Choosing a School

This is an exciting time in your life that requires some careful thinking, getting advice, and ultimately making a personal decision on where to pursue your education for a management degree. Too many times, we let our friends dictate our future by simply attending the same school they do. Selecting a college should be your personal decision, because the career you choose will be yours alone.

Choosing a school can be narrowed down to two primary considerations: personal and academic. Of course, each consideration has multiple levels, but the ability to weigh the various options will come into focus, allowing you to eventually make the right decision.

The Personal Considerations

So what do we mean by a “personal consideration”? The short answer is, “Who are you?” What makes you feel comfortable and what makes you feel uncomfortable. Do you like to be around other people, or do you prefer to go it alone? Do those people need to be of the same cultural background as you? Are you adaptable to a new environment, or do you prefer a familiar surrounding? Are you a self-motivator, or do you need someone guiding you each step of the way? If you can answer these questions honestly, and not consider just academic criteria, you will be able to find a school that matches the way in which you want to learn.

A college education is also about learning to interact with others, and testing our ability to handle situations outside your comfort zone. Your career, especially if it is builton on the foundation of a degree in management, will be dependent upon learning these social skills, and learning them well. (This is one of the main drawbacks of degrees from online universities.)

Your personal considerations will play a key role in making that choice of staying near home, to attend a community college, or packing those bags for that university on the other side of the country. Do you have a dream location, where you would like to permanently reside? Selecting a college can also be a trial run for learning to live in a rural location, an urban city setting, an area where the climate is mild all year around, or one where the four seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter still provide that variety.

Will you need to support yourself during a college stay? Choosing a school in a town that has readily available opportunities of employment could be a wise move if earning money is a necessity.

Do you mind attending a school where there are over 50,000 other students moving about, or would a smaller student-to-teacher ratio be more beneficial to the way you learn? Certain individuals will find that a large university is the place to be, just because of the overall energy that is inherent in a large student population. On the other hand, a college that has classrooms with fewer students could be better for that personal attention from a professor, or after-hours tutoring sessions. Again, these are the personal considerations that need to be taken into account in making that choice for a school.

The Academic Considerations

Just as there are a multiple of personal considerations in selecting a school, so it is with the academic considerations. First and foremost, the choice of a school should be based on the quality of education you will receive in your chosen field.

One way to find out about a particular program is to review the written course descriptions from the college's website. These are always available for download, and you will have the opportunity to study the material and compare. From these course descriptions, review how many major courses are taught about the subject, and how many alternative courses that relate to the major are taught. For example, with a management diploma, a major course could be titled Project Management for the Construction Industry, with an elective course that provides a strict focus on methods of Project Scheduling.

Take a look at the faculty listing as well, and see how large the teaching staff is, how long have they been at the school, and if they have the right credentials. For example, do they hold a management degree, and at what level. Is their degree an associate's, a bachelor's, a master's, or a PhD? Have they written books on the subject of management, or have they written for a magazine, and is it a trade publication? Have these professors provided off-campus lecturing for other organizations. Are they involved in the industry in which they teach? Are the professors full-time employees, or are they only part-time?

Another important consideration is looking at a school's physical facilities, including buildings where the teaching takes place. Does the college dedicate a facility strictly for the teaching of a management degree, or are classes held at the location of another department, such as the engineering or business departments? This will provide you with a clue into what degree or level can you expect in terms of expertise on the subject.