cheap course, I can commute there from home. My both employing companies had managers who did MBA there and therefore praised the school highly. Career service is poor though, but i suspect this is because many organisations send their own employees there and want to get them back after graduation, therefore there is really no need for Career Service.
Lancaster - good ranking by FT and some other MBA ranking organisations. Reasonable fees. I read it has excellent facilities. While average age of full-time MBA students is less than in many other schools, GMat score among students is high. What I am concerned about is that it does not have high reputation among recruiters, the number of employed MBA students after graduation is quite low compared to other business schools and the Career Service does not have good reputation.
For the reasons above I think Cranfield seems the best option as long as I can afford it. I read some topics where people say that Cranfield is good at marketing, Warwick in Operational Management etc, but I think it is over-simplification. Cranfield has much more full-time MBA students than Warwick, Lancaster or Bath, perhaps 4 times of Henley's full-time students. When you have so many students, it is almost a supermarket of MBA degrees with many electives so that you could tailor the course to your interests. I am thinking to go to business consultancy, but I was already told many times by MBA students that you frequently change your career objectives during the course, therefore it is good to have a General MBA. And all these business schools, to my knowledge, provide General MBA.
So, what do you think? Which business school is the best option?
I also would like to say an advice of one of my MBA friends - be careful going to the best business school. Yes, you will have a great career and fantastic salary, but you may not have time for family life. I read statistics confirming this point, and this does concern me.
Thanks.
