[申请总结] 七条建议给你选择学校（B）

Each school has its own culture. To figure out what this is,it takes talking with several people, in my opinion.

When I say culture, what do I mean? Is the schoolcompetitive among students? Or is it generally a very collaborativeenvironment? Does it have a reputation and tendency to inspire and procureinnovators and entrepreneurial products/companies/ideas? Is it more of acommuter school with less community among students?

I put this towards the bottom of the “tips list” onlybecause I do not think it should be the only determining factor of picking aschool. A lot of yoursuccess in the career search process, is very circumstantial, and depends onmany factors. Many career services have a set of resources for you to use, butthe bottom line is about you being proactive in the search process, just as youare in the admissions application process.

However, what you should be looking at when considering aschool and career prospects, is the industry and/or companies you’re interestedin pursuing for internships and full-time jobs. If a school does not havecertain connections it doesn’t mean you can’t help forage that connection.Since each student who enrolls in a program brings their own social network,sometimes, finding jobs and/or internships can be done through classmates. I always see career services as a facilitator to your success in the job andinternship search process, and thus time in Business School. You can look atthe data, but just because a certain company hired 3 graduates the year before,doesn’t mean they’ll do the same thing two years in a row.

I have strategically saved one of the most important tipsfor the end.  

While there are many MBA and graduate business programs outthere, they’re not all the same. Take the time to look at the program specificsand how it is designed. What are the core classes and competencies you’ll walkaway with? Does the school offer concentrations within the MBA program?Electives? What are some distinguishing factors you can identify for eachschool?

One recurring theme in my chat today is, engage with people.Don't just rely on what you read online. If you see something you like or don'tlike on a forum, the website, or brochure, ask someone about it. In fact, askseveral people about it. Be engage and proactive, and you will certainly feelconfident about your decision.