The Five E's. Wait, there's only four E's ...

After my last post, I started jotting down different attributes that I want in a B school. As the list grew, I began grouping and distilling. Eventually I had five key categories:

• Education
• People
• Employment
• Exposure
• Environment

Education includes a school's strengths, curriculum, teachers, academic strategy, and study aboard/external project opportunities.

Most importantly, I want my professors to be business practitioners. They can't simply be ivory tower egg-heads who publish first and teach second. If you think that's an easy criterion, the truth might shock you. As surprising as it sounds, a 2005 Harvard Business Review article by Warren Bennis and James O'Toole suggest that B schools have "lost their way" for exactly that reason. "Today's business schools are packed with intelligent, highly skilled faculty with little or no managerial experience," they suggest. Thus, "instead of measuring themselves [B school professors] in terms of the competence of their graduates or by how well their faculties understand important drivers of business performance, they measure themselves almost solely by the rigor of their scientific research." Thankfully, many schools have taken this article's warning to heart and revamped their faculties and curriculums to deliver a more practical education. Those schools that seem to have done this best will definitely climb higher on my list.

I'm also looking for a school with excellent strategy, management, and supply chain departments. I also want a flexible curriculum that will give me a solid business base but also allow me to specialize in a few key areas. Luckily, most of these attributes aren't hard to find at the top programs. Likewise, several schools offer opportunities to work on a project team and solve a real-world business problem - some programs even offer the chance to travel internationally. So far, I haven't found a top program that doesn't meet that requirement.

Considering People, specifically students and alumni, means taking into account the attitudes of the folks I'll be living and working with for 18 months. When I think about the people I want to be around, I think of collegiality, humility, and intellect. Conversely, I'd rather not attend a school where cut-throat competition and arrogance dominate people's interactions. After all, I'm not just there to bone-up on book learning; I'm there to meet people that will become my friends, mentors, colleagues, and business partners.

I want to feel the same way about the alumni network. I can't overstate how important I think it is for my school to have loyal, accessible, involved alumni. Not only are these the people that I'll call for advice or a job interview - these are the emissaries of my school to the world. The contributions they've made (of the damage they've done) will directly impact the value of my degree.

Examining Employment simply means looking at employment rates, job placement, and salaries. Those are simple, as most are quantifiable and, frankly, very good at all of the top schools. However, this also includes a school's career services department. Some schools are known for tremendously resourceful career programs that help students not only when they graduate, but years later. Others seem small, disinterested, or clumsy. I'll insist on the former.

A schools Exposure means it's reputation, it's international/national/regional presence, and it's name recognition. Yes, this is where rankings matter; as a school's rankings go, so goes its reputation. My undergraduate experience taught me to be wary of regional programs that have little clout beyond their immediate surroundings. Harvard's reputation spans the world. The University of Texas, while a tremendous program, still struggles to gain notoriety beyond the western United States. Likewise, I've learned to value a name that everyone recognizes. Duke, for example, carries weight that other schools do not, simply because it's a household name. It's no fun explaining where you went to school. This is perhaps the most superficial of my criteria, but it's undeniably important to me.

The last criteria - Environment - includes the school's urban/rural surroundings, facilities, weather, and region. I've been to New York City a few times and, while I liked visiting, I didn't get the feeling that I'd like living there. That makes it easier for me to move great schools like NYU and Colombia down a little. Tuck, on the other hand, is in a very rural part of New England. While ultimately it's other attributes make it a strong contender, living in Chicago sounds like more fun than living in Hanover, New Hampshire.

I terms of weather, I'd like lots of sun and mild temperatures (who doesn't?), but I'll only be there for 18 months, so I'm sure I can stand a brutal Northeastern winter or bitter winds on the shores of Lake Michigan. Of course, the region of the country has an effect on the weather, but it also has an effect on people and attitudes. Not to make sweeping generalizations but, in general, East Coast and West Coast mentalities can be starkly different. I grew up in Colorado and was educated in Texas, so those regions are obviously more familiar and comfortable for me. Although, perhaps experiencing the East Coast might help me grow as a person, as well as a student.