Decisions: US or non-US MBA?

After reviewing all the MBA programs listed in The Financial Times, Business Week, and The Economist I found myself presented with a very obvious choice.

US or non-US MBA? Or should I say, "Do you want to live in the US?" Answering this question first is essential.

The rankings are filled with well recognized American schools. They do insert the international schools, but they never rank as well. They also separate the international schools off to the side, but that only makes them look more conspicuous. How to process all this information into a choice? Inspecting the international schools closer I could see a few of the higher ranking ones were from Canada and offered the 12 month intensive program I had been considering instead of the traditional 24 month program with an internship.

What does going to a US school means really mean? If someone were to go to the trouble of moving to the US for an MBA they would obvious want one of the better schools. Almost all of them are 2 years in length and cost $60,000 or more a year for tuition alone. Of course the schools are more than happy to hook you up with an agent who would loan you the money. Not only do you have to finance the tuition, you also have to pay for living in the US. Since you are a student you can't really work to earn money to offset the cost and since you are on a student visa it is unlikely your spouse can work either. At the end of the day you are out $200,000 to a US lending institute and you have an MBA from a well respected school.

Now what?

To make that MBA payout you pretty much need to accept the highest paying position, which is more than likely going to come from a US firm than anywhere else.

Transport yourself to the future 5 years. You have paid off you loan after slaving away and you are finally getting somewhere with the organization you have joined. Now that you are done you want to move home, in my case to good old Canada, right?

WRONG! There is no way you are going to uproot your wife, kids, and mix-up your career AGAIN! Remember, she still remembers how you went back to the "student" budget to complete the MBA and pay it back. Now that she has a house, kids, a car, friends, and a comfortable lifestyle there is no way you will convince her to give that up. Besides you would have to leave all your new friends, career, and lifestyle behind. Who is going leave all that?


I wouldn't mind moving to the US, but for it to be a requirement seems like I'm giving up a lot of freedom for future choice. I think I will stick to the Canadian programs. At least that way I get to choose if I want to be in the US.

Do you want to live in the US? Answer that question first because that is the real question you are answering when you are considering a US MBA program.

Other related links with in my blog:

• The Choice: Why go back for an MBA?
• Contemplation: Who Should Do An MBA?
• Plethora of Programs: Which one to choose?
• Decisions: US or Non-US MBA?
• Decisions: Which Canadian MBA Programs to Apply To?
• Contemplation: Is the MBA worth it?

(Update: check out what a 2010 Queen's MBA Candidate has to say on this issue on their blog)

Discussion with MBA Grad: Full-Time Ivey MBA

I mentioned my MBA ambitions to one of the consultants working at my place of employment and he said he knew someone I absolutely had to meet. He put me in contact with a longtime colleague of his that was currently working for a junior oil and gas company.

This individual had been working as a professional drilling engineering in the early 1980's. He had enough experience at the time to be an expert in deep basin drilling, but decided to take a year off to travel Europe. After travelling he returned for a 2 year full time MBA at Richard Ivey School of Business at the The University of Western Ontario located in London, Ontario.

Upon graduation he returned to Alberta, but it was 1987 and the oil and gas industry was in ruins from the National Energy Program (NEP). He found work in other industries, but nothing as lucrative as what he had been doing. After about a decade the industry had recovered enough that he was able to find a suitable position.

He swears the MBA cost him at least a million dollars of lost opportunity if not more. His assessment includes the decreased wages he took because he couldn't come back to the oil and gas industry immediately.

He may be correct, but as a high paid expert deep basin drilling engineer I don't know if he would have been safe in the post NEP economy of Alberta.

One thing is for sure, leaving the industry you want to be in at the wrong time can be bad news. I will definately have to think this decision through before I go back.

I am really glad I met this guy because I know I have done my research when I have someone telling me the otherside of the story. All I have been hearing from the media, friends, and colleagues is that the MBA is great. Now I have found a guy that is telling me the MBA ruined his life.

Is an MBA Overrated? Checkout this article.

