Getting an MBA is something you don’t’ decide on casually. It can eat up most of your waking time (and some of your sleep) and it can plug a hole in your pocket large enough for an elephant to pass through with enough room to spare.

You don’t take it because everybody else is taking it. You take it because it is an investment. And like any other investment, it must be anchored not on hope that things will come out as expected but by a specific ROI (return of investment).

An ROI? Yes, my dear John. And there are sites (finaid.org) to help you determine how much loan to take out and its estimated ROI.

Loan sources you can avail of:

Now that you have an estimate of the money you need to take you through your MBA, the next big question is, “Where will I get the money?”

Unless you have a rich aunt who is fond of you, chances are your MBA aspirations will be financed by any of the three:

1.      Interest-free loans from charities and universities:

These are very limited loan opportunities and often come with conditions that may not be suitable to you – very much like foreign aid that can squeeze a recipient country bone-dry.

This is good as it spares you the burden of interest payments and your payments are used by the donor to finance the MBA aspirations of other students.

On the downside, this sometimes require extensive essays and interviews to qualify, they require adults of good standing to co-make the loans, payment is often immediate and there is no forgiveness for non-payment

2.      Federal loans:

Roughly 70% of student loans are funded by the government. Application is easy. All you have to do is visit FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and apply either online or the traditional paper application (fafsa.ed.gov).

Once done, you can choose from any of the best (cheapest) federal grad student loans (usnews.com):

-     Perkins loans:

This is the cheapest loan available only to students belonging to the low-income group. They can get $8,000/yr at an interest rate of 5%. This interest is not charged while the student is still in school.

There is a lifetime limit of $40,000 and even those with bad credits can take out a Perkins loan provide they haven’t defaulted on any previously granted federal loans.

The downside is that some b schools don’t have sufficient Perkins dollars to cater to all applicants.

-     Subsidized Stafford loans

This is the second cheapest MBA student loan and is granted to students which, based on analysis of their FAFSA application, need help in their tuition fees.

The interest rate is 6.8% and 1 percentage point service fee. The loanable amount is $8,500 per year. It is called “subsidized” because the loan is interest-free while the student is in school.

The money is paid directly to the student allowing them to get the full amount and go to the school of their choice.

As in the Perkins loan, students with bad credit can still take aStaffordloan provided they haven’t defaulted on any previous federal study loans.

-     Unsubsidized Stafford loans:

This loan type is available to all MBA students regardless of income provided he/she is a legalU.S.resident and has not defaulted on previous federal study loan.

Loanable amount is capped at $20,500/yer, $138,500 over a lifetime. Interest rate is 6.8% with 1 percentage point service fee.

This is called unsubsidized because the interest continues to accrue while the student is in school. He/she doesn’t have to make payments while enrolled at least half time (two courses or six credits per semester).

The loaned amount is also released directly to the student, hence, they get the full amount and enroll in the b school of their choice.

Just as in the other federal loans, students with bad credit can still take out a loan provided they have not defaulted on any previous study loans.

-     Grad Plus

When all the loan packages have been availed of and money is still a problem, you can avail of this loan to take care of other basic living expenses like transportation, child care, etc.

Interest rate for Grad Plus is 7.9% with 4 percentage points in fees. It is paid directly to the student, hence, they get the full amount and the choice of b school to go to.

Applying, however, includes a credit check. So students with bad credit, defaulted student loans, and other financial woes, generally are not given the Grad Plus.

3.      Employer sponsorship:

This is probably the best way to finance an MBA, purely from the financial standpoint. It can be 100% sponsorship or soft loans.

I know of a company that condones all expenses provided the student passes all subjects of the entire course.

Oftentimes, company sponsorship is tied in with its succession planning making it unavailable to employees outside of a pool planned to go up in the organizational ladder. In very rare cases, sponsored employees are made to sign a contract to stay with the company a number of years after completing the course.

MBA aspirants must carefully assess the method of financing his/her studies. it is not rare to see students with very heavy debt burdens after graduation making their ROIs almost impossible to achieve.

Very much like a “flower.” We know what it is but are generally stumped for words when asked to precisely describe it. There are so many ways it can be described. So is finance.

Definition of the word “finance”:

“Finance,” is a word of French origin that got adopted, in the 18^th century, by the English-speaking community. Roughly, it means “the management of money.”

Now it is defined in various ways (depending on application) but I find the following definition the most appropriate and all-encompassing (InvestorWords.com):

“Finance is a branch of economics concerned with resource allocation as well as resource management, acquisitions and investment. Simply, finance deals with matters related to money and the markets.”

What is MBA in Finance?

That settled, let’s take a look at what MBA in Finance is about.

It is postgraduate study providing rigorous training in the fundamentals of finance. It provides students the balance between the technical finance courses needed to work in financial institutions and the overall management skills needed in all business enterprises.

It trains students in managerial and cost accounting, financial institutions, financial law, and more cutting-edge topics like derivatives, hedge funds and leveraging.

Since it is a management degree, it trains students to run a business and make decisions based on available data.

MBA in Finance is a two-year program. In the first year, students take core courses in broad business areas like finance, accounting, human resource management and marketing.

In the second year, they focus on the tools, i.e., budget planner, currency converters, investment tools, etc, used in the finance industry. Students are also encouraged to undergo internship in a financial institution and provide financial project consultancy to a local business.

