Entrepreneurship is the sexy post-MBA job, but the reality is that less than 5% of grads from top MBA programs start a business at graduation. Per GMAC’s just released Prospective Students Survey Report, 34% of all graduate business students seek consulting positions after they earn their degree. My suspicion is that the figure is even higher among full-time MBA candidates. True, many will work as consultants for a few years, and then down the road start their own business.
If you are in that vast mass of MBA wannabes planning/hoping for a job in consulting immediately after you earn your degree, this ranking is for you! We’ve examined US News’ top MBA programs and the number of grads who have gone into consulting from each one. (The data here is from U.S. News.)
Ranked by Percentage of Grads Going into Consulting
| School | Full-Time Graduates | # Reporting Consulting Jobs | % of Grads |
| Yale | 230 | 69 | 30% |
| Kellogg | 627 | 180 | 29% |
| Duke | 434 | 124 | 29% |
| Michigan Ross | 512 | 140 | 27% |
| MIT Sloan | 390 | 105 | 27% |
| CMU Tepper | 208 | 55 | 26% |
| Chicago Booth | 579 | 146 | 25% |
| Emory | 123 | 31 | 25% |
| Dartmouth | 266 | 66 | 25% |
| Wharton | 800 | 191 | 24% |
| UVA Darden | 312 | 74 | 24% |
| Georgetown | 248 | 55 | 22% |
| NYU Stern | 375 | 83 | 22% |
| USC Marshall | 210 | 45 | 21% |
| Texas McCombs | 271 | 56 | 21% |
| Harvard | 905 | 175 | 19% |
| Notre Dame Mendoza | 129 | 22 | 17% |
| UNC Kenan-Flagler | 283 | 48 | 17% |
| Cornell | 282 | 47 | 17% |
| UC Berkeley Haas | 241 | 40 | 17% |
| Indiana Kelley | 216 | 35 | 16% |
| Columbia Business School | 730 | 107 | 15% |
| Stanford | 391 | 49 | 13% |
| UCLA Anderson | 369 | 41 | 11% |
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Ranked by Number of Grads Going into Consulting
| School | Full-Time Graduates | # Reporting Consulting Jobs | % of Grads |
| Wharton | 800 | 191 | 24% |
| Kellogg | 627 | 180 | 29% |
| Harvard | 905 | 175 | 19% |
| Chicago Booth | 579 | 146 | 25% |
| Michigan Ross | 512 | 140 | 27% |
| Duke | 434 | 124 | 29% |
| Columbia Business School | 730 | 107 | 15% |
| MIT Sloan | 390 | 105 | 27% |
| NYU Stern | 375 | 83 | 22% |
| UVA Darden | 312 | 74 | 24% |
| Yale | 230 | 69 | 30% |
| Dartmouth | 266 | 66 | 25% |
| Texas McCombs | 271 | 56 | 21% |
| CMU Tepper | 208 | 55 | 26% |
| Georgetown | 248 | 55 | 22% |
| Stanford | 391 | 49 | 13% |
| UNC Kenan-Flagler | 283 | 48 | 17% |
| Cornell | 282 | 47 | 17% |
| USC Marshall | 210 | 45 | 21% |
| UCLA Anderson | 369 | 41 | 11% |
| UC Berkeley Haas | 241 | 40 | 17% |
| Indiana Kelley | 216 | 35 | 16% |
| Emory | 123 | 31 | 25% |
| Notre Dame Mendoza | 129 | 22 | 17% |
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Certainly a high ranking in either of these lists indicates that the program has the recruiting ties, placement track record, and alumni network, as well as the curriculum, to support your consulting goals. This solid indication implies these schools deserve further research about the appropriateness of a given school for you. However, it doesn’t tell the full picture. Dig into the schools’ class profile, placement stats, curriculum, extra-curricular activities and opportunities to determine which schools to apply to.
Ultimately you want to apply to programs that will take you where you want to go and that are likely to admit you.
By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools.
Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!
This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.
