Have you decided an MBA is right for you? If so, now it's time to find the MBA program that meets your needs.

Spend some time thinking about what is important to you ... Are you concerned about an MBA program’s location? placement rates? reputation? specialties? tuition? alumni network? teaching methods?

Once you know what you’re looking for, you now need to determine which schools best meet your needs. There are several resources that contain overviews MBA programs. For example, The Wall Street Journal publishes The Wall Street Journal Guide to the Top Business Schools 2004. Business Week and US News & World Report both publish rankings and profiles of schools in their magazines and on their websites.

After you start developing a short list of schools, you should do as much research as possible on each school. An MBA is a big investment of time and money and you want to be sure you find the program that is right for you.

Here is a list of resources that can help you find out more information on MBA programs:

• Alumni – Alumni can provide you with personal experiences and insight into the career paths open to graduates. If you don’t know any alumni, ask a school to refer you to alumni in your area.

• Blogs – Applicants, students, and alumni are now posting their thoughts on blogs. These MBA blogs can give you a very personal insight into MBA programs. Wharton’s admissions staff even hosts their own blog.

• Forums – There are a number of forums on the Internet where you can discuss MBA programs with students, alumni, and admissions staff. BusinessWeek runs a popular forum. Some schools even host message boards for prospective students. Wharton runs a message board called Student 2 Student.

• Websites – There are a number of resources on the web to research schools. Some notable sites include the GMAC website, MBAInfo.com, ForeignMBA.com, and The Princeton Review.

• Academic Publications – Interested in studying a particular specialty or with a particular professor? Learn more about their research interests by reading professor publications

• Interviews – Look for interviews students or alumni have done with the news media. Most of the major search engines have news search functions. Admissions officers give interviews as well (see BusinessWeek as a starting point).

• MBA Fairs – MBA Fairs give you the opportunity to meet with representatives from a number of different schools. Event organizers include The MBA Tour and Top MBA

• Faculty – How respected are the faculty, especially in your area of interest? Check news articles and journal publications. What teaching style used at the program (case method or lecture)?

• Companies – Do you know generally where you would like to work after graduation? Try to talk to someone at a company hiring (perhaps in human resources) and ask how a degree from your prospective programs would be viewed.

• School websites – This may seem obvious, but school websites contain a lot of information. You can typically find information such as placement rates, average salaries, professor profiles, student profiles, student body statistics (average GMAT, average GPA, etc.), and more.

• Other school publications – Some business schools put out publications that can give you more insight into the school. For instance, Wharton puts out the free Knowledge @ Wharton newsletter.

• News articles/press releases

• Assessing your chances – Now it’s time to bring the list of schools your considering down to reality. How do your test scores, GPA, work experience, etc. compare to the average candidate at your target schools? There are some admissions counseling companies that have former admissions committee members on staff. They can help you decide more appropriately.

• Campus visits – Once you have your school narrowed down, it makes sense to make a campus visit. A campus visit allows you to talk directly with students and faculty and gives you a better idea of the atmosphere of the school. Is this really a place where you could see yourself spending two years of your life? Remember, the best time to get the sense of a school’s community is when classes are in session.

Application - time is a limited commodity, and you don’t want to spread yourself too thin among applications. Understand that each application is going to take a very large time commitment. There are several schools of thought for how many applications to complete. Some people apply to 3-4 of their top choices and then a couple of safety schools. While other people only apply to their top choices. Are you willing to wait another year to reapply if you don't get accepted to your top choice?