MBA院校選擇，取決于你所重視的因素

　　Last time we talked about how assessing your profile will help you choose a realistic list of schools to apply to. Today we’re going to talk about what you are looking for in an MBA program—that is, what’s important to you and what’s not.

　　上次我們談到合理評估自己的情況有助于更為實際地選擇申請院校；這次我們討論的話題是判斷影響你選擇MBA項目的因素的重要性，即明確重要因素及干擾因素。

　　在這里，我們再次建議申請者們在申請初期就親自到目標院校參觀下，這樣會幫助你們明確哪些項目一定要申請，這些項目的哪些方面比較重要，哪些方面不重要。

　　For each of the following categories you should decide what is more or less important to you.

　　接下來我們列出了幾個維度作為參考，申請者需判斷各個維度中各因素的重要性水平。

　　學術方面——該項目的課程結構與教學方法如何？目標項目在該領域的優勢與劣勢是什么？目標項目的性質，是分析型的，技術型的還是實驗型的？國外是否有類似的或更好的選擇？

　　Brand – How important to you is it that your MBA program carries weight with its brand? Do your long-term post-MBA career goals require that you attend a well-known, prestigious program?

　　項目知名度——對你來說，這個MBA項目的知名度有多重要？未來的職業生涯是否要求你必須參加一個頗有名氣的項目？

　　職業服務——這所學校的就業服務是否到位，在多大程度上幫助了在校生和畢業生找到了實習或工作機會？校友之間聯系是否頻繁？畢業生一般是在哪里就業？是你心怡的工作地區嗎？

　　Environment – Are you seeking a small, close-knit community? Does the size of the campus make a difference to you? How important is student diversity to you? What about the ethnic make-up of the faculty? Is your ideal school affiliated with a certain religion? Have you considered whether you’d like a program that’s more conservative or liberal in its political or economic leanings?

　　周邊環境——你是否偏好規模較但治學嚴謹的院校？學校的面積、學生的多樣性、教師們的種族結構對你來說重要么？你是否期望一所信仰某種宗教的學校？你希望所參與的項目在政治或經濟傾向方面是更保守還是更開放？

　　Extracurricular opportunities – Does your target program offer clubs or activities that appeal to you? Are there volunteer opportunities to pursue? What about cultural events or religious resources? Are there groups on campus that support your political views? Will you have the opportunity to start your own club?

　　課外活動——目標項目是否具有吸引你的社團或活動？是否提供從事志愿者服務機會，或者開展文化或宗教方面的活動？在校園中，有沒有一些群體同意你的政治觀點？你有機會成立一個社團么？

　　Geography – Where would you like to pursue your MBA? On your home continent or abroad? If abroad, do you have adequate language skills to succeed in that country? Will you only consider English-speaking programs or English-speaking countries? Would you prefer a rural or urban campus? Do you need to be within a short distance of your home for any reasons (like an ill parent)?

　　地理位置——你打算在哪里攻讀MBA呢，國內還是國外？如果留學，你的語言能力能否滿足學業需要？你是否只考慮英語授課的項目或是以英語為母語的國家？你愿意去郊區的學校嗎？是否有一些特殊的原因（比如父親或母親生病了）令你必須在離家不遠的地方上學？

　　Once you’ve evaluated your qualifications and determined what exactly it is you’re looking for in an MBA program, then you should be ready to draft a list of schools.

　　現在，當你完成對自己入學資格的評估，明確各因素的重要性后，可以開始打草稿了——列出你的目標學校。