Decisions, Decisions... Choosing an MBA & Boston College

by Siobhan

Why an MBA? By the time you arrive at b-school, you’ve answered this question hundreds of times. However, by the time you sit down in your first class, the answer you might have given before you took the GMAT, or the answer you gave during your Admissions interview, or the answer you told your uncle over the summer before school started, may be completely different. At least, this was the case for me! For me, the decision to get an MBA can be summed up in one word: change (which is probably why my answer was ever-changing).

Not only had I wanted to change the organizations that I had worked for, but I was ready to experience a change in my role and perhaps even the industry I had worked in over the past 5 years. Most importantly, I was ready to change myself – not in a drastic way – but to change the knowledge and skillset that I hope to bring to my career and to future organizations – whether for-profit or nonprofit – that I will work with down the line. I knew that in order to make these changes, both internally and externally, I needed to go back to school and knew that an MBA would allow me to influence my career and the organizations in which I will work, the most effectively.

But why BC? Deciding to come to Boston College was an easy decision. Obviously, when weighing the various factors that influence your choice of the best b-school for you, there is PLENTY to consider. For me, coming from a more non-traditional background, the two questions that were most important to my decision were:

1) Which program stresses not only gaining the business skills I need to be successful in my career, but focuses on how to be a socially conscious business leader?

You already know the answer to this question, but BC! Unlike many business school programs, BC has a mandatory service requirement for graduation. While any added extracurricular activities tend to make any MBA student a little nervous, having started at BC, I can honestly say that the student body is generally committed to service – and not only committed, but excited to engage with the community. Invest N’ Kids is a program that brings local, at-risk youth to BC for tutoring and mentoring throughout the semester. A number of my classmates immediately jumped at the opportunity to get involved with this opportunity (and by the end of the semester – all of them will have already completed their service requirement!).

I’ve elected to serve in a different capacity, as a Board Fellow with a local nonprofit program, where I hope to fuse my previous experience in the sector, with the new skills that I’ve developed over the first six weeks of business school. I couldn’t be more excited to learn about what nonprofit I will be placed at for the semester and begin the process of supporting my project.

While the service element is a key component of BC’s uniqueness as a b-school, the commitment to producing socially conscious business leaders is integrated throughout our coursework – which was another key element for me. This was something discussed during my interview and again when I visited campus after I was admitted, but I can now say that everything I was told is 100% true. The Carroll School has a set of core values that the faculty and professors stress upon us to follow and uphold. We even had an assignment this quarter to write about our Core Values, forcing all of the First Years to identify what “makes us tick” as ethical individuals both personally and professionally.

2) Which program has the people that are the best for me?

The minute I stepped into the BC Admissions Office, I knew that BC was the right place for me. Greeted by a warm, engaging Admissions team, who were genuinely excited to get to know ME (not a candidate, or an applicant, but ME), I knew that BC was it. This was reinforced by my visit after I was accepted to BC and I had a chance to meet current students, other admitted students, faculty, and professors who stressed one thing: the sense of community. The sense of being a part of such a powerful, committed group of motivated, intelligent, passionate individuals exuded from every member of the BC community that I met with on campus. For me, I needed to be a part of an MBA program that promoted this inclusive network. As soon as I arrived, I knew that I belonged. After being at BC for six weeks, I can say that I made the best decision for me. I have classmates willing to set aside time to help me understand the accounting or statistics homework that I might be struggling with or read the paper that I want to make sure is grammatically correct. The community is here to support its members to ensure the success of the group, versus the success of the individual.

No matter what, any MBA program give you the business toolkit that you need to succeed. However, it’s critical to identify what type of program will allow you to thrive.