Which MBA?

I originally wrote this in response to one of BW’s many MBA1 vs MBA2 forums…

I think the best way to select which program(s) to attend/apply to is to consider multi-year placement trends and the overall experience...if the companies you are interested in recruit a significant number & percentage of these classes AND the experience matches your liking (eg, setting, class size, specialties, internationalism, male/female%, etc.), then assuming you have the aptitude, you should get the return on the investment you are looking for.

Along those lines, the return you should expect from an MBA is a foot in the door, not a free pass to promotions for the rest of your career. Once you have a job with a desirable company , it's up to you to prove your worth - if your business unit, the fund you manage, your sales figures, etc. are not up to par, no one's going to care that you went to school XYZ - they're going to fire you. [This system of meritocracy is further magnified for entrepreneurs as customers only care about the bottom line and because personal stakes are much higher.]

The ultra competitive nature of MBA applicants is what helps so many become successful; however, it shouldn't be lost that the majority of the most successful people in the world don't have an MBA AND that while Bschool networking is important, the networks built with coworkers will be more valuable because they will be industry specific, range across many MBA programs and backgrounds, and most importantly, they will be developed on mutual trust.