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MBA Planning Guide

PLANNING GUIDES · MBA · YOUR OFFERS

Got your MBA offers? Choose by where each one leads.

We've published ten MBA stories. Here's how our students compared their offers, and what they chose. Each student's initials open their card in the MBA guide.

Written for the 2026–27 application year.

For MBA programs starting in fall 2027.

Your offers at a glance

How do I choose between offers?

Put them side by side: where graduates work, what each program teaches, and what you'll pay after your scholarship.

What matters most, in our view
Where the degree leads you. Your offers
Do this first
Find each offer's deposit deadline. The earliest one is your real deadline.
Can wait, in our view
Housing. Pick your school first.

Schools can change their dates and rules during the year. Check each school's own page.

The brick main building of the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia
Darden School of Business · Photo: tldagny / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Resized and cropped.

Choose: your offers

Choose by where the program leads, what it teaches, and the funding. Those were the top three reasons our ten MBA students gave.

The reasons our ten MBA students gave for their choiceWe counted the reasons each story gives for the final choice. Most students gave more than one.
  • A particular market or region7
  • What the program teaches6
  • Funding5
  • Program length or format3
  • Family2
  • Teaching style or culture2
Table view
ItemValue
A particular market or region7
What the program teaches6
Funding5
Program length or format3
Family2
Teaching style or culture2

Source: Our ten published MBA stories

Five chose another school over Harvard, Wharton, or INSEAD: D.P., J.C., V.R., S.K., and C.E.

  • D.P.ChoseDardenAlso admittedHarvard Business School
  • J.C.ChoseChina Europe International Business SchoolAlso admittedWharton
  • V.R.ChoseBerkeley HaasAlso admittedWharton
  • S.K.ChoseIndian School of BusinessAlso admittedINSEAD
  • C.E.ChoseYale School of ManagementAlso admittedINSEAD

F.N. chose the more expensive program on purpose.

Cambridge offered a shorter route back to work, but he decided IESE's two years were worth its higher cost.

Compare your offers
CompareAskOne of our students
Where graduates workWhere do graduates work, by region, according to the school's own report?J.C. chose CEIBS, the China Europe International Business School, for its recruiting in her region.
What it teachesDoes it teach the work I want next?R.H. chose MIT Sloan for its mix of technology and management.
The cost after your scholarshipWhat will I pay for the whole program, after the award?M.T.'s partial scholarship at Kellogg made a real difference to the cost.
Your family's needsDoes it work for my partner, my children, and our visas?S.K. weighed recruiting, family plans, and cost.

Once you accept, decline your other offers, so the places go to someone else. Then book your student visa appointment, if you need one.

Our viewAim high, then choose the program that fits your career, your budget, and your family, not the most famous name you're offered.

Where we come in

How Letrado can help.

Most of this advice costs nothing to follow. If you'd like help with part of it, here's where we come in.

Start with a free 45-minute introduction.

We follow it with a personalized plan by email. Bring your offers and your scholarship letters, and we'll compare them by their real cost.

Arrange your free introduction →