Other MBA Grads I had discussions with:

• Queen's Full-Time MBAst
• Queen's Part-Time EMBA
• Ivey Full-Time MBA
• Bath Full-Time MBA
• Haskayne Part-Time MBA
• University of Alberta Full-Time MBA

Test Day: Moment of Truth

Wrote the GMAT today.

I took the day off work. Woke up a little late. Felt tired from last nights frantic studying. Got dressed in some comfortable jeans and a T-shirt. Ate and studied. Tried to cram more of the "special" triangles and other math tricks into my brain. Listened to my psych-up song, "New Orleans is Sinkin''" by the Tragically Hip, and headed out for the test. Walked to the test center on a nice crisp day in March.

Signed in. There were about 8 other people there. They made me give a digital signature and took my picture. Some other stuff. Apparently there are some people that will try to get other "professional" test takers to write for them. I can see why you might try that on the test, but you can't fake intelligence and smarts in the interview or in the program. I don't see why you would fake a test. If you aren't going to cut it, the test is the cheapest and quickest way to discover. The only person you are hurting is yourself. Oh well.

I brought some juice boxes for the breaks to keep my blood sugar from dropping. I knew I was going to be on my best game. Especially after last nights dismal 540 on the practice test.

Test started at 1 PM.

The first essay was okay. Very thankful I found the list of GMAT essay questions on the MBA website. Sure there were 500 essay questions, but it really helped me get the idea of what would come at me. The first essay was like something from high school. Thesis with introductory paragraph. Three paragraphs following with each paragraph addressing a specific item in the thesis statement. Finally a conclusion. The break was welcomed. Quick juice to get my blood sugar up.

Second essay was okay, but more defend your opinion which is always difficult. The second break I took I used the bathroom and had my final juice box.

The CAT portion. Wow. Tough. I couldn't believe some of the questions that came at me.

Test finished at 5 PM.

In the end all worth it.

My score.....690! YES!

That is pretty much good enough for anywhere with the right work experience. Not bad for 1 week of studying.

Wonder what I could have got with more time to study...

Study: Week of Hell

I have been studying like hell all week! The weekend was full of furious review and multiple practice problems. I had the 2007 Kaplan GMAT study guide with a CD already purchased because I was thinking of getting started with studying. The CD has a program that mimics the CAT testing program.

There is a lot of material to cover. I am almost overwhelmed trying to fit it all in. Once the weekend was over it was back to work during the day. Trying to fit as much studying in the evenings as possible has been rather tiring. I know that a lack of sleep won’t help, but there is so much to cover.

I wrote a practice test on Sunday and got a low 500. Felt sick to my stomach knowing that a low 500 would not get me into any of the schools I wanted.

I am particularly worried about the essays since they are graded by a computer and then a human. Only if the two grades differ by a significant amount will they have a second human “re-grade” the paper and substitute their grade for that of the computer. How on earth can a computer accurately grade an essay?

Also, the computer adaptive testing (CAT) has me concerned. From my studying, I know that it is crucial to get the first 10 questions correct for each section. Since the test will give progressively high level questions for each correct answer, but will do so at small increments later in the test as it narrows the range. That is the CAT test will start with a 550 level questions. If you get it correct at the beginning of the test it will give you a question 100 points harder at the 650 level. If this same question were answered much later in the test correctly and then the test would give you a question 10 points harder at a 560 level. In short, it is hard to impossible to earn a good score if you bomb the first 10 questions.

Regarding study material, I am surprised at how much and little has changed since I was considering the test last time. In 2003 I purchased a Kaplan book and have found that the in the 2007 study guide the helpful pages reviewing all the simple triangles and other math tricks were no longer included.

Tonight, on the eve of the test I took another practice and only got a 540. That makes me sick. I stayed up till 2 AM reviewing everything I got wrong hoping that I could discover the flaw in my logic.

I feel like I was walking down the street and suddenly a starter pistol went off to begin a 100-meter sprint I was going to run next month. I wish I had a least a month to study and not the “surprise” of having one week before the test is discontinued in Canada.

(Update: See how this process went for a 2010 Queen's Candidate on their blog)