Such rankings allow schools that don’t always make it to the top 10 for overall marks to finally see what it feels like to be on top regarding specific impressive elements of their program.

Top 10 U.S. MBA Programs – Accounting

1. Chicago Booth

1. Texas-Austin McCombs

3. Rochester Simon

3. Boston College Carroll

5. U. of Washington Foster

5. Vanderbilt Owen

5. Babson Olin

5. Arizona State Carey

9. Harvard Business School

10. Wharton

Top 10 U.S. MBA Programs – Finance

1. Wharton

2. Chicago Booth

3. Columbia

4. Northeastern

5. Boston College Carroll

5. Case Western Weatherhead

7. Harvard Business School

8. Minnesota Carlson

8. Wisconsin-Madison

8. George Washington

Top 10 U.S. MBA Programs – Most Innovative Curriculums

1. Stanford

2. Chicago Booth

3. Indiana Kelley

4. Yale

4. USC Marshall

4. Texas A&M Mays

4. Tulane Freeman

8. Boston University

8. Rochester Simon

8. George Washington

Top 10 U.S. MBA Programs – Most Improved

1. Georgia Tech

1. Boston University

1. Northeastern

4. Indiana Kelley

5. Wake Forest

5. Arizona State Carey

7. Dartmouth Tuck

7. Brigham Young Marriott

7. Texas A&M Mays

7. Pittsburgh Katz

For rankings based on global competition, general management, communication skills, teamwork, or operations, as well as for an analysis on how the rankings were determined, please see the BW article. There is also a section there on global MBA programs ranked by specialty.

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Maryellen Reilly Lamb, senior associate director of MBA career management of Wharton, explains, “Two years ago, I couldn’t get a bank to take our calls, last year they were taking them and this year, they’re calling us. That speaks a lot to the cautious optimism of Wall Street at the moment.”

In 2008, about 59% of companies in all industries hired MBAs. In 2009 that number dropped to 50%, and this year, that number is likely to bounce back up to 55%.

Also trending back up are signing deals and salaries, which increased 3.2% this year to $89,200.

More recent statistics:

• Wharton saw a 20% increase this year over last in the number of students offered summer banking internships.
• NYU Stern hosted 10% more recruiting events this fall for full-time and summer banking positions.
• Columbia Business School recorded a 45% increase in full-time job postings.
• Harvard Business School, which as of last week had not published their totals, expects “a flurry of offer letters for MBA candidates approaching graduation.”
• JPMorgan and Credit Suisse plan to visit more schools and increase their hiring this year. Credit Suisse has already hired about 10% more people than it did last year.

How have the hiring changes affected MBA students and graduates? For one, explains the Fins article, candidates are showing more devotion to their chosen industry; fewer students are undecided in their career paths by the time they graduate. They are also not taking for granted what few job opportunities come their way.

Students will spend their first and third years taking courses at Columbia Law School and their second year at Columbia Business School. Elective courses will be available throughout the three years at both schools. Students will take a heavier load throughout the programs, but will be able to work during the summers between their first and second years and their second and third years in the program. There are optional late-August intensive courses through the law school that are designed as to not interfere with summer work.

There is already an existing four-year dual-degree JD/MBA program which will continue to run “for students interested in a broader course curriculum.”

One benefit for three-year students is the opportunity to enter the workforce a year earlier than were they to complete the four-year program. Students in both the three- and four-year programs are considered full students at both the law school and business school and have access to all facilities and services at each, including career services, networking opportunities, and academic options.

Worried about preparing for the LSAT? Choose the LSAT prep course that’s best for you after reviewing Accepted.com’s special report, LSAT Prep Companies: In Their Own Words.

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The new questions are incredibly simple and straightforward – and the fact that they are so by clear choice is meaningful and should inform your approach to the essays.

One essay covers professional matters; the other covers, in essence, the rest of your life, or at least what you consider important in it. Not many EMBA programs ask specifically about non-work experiences and interests, and the fact that Columbia devotes an entire essay to this area reflects its interest in having engaging students who really “have a life.”  It shows that Columbia also views a businessperson’s value and character holistically, a value worth keeping in mind.

Columbia Executive MBA Essay Questions and Tips

Essay 1

What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals? How will Columbia Business School help you achieve these goals? (Recommended 750 word limit)

The directness of this question indicates that the adcom really wants to hear what you have to say, uncluttered.  Oblige them.   I suggest a straightforward structure that introduces the goals with a little context and then details the goals and the need for the Columbia MBA.  Avoid the inclination to summarize your career and your current role.  Rather, zero in on the goals.  Show your motivation for your goals, but overall keep the goals discussion practical, including what you’ll do, how you’ll advance, and what you want to accomplish short term and long term.  These goals presumably produce some learning needs, which you can identify and then explain how Columbia will amply meet these needs.  Although this seems like largely an expository essay, find opportunities to insert a couple of brief anecdotes to enliven it.

