Shortlisted: How I decided on where to apply

I decided last fall that I wanted to get an MBA. I didn't have much time to decide where I was going to apply.

At that time, I was in serious *like* with my job. We were going steady for a while, but I wanted to wear someone else's letter jacket to school on game days. I thought there were other fish in the greener sea, or whatever tortured analogy you'd like to use. While I liked my job, I'd classify myself as a career switcher.

Now, I was already working in a post-MBA position at a consulting firm. I figured, if I get into school, great. If not, I'll stay at my company at a job I like. I had nothing to lose. So, I decided to gamble and maximize my ROI by applying only to top programs. I trimmed the list based on where I would and would not live. I ruled out the Midwest (U.S.), kept the East Coast (U.S.), West Coast (U.S.) and Europe. For now, but probably not for long, the top MBA programs are still in the U.S.

I didn't apply to any safeties. If I'm going to spend $150k in tuition and living expenses, plus a few hundred $K in opportunity cost, I should go somewhere which will open doors for me. Besides, a half-assed application is pretty transparently half-assed.

Ultimately, I'm happy about where I applied. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably sub out INSEAD for Columbia. It was time for me to leave NYC, and this would have guaranteed it.