MBA in Finance is available to students with undergraduate degrees and some relevant work experience. Once in, they are expected to maintain a passing grade point average in all courses and complete relevant projects and exercises.

Most MBA in Finance b schools however, require applicants to have at least two years of experience in the business world.

At the very least, graduates of MBA in Finance can expect to be financial analysts or financial managers.

Major courses in MBA Finance:

Since it involves money management, the student will have a full serving of:

-    Law and Business

This deals with the legal ramifications of the career in business and finance. Students are expected to learn the importance of the securities exchange commission, business ethics and transparency.

-   Marketing Fundamentals:

Students are exposed to marketing fundamentals, i.e., product to sell, price, competition, promotion, understanding customer needs, etc. Students will be exposed to advertising and public relations, among others.

-   Capital Markets: Practice and Theory:

This is a very critical course for all MBA Finance students and is mandatory in almost every MBA program. This focuses on securities trading, primary and secondary markets, IPOs (initial public offering), hedge funds, etc.

-   Finance Reporting and Control:

As future managers, students must know such key issues as accountability to shareholders, corporate governance, financial health of the business, returns of investments, etc.

-   Corporate Finance:

Another important course in MBA Finance, this gives students an overview of a variety of terms and practices inherent to the specialization.

Students will get to know of mergers, financial taxation, venture capital versus private equity, risk management, debt equity among others.

Top 5 business schools in MBA Finance:

The top picks of the best MBA schools in theU.S.specializing in Finance are (About.com):

1.   Wharton School of Business:

Famous for innovative teaching methods and a wide range of academic programs, its MBA Finance boasts of the world’s largest and most cited faculty.

2.  University of Chicago Graduate School of Business:

Known for their analytical and quantitative focus, it traditionally has 80% of their MBA Finance grads in finance and consulting jobs.

3.   Yale School of Management:

It offers an outstanding learning experience emphasizing on teamwork. It typically has small classes but rigorous training.

4.   Columbia Business School:

Columbiaput strong emphasis on Finance and International Management, aside from churning out graduates who are strong in other specializations.

5.   Tepper School of Business:

Though the emphasis of Tepper is general management, its MBA Finance is as strong as other specializations

The world revolves around money. Nothing can be done without money. Our lifestyles are dictated upon by the amount of money we have, or don’t have. What we do with it is entirely a personal choice. How we use it, either to squander it or use it to make more money is matter of financial management.

Businesses are a reflection of ourselves. Their success or failure is largely dependent on how they manage their money. As they become more complicated and global, so is their need to manage their finances more carefully and prudently.

The more they need people who are trained to do that extremely well.

Not only that, they “saved” this information by carving them into rocks, drawing them on cave walls, etching them on tree leaves, barks and every conceivable medium they can think of.  .

Ever since, man has never stopped seeking for information, lots of it. He recorded them, organized them, and filed them for easy and fast retrieval for future needs. Now we have information stored in ways unthinkable before.

Thus evolved information management.

What is information management?

Information management is the collection and management of information from one or more sources, and its distribution to one or more audiences, i.e. those with stake in or right to that information.

To be useful, its distribution, processing and delivery must be organized and controlled.

As the world becomes more complicated and decisions need to be made fast, information management became more and more crucial to man’s daily life.

Evolution of Information Technology or Information Management:

In 1936, the first programmable computer, those lumbering giants with the memory of an infant, came into the scene. Then in the 70s, it evolved into something that can sit on an office desk.

To be more useful and effective work tools, these personal computers, as they are now called, were made to “talk” to each other, making information available to anyone with an office computer – even those who have no operational need for them

This created information chaos and abuse in its use. To rationalize its distribution, new management frontier emerged – management of information technology.

MBA on Information Technology :

There was a time when only technology managers and capitalists need to understand how technology and information can be utilized for business success.

The advent of the Internet changed that. Now, businesses around the globe, in every sector, not only need to effectively manage technology and information, they must also wed these with good business management.

This evolution became the seed for the introduction of MBA in Information Technology, MBA in IT, for short, in business school curricula.

MBA in IT focuses on the understanding of how technology works, as well as general management principles and the broader aspect of business operations. It emphasizes the strategic value of information and the technology that underpins them.

An MBA in IT grad enhances business competitiveness by leveraging information and assess its impact on business; interacts with executive management as a strategic business partner.

He also explores the most efficient ways of managing business functions such as organizational effectiveness, projects, logistics, finance, materials and product mix through the use of technology.

What is the advancement path of MBA in IT?

At the very lest, and MBA in IT can expect to be the CIO (Chief Information Officer) of the company.

What makes this position interesting is that, more often than not, it reports to the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) – that’s one step closer to the top.

Provided you are damn good in what you do, which is not only confined to keeping the servers running and business programs flawlessly functioning, but of identifying strategic opportunities of the information within the company and its environments.

Top 5 b schools in MBA in Information Technology:

The top picks of the best MBA schools in theU.S. specializing in Information technology are (About.com):

1.   MIT Sloan:

Its world-renowned program is a balance of theory and real-world applications. It is top heavy with case studies, lectures, team projects, industry interactions and hands-on lab work to teach the students the skills they need to succeed.

2.   Tepper (Carnegie Mellon)

Consistently ranked among the top b schools in the world, its MBA IT program place heavy emphasis on information technology as a general management tool.

3.   McCombs (University of Texas at Austin):

This is another U.S. b school that consistently ranks among the best in the world for their well-rounded curriculum and their outstanding MBA IT faculty.

