MBA - national or international?

What are the advantages of going to an "international" school over a good national school? This really depends on what you want from your MBA. If you are "only" looking to improve your skills, get the all-round business education you think you need to improve your job performance and find out more about related disciplines, then you may want to consider going for a good national school. If you want a "calling card" MBA that everyone has heard of and you can use to leverage your MBA to get a major salary increase then you're probably thinking of taking an MBA at one of the recognised "international" schools.

Of course all schools are based in one country or another, but international schools are those which are internationally recognised. They just happen to be based in the host country but they could be anywere. In the US these are schools like Harvard, Stanford, Kellogg (Northwestern), etc. In the UK there's only one option: LBS (London Business School). In Europe you have a choice between Insead and IMD, in Asia the top international may prove to be the new Insead venture in Singapore, but the books are still open on this one.

So if you want a career in investment banking, consultancy or a "calling card" MBA then hand over the cash, if you want to improve your own skills or a career change but aren't hung up on major salary boost, then go for a decent national school.