While some might not consider Management a profession, the number of applicants to graduate schools seems to be on the constant up since 2008*. The application process to a top ranked institution is not the most fun of activities but even worse is the actual process of narrowing down the list of schools you would like to apply to. Traditionally 2 year courses have received most attention with respect to graduate business courses. But over the past few years, with the changing socio-economic climate, the 1 year programs have been generating the most appeal and applicants (21% increase over 2008**). Now institutions like Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, London School of Economics, INSEAD and the likes aren’t being sidelined by any means, however, while doing my own due diligence, the economics of applying to a top 10 school, studying for 2 years, and getting into a mountain of debt simply didn’t have its usual appeal.

I wanted to get into a business school that offered a world class education, was reputed, and wouldn’t set me back $100K in debt (I have no intention of compromising my quality of life with over extended loan burdens). I then stumbled upon Hult International School of Business. Known as Arthur D. Little School of Management prior to 2003 (Arthur D. Little is considered the Father of Consulting) Hult offers a 1 year Master of Business Administration course. Hult also has 5 campuses located across the globe (Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai and Shanghai) and encourages students to rotate between campuses to get a truly global education. Ranked #44 in the world by the Economist (2009) and #5 in International Mobility by the Financial Times (2009), Hult also has a roster of world class faculty who in addition to having years of industry experience often teach at the Ivy Leagues themselves.

Now let’s look at this for a second. You get a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from a reputed institution (Top 1%), you gain an education that can certainly compete with the top Ivy Leagues (same professors for the most part), oh and it costs less than one half of the top programs elsewhere, and you get to move around and understand business and people from a global perspective. Too good to be true? Well after doing what now seems like humongous hours of research on Hult, its faculty, student body, reviews and opinions, I found an almost unanimous approval for Hult and its academics and academic standing. While there was some anxiousness surrounding the education aftermath, I personally think it had more to do with the economy than anything else – and over 70% of the student body getting job offers in the thick of the recession must count for something (No, I have no data on the quality of the job offers conferred at this point in time).

As a rational person, one can only hope to make the best decision based on information presented and gathered along with educated foresight. And so I embark on this mission to shape what is undoubtedly an intense and exciting next chapter.