4.   Stanford University

Stanford U’s MBA IT program focuses on the four key components of general management, i.e., leadership, entrepreneurship, global awareness and social innovation.

5.   Haas (University of California at Berkeley):

Another U.S. b school considered one of the most esteemed universities in the world. Its MBA IT program is based upon three factors: innovation, global excellence and community interaction.

Information has always been a coveted item in man’s daily existence. From the time he wakes in the morning till he puts himself to bed at night, he needs information to make decisions.

Man gathered it relentlessly, stole, it, bribed for it, died for it. Wars have been lost or won from its scarcity or abundance. The cloak-and-dagger world exists precisely for the need to have more and more information. As we walk towards the unforeseeable future, we need accurate and reliable information to guide us. Without it, we will definitely stumble and fall into an abyss from which we could come out of.

For the uninitiated, a full time MBA can either be a two-year or a one-year program of concentrated and focused study, while a part-time MBA is something you can spread over two and a half to five years. Everything else, course content, specialization, format and methods of instruction are basically the same.

Historically, the decision to take full time or part time MBA depends largely on whether you want to continue on a pre-established career path or change careers or industry.

The recent financial crisis, recession and unemployment trends altered history for good. Prospective MBA candidates now are holding on to their current jobs, take part-time MBA and use their network of schoolmates and campus career placement offices as a means of changing careers or industry.

Today, roughly 50% of MBA students are part-timers, 20% are full-time and the rest are in executive MBA, distance learning or other smaller programs.

Who must take what?

Money and time aside, you take:

Part-time MBA:

If you have substantial work experience, say, 6 years or more, and plan to stay with your current industry or employer.

Then enroll in one of the top b schools in your area or region. A part-time MBA graduate is not as esteemed as a full-time MBA. Coming from one of the top b schools will negate this negative perception.

The downside is that it is almost impossible for part-time MBA graduates to shift careers.

Full-time MBA:

If you have just started working, say less than two years, and are still uncertain of your career plans, go full-time.

People in this category, young people, more often than not, shift careers or employment when the opportunity presents itself.

In a nutshell, take part-time if you plan to continue with your current career path, or go full-time if you plan to change careers or employment.

Other things to consider:

Other than the above there is really no right or wrong answer to the choice between part-time of full-time. Everything depends on how much you can live with the realities of both.

Here are a few:

-   Course duration:

Part-time programs allow you, as a working professional, to go on working while attending classes after office hours or on weekends.

Students take one or two courses per quarter, making the program last between two and a half to five years.

Full-time MBA is designed for students who are fully committed to a large course load and can devout all their available time to it.

They are rarely employed, their schedules cannot allow that. Because of this, a full-time MBA takes between 12 to 18 months to complete.

-   Costs:

Costs for part-time or full-time MBA are generally the same except that part-time MBA students only pay for the course in a given quarter or semester. In other words, they can spread the total cost across a longer period of time.

Full-time MBA students shell out the money covering the entire course up front.

Both can finance their studies through loans. But part-time MBA students can avail of soft loans, subsidies or sponsorship from their employers. Full-time MBA students don’t have much option but to avail of student loans from regular lending institutions. Needless to say, a full-time MBA student will have a heavier debt burden than a part-timer upon graduation.

The upside is that full-time students can avail of scholarships and grants – not normally available to part-timers.

-   Student and Campus life:

Amenities available to full-time MBA are basically similar to that of part-time, i.e., clubs, social activities, group discussions, etc., But they vary greatly on the availability of time.

Part-time students have to squeeze their waking hours for work, family, study, extracurricular activities and other commitments.

Full-time students, on the other hand, can immerse themselves with their studies. With no work commitments, and maybe family, they have more time to do more networking through clubs, social organizations and other social activities.

-   Career opportunities:

There is no difference between a full-time or part-time MBA as far as career opportunities are concerned. However, summer internship opportunities are available only to full-time students, while part-timers, especially those supported by their employers, will definitely be denied of this opportunity.

So what is best for you, part-time or full-time? The question reminds me of the parable of the wise man and a boy hiding a bird in his hand behind his back. The boy asked the old man if the bird was dead of alive. Without the certainty of wisdom, the old man replied, “Young man, the answer is in your hands.”

B-School.com incoming search terms:

• 1 year full time mba in india
• best part-time mba programs 2012

Wrong.

You still have to go through the rigors of applying and competing with other MBA grads. Besides, to prick your balloon, here are some sobering statistics about having, or not having, postgraduate degrees (U.S. News study done last year):

Of the American Fortune companies, 174 CEOs (35%) have an MBA, 59 (12%) have law degrees while the rest, nearly 200 (40%) have no postgraduate degree at all.

But is an MBA adds to your employability?

Yes! According to Accountemps, a global temporary staffing service for accounting and finance professionals, 80% of executives surveyed prefer applicants with postgraduate degrees and think that an MBA is still important to reach senior management levels.

And there is a growing evidence that an MBA not only gives you more leverage in dictating job titles and salaries, it can also give you leverage in achieving a better balance between work life and personal life (quintcareers.com).

Are your job prospects any better?

After a long employment slump due to the global financial crisis, things are again looking rosy for MBA grads.

While the boom times have not come back, according to the Graduate Management Admission council, the hiring rate in 2010 was better than in 2009, where 90% of MBA grads were hired compared to 84% the previous year.

