So you've decided upon an undergraduate degree in business. Excellent choice! Sorry to say, but that might have been the easy part. Now you have to figure out where to apply. And, if you've already applied, and had multiple acceptances, you have to decide which one to choose?
There are a lot of factors to consider. Have you thought it all through? We might be able to help. To start, I'm sure you want to attend the top school available to you. But how do you decide this? You can draw upon undergraduate business school rankings. When you think about it a bit deeper, though, it turns out to be not quite so simple a process.
Take an example: are you clear what the term business means to you? It's actually a pretty big tent, as umbrella phrases go. What about all those sub-disciplines? Not every school offers the same options. If you arrive, and early on get enthused about specializing in marketing or global supply chain management, what if the school you selected either hasn't got a specialized stream in that or they offer it, but the industry considers it a weak program? What do you do then? Transfer to another school? Settle for studying something that doesn't interest or excite you?
Well, there are a couple options to consider. First, if you know in advance what areas of business studies you want to specialize in, there's no reason to choose a school that offers a full menu of options. That your school offers specializations in real estate, quantitative analysis, information systems and insurance does you no good if the marketing program you'll be in is considered rather pedestrian in the field. If you know what you want to do, get yourself to the school that does best what you want to learn.
There is though the contrary scenario to consider. What if you haven't yet identified a specialization? If you haven't or you're ambivalent about your direction, it may be smarter to look at a large menu, multi-options school. It will provide you a good sampling of different options. Furthermore, should you wind up deciding your initial choice wasn't quite right, the costs of switching specializations are much less in such a situation. It's a lot easier than changing schools, and likely cities, to be able to do a little paper work and start going to the classroom down the hallway.
And in like-manner, the truth is, whatever your thoughts about business school at the moment, unless you're absolutely certain of the choice, you'd hardly be history's first undergrad to switch major mid-course. In that scenario, the logic from above applies and maybe even more so. Attending a larger university, with many more disciplines, will cover your options much better if you suddenly fall in love with economics, engineering or mathematics, etc.
One other thing you might consider when ranking your business school options: there may be some cultural romance associate with brick and mortar colleges, with the ivy and all. But, if you know what you want to do, an online degree may be the wiser option. It certainly can save you a lot of money. And, interestingly, the sophisticated tools for online group cooperative work that they have available perhaps even better prepares you for the types of skills and technologies that make the modern global economy run.
It's important, when considering the rankings of undergraduate business schools not to fixate too intently on the winner of the gold star as determined by the ranking organization. As we've seen, there's a lot more to consider than who is slotted number one on any particular undergraduate business school rankings. Remember, above all, we're talking about your education. Information should be a tool, not a harness; make the choice that works for you and your needs.
There are a lot of factors to consider. Have you thought it all through? We might be able to help. To start, I'm sure you want to attend the top school available to you. But how do you decide this? You can draw upon undergraduate business school rankings. When you think about it a bit deeper, though, it turns out to be not quite so simple a process.
Take an example: are you clear what the term business means to you? It's actually a pretty big tent, as umbrella phrases go. What about all those sub-disciplines? Not every school offers the same options. If you arrive, and early on get enthused about specializing in marketing or global supply chain management, what if the school you selected either hasn't got a specialized stream in that or they offer it, but the industry considers it a weak program? What do you do then? Transfer to another school? Settle for studying something that doesn't interest or excite you?
Well, there are a couple options to consider. First, if you know in advance what areas of business studies you want to specialize in, there's no reason to choose a school that offers a full menu of options. That your school offers specializations in real estate, quantitative analysis, information systems and insurance does you no good if the marketing program you'll be in is considered rather pedestrian in the field. If you know what you want to do, get yourself to the school that does best what you want to learn.
There is though the contrary scenario to consider. What if you haven't yet identified a specialization? If you haven't or you're ambivalent about your direction, it may be smarter to look at a large menu, multi-options school. It will provide you a good sampling of different options. Furthermore, should you wind up deciding your initial choice wasn't quite right, the costs of switching specializations are much less in such a situation. It's a lot easier than changing schools, and likely cities, to be able to do a little paper work and start going to the classroom down the hallway.
And in like-manner, the truth is, whatever your thoughts about business school at the moment, unless you're absolutely certain of the choice, you'd hardly be history's first undergrad to switch major mid-course. In that scenario, the logic from above applies and maybe even more so. Attending a larger university, with many more disciplines, will cover your options much better if you suddenly fall in love with economics, engineering or mathematics, etc.
One other thing you might consider when ranking your business school options: there may be some cultural romance associate with brick and mortar colleges, with the ivy and all. But, if you know what you want to do, an online degree may be the wiser option. It certainly can save you a lot of money. And, interestingly, the sophisticated tools for online group cooperative work that they have available perhaps even better prepares you for the types of skills and technologies that make the modern global economy run.
It's important, when considering the rankings of undergraduate business schools not to fixate too intently on the winner of the gold star as determined by the ranking organization. As we've seen, there's a lot more to consider than who is slotted number one on any particular undergraduate business school rankings. Remember, above all, we're talking about your education. Information should be a tool, not a harness; make the choice that works for you and your needs.
About the Author:
Thomas Ryerson is a regular contributor to the blog, Undergraduate Business School Rankings, click here.
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