Admissions officers may be looking beyond your GMAT score—to your Facebook profile.
Could a specialized degree land you a job faster? Which business schools top Forbes’ MBA rankings in terms of happiest students? What does your online presence reveal to the prying eyes of admissions officers? Learn the answers to these questions and more in our roundup of top business school news.
The joy of MBA rankings
As part of its latest MBA rankings, Forbes analyzed the happiness factor: At which business schools are students the most joyous? According to their survey of more than 1,000 alumni, the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business is at the top of the list. Placing second was Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. So, what exactly makes students happy? Is it the alumni network that helps graduates get jobs? High starting salaries? Friendly classmates? Read on to find out what factors into this ranking (it’s actually somewhat arbitrary). (Forbes)
Specialized degrees booming
That collective bang you hear is the explosion in specialized programs at mid-tier business schools across the United States—and this boom isn’t localized to traditional areas, like finance and real estate. Business schools have tailored new programs to meet the demands of a changing job market, including sectors in which Big Data plays an increasingly crucial part. Here’s how the dean at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management describes the trend: “We don’t see these programs as sort of ‘MBA-lite.’ They really are much closer to undergraduate programs on steroids.” The benefit of these programs is that they can get you a job really fast. The downside is that the pay isn’t quite as good as your traditional, non-specialized MBA degree. (Poets & Quants)
The best business schools in Europe
The Financial Times has published this year’s rankings of the best business schools in Europe. Leading the pack is London Business School. Placing second is INSEAD, with HEC Paris coming in third. “MBA programs and the ability to offer companies custom training that responds promptly to their needs are keys to a school of management,” said Bruno Busacca, dean of Italy’s SDA Bocconi, which also placed highly on the MBA rankings list. INSEAD has bragging rights for the highest salary; its graduates accept starting compensation averaging $155K. Graduates of Spain’s IE Business School are nipping at their heels, though, with an average starting pay of $152,000, a tremendous 104% increase over pre-MBA salary. (BusinessBecause)
Build your online brand
Your GMAT score, your essays, your interview: These are traditionally the most important factors that will help distinguish you in the business school admissions process. Increasingly, however, your social media profile is a wildcard component—something that can potentially help get you in or keep you out. You may want to check your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter presence to ensure that what you broadcast tells the narrative you’d want business school admissions officers to hear. There’s no guarantee they are looking at your digital footprint, but if they do, you’ll want to make a good impression. (U.S. News & World Report)
International favorites
On top of the average GPA and GMAT score of the incoming class, one noteworthy piece of data that business schools publish is the percentage of their students who come from outside the United States. Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin American—American MBA programs are true melting pots. But do applicants who hail from one part of the world have an advantage over those who are from another? One analysis shows that Middle Eastern applicants may have an edge. (Poets & Quants)
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