Starting salaries grew too, from $ 75,000 to almost $ 79, 000.

On a survey done by U.S. News of 437 schools, of which 119 provided employment data, 2010 registered a 75.7% hiring rate within three months after graduation compared to 70.8% in 2009.

As expected, 2011 was a better year for MBA grads, than the previous. According to the Graduate Management Admission Council, 54% was given at least one job offer, up from 32% in 2010.

On the average, students who got job offers, submitted approximately 16 resumes and applications, given 6 job interviews and obtained two offers of employment.

Because of its economic resiliency, Asia/Pacific graduates fared better with 67% getting job offers by March compared to 54% in theU.S.

The bottom line is that there are MBA jobs available for you but you have to knock on doors to get it. They won’t knock on your doors just because you are fresh from Harvard or Wharton.

What jobs are available for you?

There is really no clear answer to this. It still depends on how you want to make use of your MBA degree to reach your career aspirations. There are numerous sites you can pick MBA jobs from. But you did not go to MBA school to do multiple-choice in choosing a job, did you?

To give you focus, below is a list of the five most popular MBA jobs to choose from (mademan.com):

1.   Technology:

MBA grads in the field of technology are tasked to come up with the latest innovations for software products or design marketing strategies.

They may also work in managerial positions concerning information, human resource or materials management systems.

2.   Management consulting:

MBA grads in management consulting are utilized for their expertise in strategic business planning, financial analysis, investment and portfolio management.

They can also be used in improving manufacturing processes and procedures, streamline logistics management, evaluate suppliers and do project cost-benefit analysis.

3.   International investment management:

Banks and investment firms need the expertise of MBA grads to help customers manage their portfolio and recommend appropriate investment vehicles.

They are also utilized to manage international bank accounts and investments.

4.   Non-profit management:

Somewhere, anytime, there is always an activity, a project, social and humanitarian in nature, done by non-profit organizations. Most of these organizations are floating in donation money which could easily go to waste if not managed properly.

Because of this need, non-profit management and public administration is one of the top five most popular MBA specializations.

They are needed for grant and project management, hire and manage teams to assure fiscal responsibility, do  research projects involving social and natural sciences or direct charity programs for civic or political organizations.

5.   Marketing:

Marketing organizations need MBA grads as marketing directors, product design and development, design marketing strategies, evaluate marketing data and make decisions involving the marketing activities of an organization.

An MBA graduate shared his reasons for going to business school. These are to round out his education, learn something new in a business-based environment and meet dynamic and interesting friends. No doubt you have your own reasons. Whatever they are, your MBA degree will not take you straight to it. Just like everything else, getting there still requires the old-fashion traits of hard work, persistence and specific goals in life.

B-School.com incoming search terms:

• students getting job after graduation - data

In our own little world, that is the beginning and end of an employee’s MBA aspirations. The diploma or certificate is cherished like a treasure that pays in the future, an investment.

Little did we knew, nor cared, that that investment could have been more of value to us and the organizations we worked with had we focused on one of the various courses or specializations an MBA program offers. We were such in a hurry to be done with it and get ahead with our careers.

You can fall for it, too, if you take your MBA like I did. A plain MBA is like a general physician in the field of Medicine. To earn big bucks, a physician must become, say, an internist, oncologist, surgeon or any of the various specializations available in the medical field.

To get the most out of your MBA aspirations, a specialization is definitely worth a penny’s attention.

Below are MBA courses or specialization common among the top 10 b schools in the U.S.(cn.com):

-       Accounting

-       Economics

-       Entrepreneurship

-       Finance

-       Health Administration

-       Human Resources

-       Information Systems

-       International Business

-       Leadership/Management

-       Media/Entertainment Management

-       Non-Profit Management/Public Administration

-       Organizational Behavior

-       Real Estate

-       Supply Chain Management

Narrowing them down to the top five MBA courses most American students are inclined to take, gives the following (grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com):

1.      Entrepreneurship:

Entrepreneurship is the most sought after MBA course in the current business environment where leaders need to focus on innovative, value-based solutions, develop their creative problem-solving skills and to perceive “change” as an opportunity.

This program is designed for people interested in developing their entrepreneurial potential.

2.      International Business:

International business is business not restricted by geography or political boundaries, good examples of which are, global commerce and the Internet.

International Business as an MBA course grooms students, working managers and executives for careers of increased responsibility with focus on diverse and multicultural concerns, international relations and business strategies sensitive to international issues.

An MBA course in International Business is a great way of moving your career into the exciting area of global business management and the perks that come along with it.

3.      Leadership/Management:

Leadership/Management MBA course aims to develop individuals to successfully and ethically lead and manage a broad range of organizations.

This course will enable mangers to develop leadership and analytical skills, support and influence the operational aspects of a business, formulate, implement and critically evaluate decisions. This course enables students to understand how the various management functions in a business integrate.

This MBA course is designed for practicing managers who want to gain a generalist perspective on management, and for those wanting to develop their entrepreneurial and consultancy skills.

This is recommended for those who are very serious in the practice of leadership and management.

4.      Finance:

Finance MBA course teaches students in the complexities of various financial investments and techniques.

This course is aimed at students with some experience in the business world with the end-result of preparing them for a number of finance careers like financial analysis, management, securities brokering, speculation in stocks, bonds, commodities and other financial instruments.

