Over the last week, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about and trying to decide which business schools I would be interested in and ultimately apply to. When I first got my score from taking the GMAT, I was all excited because of all the possibilities and opportunities. It isn’t, however, as easy to pick schools as I thought it would be.

There are many different aspects that factor into this decision. The overall rank of the school plays a large role in the quality of education and subsequent employment opportunities. On top of the overall rank though, the schools are ranked with respect to certain specialties such as Marketing, Finance, Entrepreneurship or Supply Chain, further complicating things.

How much it will cost to attend one of these schools is also not to be taken lightly. There are tuition considerations, in-state and out-of-state, as well as the general cost of living in various areas. Living in Boston or New York is definitely different from the Midwest or the South.

I’ve also been told that I should consider where I’d like to work once I graduate because many companies concentrate their recruiting efforts at schools in their own area of the country. While this isn’t a hard and fast rule, it is something to be considered.

I’m also going to need to look into the different options for financial aid. This one element will have a huge bearing on my decision. The less debt I would have to take on to finance my graduate program the better. In the end I hope I’ll have a solid gut feeling as to which school to attend. It’s not the most critical thing in life, but I would like to make the best decision possible considering my circumstances.

 Subscribe to Fiscal Musings | Digg This! | Stumble it!