One of the most commonly asked questions by many students is “can you give me the list of best universities in USA for MS or MBA ?”. I look at the question and then think about myself how my perception used to be a decade ago about higher education in America. It is quite common for students in their undergrad to think of the idea of I should study in top 10 schools and I need the list to apply….let me share some of my thoughts on this and help you decide what is best for you !
What is really Best University in US for MS or MBA ?
Imagine, it is a Friday evening and you go are hungry for some authentic Chinese food…typically, what you do is look on the internet or ask your friends to suggestion on the places and go to the best Chinese restaurant in town…Now, once you are in the best Chinese restaurant in town, you change your mind and wanted to eat a Sandwich, Guess what ? You get nothing… The best Chinese food place in town is not at all even a place for Sandwiches…Now, if you look at Universities, a best university for Music, may not even offer a degree in Business…A best University for research in Electronics and Communications may not be the best University of Marketing….
The whole idea of list of best Universities is very relative and there is no such list that is universal for everything….There are many websites and agencies that do University rankings that are published by sites like Times, Forbes, US News, etc… While, these rankings give you the overall brand of a school, it may not truly reflect all the aspects of a university…
So, Whats the Best School for you for MS or MBA in US ?
It may sound very fundamental, but often students overlook the fact of what they want in life…One of the first things as a student you need to be clear is on your Goal for MS or MBA in US…Once you have that nailed out, then you need to decide on where is your passion ? What area you would like you study…Once you have this basic information…then you can go on the hunt to create a list of Best Universities for you…. When I picked my school, some of the factors I looked at were things like “ Is the school close to a city for me to look for a job or do internship during MBA”…Some of my friends were passionate about research, they opted for a school that is out of no-where, but offers the best research in their area…another friend of mine, could not afford higher education in US, his goal was to study and get the American education experience, he picked a school that was in the coldest part of the country, but offered him low fee to fulfil his dream. Another friend of mine picked a school, very close to his sibling, so that he can be close to family and visit them…the whole idea is every person has different priorities in life and they need to consider those to choose the best university for them.
What’s your Best University Checklist ?
One of the things that you can do as a student is to list down your passions, constraints, aspirations, and make a nice table in excel and rank schools based on those checklist factors. Something like below…
| University Name/ Factor | Near to City ? | Expensive ? | Research | ….. |
| University of Houston | ||||
| Harvard University | ||||
| ….. |
This exercise will help you jot down your ideas and then make an informed decision. When you look back at your decision after few years, you should NOT regret that I did a mistake…you should at least be able to tell yourself that I looked at everything and did what was best for me at that time…more informed and educated decision….
What did you consider for choosing your best school ? What is your best school list for MS or MBA in USA ?
Hello, my son is in US on a B2 visa, he has got his I-20 recently, so what is better, to change status within US or come to India and apply for F1 visa because we’re unable to go to schedule appointment page, kindly help
Good Article. All praise for the hardship to sit and write down most probable things.
I just would like to know , salary one gets after doing in a particular university/place. I am talking about brand value that companies give to difft universities. Suppose I saty close to Houston and also can get admission easily, will my package or brand be same as that of an ivy college?
Ramadevi,
Salary does not vary by university or its brand, it varies by the role you are interviewed for and hired. Frankly, it does not matter, where you get you get your degree, it is always the role you apply. The advantage of studying in Ivy League or top 10 schools is that, you have higher chances of getting internships, of course you need to apply, that gives a path to job as well.