Despite the current economic collapse, MBA Finance is still an attractive course with graduates going to work in companies as financial managers or consultants in financial analysis, personal investment, and sales agents in the exchange of financial securities.

5.      Non-profit Management/Public Administration:

This course prepares students for leadership roles within various non-profit organizations by teaching them budgeting, planning strategies, performance appraisal techniques and marketing practices. They are also given knowledge on strategic program planning and innovation concepts.

This course explores topics such as financial accounting, management economics, budget planning and human resource management. Graduates of this program are prepared for careers within grant-making and social advocacy organizations.

Applicants to this MBA course are typically required to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university and may be required to have prior work experience in the field.

Contents of this MBA course includes grant writing, fundraising and marketing management, nonprofit law and ethics, volunteer and staff management and portfolio management, among others.

In closing, does one really need to have a specialized MBA to get ahead in his/her career?

Experts find this difficult to answer. All MBA courses have common attributes and teach students to think strategically and analytically. However, over the long haul, the student with a perfect match between his career planning and specialization will definitely get a bigger and better slice of the corporate pie.

Thankfully this is changing.  But what is very positive about business school and what hasn’t changed is that they are an amazing collection of people and opportunities that can significantly shape ones education and even personal character.  Many of the founders we’ve backed at NextView are graduates of top business schools and bring many of their leanings from those two years to bear.

As I think back on my own business school experience, I often recall three very important lessons and pieces of wisdom that impact me every day.  One was academic, one was advice from a professor, and one was self discovered thanks to the entirety of the 2-year experience,

Lesson #1: What Makes a Good Market
Before Business School, I had heard of Porter’s 5 Forces and probably memorized it at one point during preparations for consulting interviews. But I really started to internalize the concept at business school and I think of it every day.  When one thinks of attractive markets, it’s easy to just think of markets that are “really big” and “growing fast”.  However, that is NOT what makes a market attractive.

A market is attractive relative to the player involved.  And its attractiveness to that player is based on how the forces in the market work to make it easier or harder for that player to create and extract value.  The forces described by Michael Porter in his framework are:
- bargaining power of suppliers
- bargaining power of Customers
- competitive rivalry
- threat of new entrants
- threat of substitutes

I don’t want to spend much longer on this point, but I’ve found this immensely helpful.  And it’s not just important for investors who are analyzing new businesses in different markets.  But it also dictates the strategy of a founder as they think about their own market and what they need to do to win.

For some additional thoughts of mine on the difference between BIG markets and ATTRACTIVE markets, see this post here:
Lesson #2: Authenticity Works
Authenticity works. It was an off-hand comment from Felda Hardymon during office hours one day when I was a student in his VC/PE class.  But it was a word of wisdom that I really try to take to heart for myself and when speaking to entrepreneurs.

It turns out I’m a pretty socially awkward person.  But much of business school (and much of business interaction) are awkward social situations.  Think about difficult conversations with employees, cocktail parties, cold calling, negotiations, selling, etc.  Those types of situations are a nightmare for someone like me.

But I’ve continuously found that when in doubt, the best thing to do is to drop any social posturing and be authentic.  Talk about what really gets you excited and what you really care about.  I remember when was interviewing for my job at Spark, one partner questioned my willingness to take risks and pound the table for what I believed.  I ended up telling him the story of how I pursued my wife – a very personal but authentic story, and it won him over.

Similar things happen when we speak to entrepreneurs at NextView.  We love founding stories that are driven by highly authentic experiences in a market or with a problem.  We also love interacting with entrepreneurs that are transparent about the things that excite them about their businesses and the things that they worry about or are really hoping go their way.  It’s a highly personal business after all, and we try to put that front and center as a core part of our firm ethos.

Lesson #3: Do the ACTIVITIES You Love

One very interesting aspect of business school is that it can be a 2-year soul searching process about who you are and what you want to do with your life.  A lot of business school students find themselves paralyzed, because it feels like there is a lot at stake in the career choice post B-school, especially with large sums of debt and 2-years of opportunity cost.

That said, I think business school is a wonderful time to step back and reflect on what you want out of life professionally and personally. The problem is, I find that when we think about careers or jobs we want, it’s easy to get caught up in a lot of different motivations – what would other people think? How can I make the living I’d like? Is this job impactful? What kind of a role is suitable for me? Etc.

But I find that business school students (and especially myself) often don’t ask what I think is the most important question. To me, that is – “what activities do you love?”.  We spend a lot of time at work, and you’d better be doing activities you enjoy, otherwise, it’s a terrible way to spend your time until you die. And activities are not jobs.  They are not roles or functions.  They are activities.

For instance, being a VC and being a doctor are very different jobs and roles.  But some of the activities are the same. Doctors and VC’s meet people 1:1 or 1 on a few all day long. They have a lot of first time meetings and hear people’s stories.  They try to solve problems based on pattern recognition. On these dimensions, doctors and VC’s do very similar activities.

But you never hear VC jobs and medical jobs compared. You do hear VC’s and entrepreneurs compared, and many job seekers out of B-school contemplate both paths.  But entrepreneurs do different activities.  They sell more (or in different ways), they meet very often with their team to solve common problems.  They may actively make design and product decisions, talk to prospective customers for feedback etc. The activities can actually be quite different.

I’m not making the point that being a doctor is more like VC than being an entrepreneur.  But my point is to look at jobs and life as a set of activities that you are doing all day long.  Do those activities map to what you are excited about doing?  Are they activities that are life-giving to you, or draining?

