Kogod/Brandeis/Univ of tennessee.. Pl help...

[sunstorm]

Hi,
I actually have a problem of too many...I am an international student and I have got admits from full time MBA from university of Tennessee, Kogod school of business(American Univ) and Brandeis school of international business. I am confused as to which one to take.. Which one do you suggest and why. ?
To me, Job prospects are the factor of highest concern (along with the campus envi , safety , faculty and stuff. ) cos I will have a huge loan to pay after graduation and cant risk it..

[Graham]

Dear Sunstorm,

Thanks for your post and congratulations on your admission to three MBA programs!

As to your question, you may want to consider campus visits to each program (if you haven't visited already) to get a better sense of your fit with the schools. After all, you will be spending two years (and a lot of money) at one of these programs - so a campus visit could be a worthwhile investment.

Further, if career placement is your primary concern, you should do the following:

1) Think about your first post-MBA job (industry and function). Come up with a list of target companies you might be interested in.

2) Evaluate each program based on their placement stats in your chosen field. You should be able to set up phone calls/meetings with someone from each program's career services office to get the data you need to make this assessment.

3) Keep in mind that location may play a role in this if your target industry happens to be highly concentrated in the Northeast vs. South, etc

4) You might ask the admissions office at each school to put you in touch with 1-2 alums working in your target field so that you can reach out to them and learn more about the program and how they landed their current post, etc.

The truth of the matter is that Brandeis, American (Kogod) and Tennesse are all 'next tier' offerings. This means you will have to do a bit more digging than you might if you were choosing between Kellogg, Chicago and MIT.

Best of luck,

Graham