Making Sense of B-School Rankings
'Tis the season... for ranking the top business schools. It seems like every week a new list comes out. You can read about the top global MBA programs, top full-time MBA programs, top part-time MBA programs and top executive MBA programs. There are also rankings of top U.S. programs, top European programs, top Asian programs, and top Latin American programs. Top specialty programs and MBA programs that prepare students for social, environmental, and ethical stewardship are ranked as well.
If you're a prospective business school student, using the various rankings to choose the right place for you among all the MBA programs out there may seem overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. The secret lies in finding out what helps MBA programs to rank well in each of these lists and then deciding how important this is to you. In other words, you'll need to rank the rankings.
"It is important to keep the rankings in perspective," said Bob Ludwig, director of Media and Public Affairs at the Graduate Management Admission Council, or GMAC. "They should be only one piece of information used in the decision-making process."
A nonprofit dedicated to assessing students on their readiness for management education, GMAC is also the owner and administrator of the Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT. GMAC and GMAT are not affiliated with any ranking, Ludwig said.
How business school rankings work
Full-time business school MBA rankings, for instance, evaluate different sets of business schools using diverse criteria. Results are therefore limited to what the rankings measure.
The full-time MBA rankings of Bloomberg Businessweek and U.S. News & World Report focus on U.S.-based business schools. But the Bloomberg Businessweek ranking gives more importance to MBA graduates and recruiter comments, while the U.S. News & World Report ranking provides more weight to dean and recruiter comments, and placement success. The University of Chicago's Booth School of Business tops the Bloomberg Businessweek ranking, while Stanford University's Graduate School of Business is ranked first by U.S. News & World Report.
The Economist and the Financial Times rankings evaluate global MBA programs. Again, the way they calculate business school scores vary. Eighty percent of The Economist ranking is based on data provided by business schools. The remaining 20 percent is derived from student and alumni ratings. In the Financial Times ranking, salaries and increases in salaries, as well as school diversity and international reach are important. The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth tops The Economist ranking, while The London Business School and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania top the Financial Times ranking.
The Wall Street Journal ranking scrutinizes global accelerated MBA programs, which run a year in length instead of the two for many regular MBA programs. The ranking is primarily based on surveys of students and alumni. Student surveys measured satisfaction with all aspects of the program, while alumni surveys inquired about the usefulness of the training. IE Business School in Madrid tops The Wall Street Journal ranking.
Other rankings focus on yet more specific aspects. The Forbes ranking is simply based on the return on investment achieved by MBA graduates five years out of business school. Harvard Business School tops the Forbes ranking. The Aspen Institute ranking, known as Beyond Grey Pinstripes, meanwhile, ranks global programs that show social, environmental, and ethical concerns, primarily through the courses taught to business students. The Stanford Graduate School of Business also comes out first in this ranking.
How to choose among MBA programs
According to Ludwig, it's important to do the research to find that MBA program that could be the best fit for you. In addition to looking at the rankings, he recommended that students take the following steps to identify preferred MBA programs.
- Talk to current students, alumni, and faculty
- Visit the school's website and the school itself
- Find out which industries/companies recruit at the school
- Attend a school that companies in your area of interest recruit from
"Business school is a major investment in your future and you want to make sure that the school is the best fit for you to succeed and to get a job when you graduate," Ludwig said. "It can also serve as an important network during your professional career."
In the 2011 Prospective Students Survey conducted by mba.com, domestic applicants ranked the use of published rankings eighth in a list of top-10 criteria — below quality of faculty, program accreditation, local respect/recognition, job placement reputation, rigor of academic program, successful alumni, and quality of the students. International applicants ranked published rankings No. 4 — under quality of faculty, job placement reputation, and program accreditation. It just goes to show you that while rankings are important, other considerations also come into play when it comes to searching for that right business school.