Or, put another way (as I’ve heard from an old boss and mentor), think of the times when you were happiest at work.  What exactly were you doing at that time?  Try to do more of it.

That’s it. Pretty simple.  Don’t overthink it or plan too far in the future.  Do something that you think is interesting and allows you to spend as much time as possible doing activities you love. I think it’s hard to go wrong if that is actually achieved.

So, those are my three biggest lessons learned from 2 years at HBS.  Worth the 2 years and $100K+ of fees? You be the judge 

This article has been republished with permission from Rob Go’s blog . Rob, lives in Arlington, MA, is married and has two young daughters. He and his wife met in college at Duke University. Rob is also the cofounder of NextView Ventures, a seed stage investment firm focused on internet enabled innovation. He spends as much time as possible working with young entrepreneurs and investing in businesses that are trying to solve important problems for everyday people.  More professional info here. The best way to reach him is by email: rob at nextviewventures dot com

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Aside from being known as the seventh largest country in the world by land area, and second in population, India is also the home of Sanskrit, the oldest written language and Hinduism, considered to be the world’s oldest religion.

It is a land of surprises, ethnically, socially, culturally and economically. India is currently one of the economic powerhouses in Asia and, related to this, has over 2,400 business schools (PaGalGuy.com) – an outrageous number if compared to the 461 or so, in the U.S.

Numbers aside, of this total, only 1,999 are approved by the AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education), while the rest are un-approved private b schools.

Another sorrowful statistic is that these b schools, combined, can only offer 190,000 seats to an average of 300,000 to 400,000 MBA hopefuls queuing to take the national and state-level entrance exams in any give year.

If you think this is bad enough, hold on. Despite its vast number of b schools, only eight, yes, eight, are globally recognized (mba.learnhub.com).

These are:

1.      MDI (Management Development Institute), Gurgaon, Gurgaon, New Delhi (1973) – AMBA (Association of MBAs) accredited;

2.      ISB (Indian School of Business), Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad (2001) – AMBA accredited and the first Indian B school to be accredited by the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business).

3.    IIM (Indian Institute of Management) Kozhikode, Kerala (1996) – AMBA accredited;

4.    SP Jain Mumbai, Munshi Nagar, Mumbai (1993) – AMBA accredited;

5.   IIM Admedabad, Ahmedabad, Gujarat (1961) – EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) accredited.

IIM Ahmedabad is the second b school in India, after IIM Calcutta which, unfortunately, does not belong to the top seven.

It is also one of the top b schools in the Asia/Pacific region (siliconindia.com).

6.    IIM Bangalore, Bengaluru, Karnataka (1973) – EQUIS accredited

7.   Alliance (Alliance University), Bangalore, Chikkahagade Cross, Bangalore (2010) – IACBE (International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education) accredited;

8.   PSGIM Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (1971) – ACBSP (Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs) accredited.

Why such a dismal rate of accreditation, you might ask?

Not for their inability to meet accreditation standards. In fact international accreditation bodies have always been open and willing to collaborate with leading Indian B schools in this regard. But some members of the Indian management education community find it expensive and complicated.

Dr. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, who?

Dr. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram disagrees. He thinks that leading Indian b schools must seek global accreditation.

But who is Dr. Kalyanaram?

He is professor, management consultant and an academic administrator. He got his doctoral degree from MIT Sloan School of Management, is a well-known scholar whose research work is highly cited. Dr. Kalyanaram has founded a full-time MBA program at the University of Texas and has served as Director of Graduate Studies and Dean of the School of Business in said university (mbauniverse.com).

He believes that Indian b schools must strive for global accreditation for the following reasons:

First: Accreditation ensures that Indian b schools are globally benchmarked and its programs will be recognized, world-wide, by employers, scholars, universities and governments.

Graduates from accredited universities can compete in the global marketplace for placement and can apply to various reputed business schools for further education, as faculty members or research fellows.

It will transform Indian b schools into players in the global marketplace for jobs and ideas.

Second: Accreditation will foster research by professors because serious intellectual output is one of the major criteria for accreditation.

Research requires an understanding of the current research output by other researchers and a professor engaged in active research will be contemporary in knowledge. Research is an important and integral part to contemporariness in curriculum and teaching.

India is an ancient country. But its b schools are very young compared to, say, Wharton which opened in 1881. While it has achieved significant economic progress in such a short time, its bench of management talents is relatively shallow and may not be able to take the country in step with the more industrialized countries as global competition becomes stiffer in the years to come.

If it can pride itself of the world-renowned Taj Majal, it should not have difficulty of putting more than half of its b schools in the global radar if it puts its mind into the challenge.

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 That is life. It is a constant process of making choices. We all have bungled in one way or the other. Some seriously, while we can shrug off the others. We are constantly a work-in-process, made up of the little snapshots of our lives, put together.

 Going to business school is another snapshot. How it turns out depends on a lot of things. Other than the academic requirements, which you need to polish as you put a shine to your car, you are to make choices, i.e., specialization, budget, b school to go to etc.

To improve the odds in your favor, below is a list of the world’s top 100 business schools to choose from.

I know it is going to put in load in your thought-making process. But it is a necessary evil. Your MBA aspirations cannot be jeopardized from choices haphazardly made.

Arranged regionally, this list should open your horizon wider, your perspective a little better.

Asia/Pacific Region (siliconindia.com):

1.     Hong Kong UST Business School, Hong Kong;

2.      CEIBS (China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, China

3.      The Indian Institute of Management, Vastrapur,Admedabad,India;

4.      National University of Singapore, Singapore;

5.     Melbourne Business School, Melbourne, Australia.

Europe (topmba.com):

1.      INSEAD (Institut Europeen d’Administration des Affaires), campuses in France, Singapore,  Abu Dhabi and a research facility in Israel

2.     London Business School, London, U.K

3.     Oxford University (Said Business School), Oxford, U.K

4.     IESE Business School, University of Navarra,Spain

5.     SDA Bocconi School of Management, Milan, Italy

6.     ESADE Business School, Madrid, Spain

7.      HEC, Paris MBA (Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Paris), Paris, France

8.      IMD (International Institute for Management Development), Lausanne, Switzerland

9.      IE Business  School, Madrid, Spain

10.   Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Cambridge,England

11.    Cranfield School of Management, Bedford, England

12.   Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands

13.   Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry England

14.   Imperial College Business School, Imperial College, London, England

15.   ESSEC Business School, Cergy-Pontoise, France

16.   Manchester Business School, The  University of Manchester, Manchester, England

17.   Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark

18.   EDHEC Business School, Lille, France

19.   Cass Business School, London, England

20.  EMLYON Business School, Lyon, France

21.   MIP Politecnic di Milano, Milan, Italy

22.  CEU (Central European University) Business School, Budapest

23.   Warsaw University of Technology, Business School, Warsaw, Poland

24.  AUEB (Athens University of Economics and Business), Athens, Greece

25.   Ashridge Business School, Hertfordshire, U.K.

26.   University of St. Gallen, the St. Gallen MBA, St. Gallen, Switzerland

27.   TheUniversityofDublin,TrinityCollege,Dublin,Ireland

28.   EBS (EuropeanBusinessSchool)BusinessSchool,Wiesbaden,Germany

29.   Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School,Belgium

30.   WHU –OttoBeisheimSchoolof Management,Vallendar,Germany

31.   ESMT (European School of Management and Technology), Berlin, Germany

32.   ALBA Graduate School, Athens, Greece

33.   Henley Business School, Reading, U.K.

34.   Aston Business School, Aston University, Aston Triangle, U.K.

35.   Mannheim Business School, Mannheim, Germany

36.   AUDENCIA Nantes School of Management, Barcelona, Spain

37.   Grenoble Graduate School of Business, Grenoble, France

38.   Bradford University School of Management, Bradford, WestYorkshire, U.K.

39.   Moscow School of Management (SKOLKOVO), Moscow, Russia

40.   School of Management, University of Bath, Bath, U.K.

41.    University of Strathclyde  Business School, Glasgow, U.K.

42.   Toulouse Business School, Toulouse, France

43.   Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam

44.   Lancaster University Management School, Lancashire, U.K.

45.   MIB School of Management, Trieste,Italy

46.   Oxford Brookes Universit yBusiness School, Wheatley, U.K.

47.  BSL (BusinessSchool,Lausanne),Lausanne,Switzerland.

U.S.A.(usnews.com):

1.     Harvard University, Boston, MA

2.     Stanford University ,Stanford, CA

3.     University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), Philadelphia, PA

4.      Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) Cambridge, MA

5.      Northwestern University (Kellogg), Evanston, ILL

6.     University of Chicago (Booth), Chicago, ILL

7.     University of California– Berkeley (Hass),Berkeley, CA

8.     Columbia University, New York, NY

9.     Dartmouth College (Tuck), Hanover, NH

10.  Yale University, New Haven, CT

11.   New York University (Stern), New York, NY

12.  Duke University (Fuqua), Durham, NC

13.   University of Michigan–Ann Arbor (Ross), Ann Arbor, MI

14. University of Virginia (Darden), Charlottesville, VA

15.   University of California–Los Angeles  (Anderson),  Los Angeles,  CA

16.   Cornell University (Johnson), Ithaca, NY

17.   University of Texas– Austin (McCombs), Austin, TX

18.   Carnegie  Mellon  University (Tepper), Pittsburgh, PA

19.   Emory University (Goizueta), Atlanta, GA

20. University of North Carolina– Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler), Chapel Hill, NC

21.   University of Southern California (Marshall), Los Angeles, CA

22.  Washington University, St. Louis (Olin), St. Louis, MO

23.  IndianaUniversity–Bloomington (Kelley), Bloomington, IN

24.  Georgetown University (McDonough), Washington, DC

25.  Ohio State University (Fisher), Columbus, OH

26.  Rice University (Jones), Houston, TX

27.  University of Notre Dame (Mendoza), Notre Dame, IN

28.  University ofWisconsin– Madison,Madison,WI

29.  VanderbiltUniversity(Owen),Nashville,TN

30.  ArizonaStateUniversity(Carey).Tempe,AZ

31.   University of Minnesota– Twin Cities (Carlson), Minnesota, MN

32.   Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

33.   Texas A&M University College Station (Mays), College Station, TX

34.   Brigham Young University (Marriott), Provo, UT

35.   University of Washington (Foster), Seattle, WA

36.   University of California– Davis, Davis, CA

37.   Boston College (Carroll), Chestnut Hills, MA

38.   Boston University, Boston, MA

39.   University of Illinois–Urbana Champaign, Champaign, ILL

40.   University of Rochester (Simon), Rochester, NY

41.   University of Texas– Dallas, Richardson, TX

42.  Purdue University–West Lafayette, (Krannert),West Lafayette, IN

43.   Tulane University (Freeman), New Orleans, LA

44.   Michigan State University (Broad), East Lansing, MI

45.   Pennsylvania State University–University Park (Smeal), University Park, PA

46.   University of Florida (Hough), Gamesville, FL

47.   University of Maryland–College Park (Smith), College Park, MD

48.   Wake Forest University (Babcock), Winston-Salem, NC

Do you know that it took the pilgrims three months to reach the new world? Now you can explore it in less than a day. There is now no reason for you to flub your choice of b schools to go to. Each of them has a website for you to match your needs and what they offer.

Going to b school? You have a world of them to choose from

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In the “New World,” being a world apart and behind Europe, business schools found roots after the formation of the Wharton Business of the University of Pennsylvania in 1881.

Online business schools? It seems that its birth was without any fanfare, like that of the second child in a family, that even Wikipedia does not have it in its wide and extensive  data base.

Unheralded it may seem, online b schools naturally emerged after the Internet found wider applications and “globalization” become a buzzword among leading business schools.

Notwithstanding its murky history, after a few years of existence, online B school graduates have proven capable to stand-toe-toe against those from the best traditional B schools forcing them to introduce online business curricula into their programs.

Currently, according to Business Pundit (http://www.businesspundit.com), the top 10 online business schools are:

1.  IE Business School (Instituto de Empressa), Madrid, Spain:

It is one of the world’s leading online B schools when it comes to quality of education, brand and excellent network.

It offers, in either Spanish or English, Global MBA and Executive MBA programs on a 15-mo curriculum.

Its price is not cheap though. The Global MBA program is almost $ 48,000 while the Executive MBA is around $71,000, and they require 5-day and 2 weeks residential periods, respectively.

But it is Spain, man! Hardly a place to complain about.

2.  Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona, U.S.A.:

Its online program is based on its world-renowned Global Management MBA, attainable in one to three years.

Thunderbird is the world’s top B school in international business developed through 60 years of experience.

At a price tag of $66,800, its online B school program is worth it considering that you will have something in common with a former Starbucks president, Microsoft CFO John Rex and BP CEO Bob Dudley – Thunderbird alumni who have made indelible marks in business.

3.  University of Leicester, Leicester, England:

Though one of the leading online B schools, University of Leicester, one of England’s better universities, offers online MBA programs that are so cheap to be true.

At around $12,601, payable in three installments, it is a very attractive place to start for your online MBA aspirations.

4.  U21 Global, Singapore:

This is an online B school with a twist. First, it is purely online. Second, it is a conglomerate of other universities from almost all corners of the globe.

The synergy from member universities from 10 different countries form the basis for its global business education.

Most of the students are from India and other Southeast Asian countries. But the entire student population comes from more than 50 countries, and its online MBA program, heavy on case studies, takes between 2 to 3 years to  finish.

Excellent choice for those looking for a truly global network of buddies who are as cost-conscious as you.

5.  Walden University, Minnesota, U.S.A.:

Do you want to be “connected” with Bill Clinton? Go for Walden University’s online B school program where Bill is an honorary chancellor.

Personalities aside, Walden U offers online graduate and post graduate courses, some of which are not found in others, like Healthcare Management.

It’s price? A relatively moderate $30,000.00.

6.  Kelley School of Business atIndiana University, Indiana, U.S.A.:

Aside from being one of the leading universities in the U.S.,  its online programs boast of an excellent network and brand.

Among its famous alumni are the CEO of Nestle, Whirlpool, FedEx, Cisco Systems and Jared Fogle, also known as the Subway Guy for being the spokesperson of the Subway Restaurants.

At a cost of $1,065/credit, it is considered moderate among the top online B schools.

7.  Henley Business School at the University of Reading, Reading, U.K.:

Henley Business School boasts to be the first business school in the U.K and one of few business schools with triple accreditation, i.e., AACSB (Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System), and the AMBA (Association of MBAs).

Impressive though its credentials may be, its online business program, the Flexible Learning MBA, costs a measly $26,000 and takes 3 years to complete.

8.  University of Maryland University College, Maryland, U.S.A.: 

This is considered one of the biggest online universities around, serving not only the state of Maryland but also active US military personnel seeing service in overseas countries like Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Its online business program costs $49,602, fully accredited. The positive side is that GMAT or GRE is not required to get in.

Its most famous alumni? Larry David, American author, actor, comedian, co-creator of Jerry Seinfeld, and creator of HBO’s 1999 series Curb Your Enthusiasm.

9.  Robert Kennedy College,Switzerland:

Surprised? You should be. And it has many more surprises.

It partners with other well-known universities making it possible to study in Switzerland but get an MBA diploma from theUniversityofWales. Aside from that its programs are confirmed and validated by the University of Cumbria  and York St. John University, both in U.K.

Its online programs run for 2 to 5 years, with a 1-week residency in Switzerland and include such specializations as hospitality management and investment management.

It costs $13,740 to complete a program – not bad for an online business school whose lecturers include alumni from Harvard and Oxford.

 10.  University of Florida:

If flexibility of schedule is a factor, University of Florida is as flexible as it can get. Its online MBA can be finished in two years if taken with eight weekend campus visits or one year for five campus visits.

It is considered to be one of the biggest b schools in the country with a good ratio of notable alumni.

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