Essay 2

Please tell us about yourself and your personal interests. The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally. (Recommended 500 word limit)

The key to succeeding with this essay starts with selecting great topics.  Don’t worry about discussing things that are “impressive” or about finding things that are unusual – this essay’s effectiveness rests on how vividly you present your topic(s), how you personalize it with anecdote and detail. A discussion about something as common as playing basketball can become a memorable statement with an engaging, illuminating anecdote.  I suggest focusing on two or three things that are important to you and that reflect various aspects of you and your life.  Try to vary them, i.e.., don’t discuss three sports.  Some broad topic areas include hobbies/interests, volunteering, formative experiences.  The points need not be given equal weight.  If you can find an overarching theme or message, fine, but don’t strain for it – better to focus on rich detail and content.

Optional essay

Is there any further information that you wish to provide to the Admissions Committee? (Please use this space to provide an explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or your personal history.)

The statement in the parentheses indicates that this essay should focus on matters that warrant explanation; the essay is not an invitation to further market yourself.  There are a range of issues that fit in such an essay, including academic records that don’t reflect your abilities, gaps in employment or education, not obtaining a recommendation from a manager.  These need not be all “problems” – simply matters that need clarification for the adcom to have a meaningful picture of your candidacy.   There is no length limit, but keep it succinct and straightforward.  The essay needn’t surpass 300-400 words in most cases.

By Cindy Tokumitsu, co-author of The EMBA Edge, and author of the free, email mini-course, “Ace the EMBA.”

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Top 30 U.S. Business Schools of 2010 (2008 rankings are parenthetical.)

1. Chicago Booth (1)
2. Harvard Business School (2)
3. Wharton (4)
4. Northwestern Kellogg (3)
5. Stanford GSB (6)
6. Duke Fuqua (8)
7. Michigan Ross (5)
8. UC Berkeley Haas (10)
9. Columbia (7)
10. MIT Sloan (9)
11. UVA Darden (16)
12. Southern Methodist Cox (18)
13. Cornell Johnson (11)
14. Dartmouth Tuck (12)
15. CMU Tepper (19)
16. UNC Kenan-Flagler (17)
17. UCLA Anderson (14)
18. NYU Stern (13)
19. Indiana Kelley (15)
20. Michigan State Broad (2T)
21. Yale SOM (24)
22. Emory Goizueta (23)
23. Georgia Tech (29)
24. Notre Dame Mendoza (20)
25. Texas-Austin McCombs (21)
26. USC Marshall (25)
27. Brigham Young Marriott (22)
28. Minnesota Carlson (2T)
29. Rice Jones (NR)
30. Texas A&M Mays (NR)

Top International Business Schools

1. INSEAD (3)
2. Queen’s (1)
3. IE Business School (2)
4. ESADE (6)
5. London Business School (5)
6. Western Ontario Ivey (4)
7. IMD (7)
8. Toronto Rotman (8)
9. York Schulich (2T)
10. Cambridge Judge (2T)
11. McGill Desautels (2T)
12. IESE (9)
13. Cranfield (NR)
14. HEC Paris (2T)
15. HEC Montreal (HR)
16. Oxford Said (10)
17. Manchester (2T)
18. SDA Bocconi (NR)

BW bases its rankings on employer and student surveys, as well as what they call “intellectual capital,” or school research output. For more information on how the rankings are determined, read BW‘s “How We Rank Business Schools.”

Other articles in the report that may interest you include:

• “The Best U.S. Business Schools 2010” – This article highlights ways that business schools are dealing with the sour job market—putting a new emphasis on job placement, reaching out to alumni for job leads, using technology to connect with recruiters, and bolstering career services departments.
• “Top Global Business Schools” – Read about how the Great Recession has affected the international MBA scene, why new schools have popped up on the top 10, why students are being drawn to emerging markets, and more.

Related Accepted.com Resources:

• The Rankings, a free special report on how you should interpret the rankings in your own b-school quest.
• Internationalizing the MBA, a free special report that will help you determine whether an international MBA program is right for you.

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Register now to reserve your spot for the Columbia MBA Q&A!

What time is that for me? Click on the link to find out the exact time for your location.

Let’s start with the actual rankings.

Top 15 International EMBA Programs

1.   Kellogg / Hong Kong UST Business School – China

2.   Columbia / London Business School – USA / UK

3.   Trium HEC Paris / LSE / NYU Stern – France / UK / USA

4.   INSEAD – France / Singapore / UAE

5.   University of Chicago, Booth – USA / UK / Singapore

6.   London Business School – UK

7.   IE Business School – Spain

8.   University of Pennsylvania, Wharton – USA

9.   Duke University, Fuqua – USA

10.  Chinese University of Hong Kong – China

10.  City University Cass – UK

12.  IMD – Switzerland

13.  UC Berkeley Haas / Columbia – USA

14.  Kellogg / WHU-Otto Belsheim School – Germany

15.  Columbia Business School – USA

15.  ESCP Europe – France / UK / Germany / Spain / Italy

You can tell simply by looking above where the EMBA “hot spots” are—the USA, UK, China, Singapore, Paris, France, and Spain—or you can take a look at the FT‘s interactive map: Hot spots: the most popular cities in the world for Executive MBAs.

For an analysis on how the rankings were determined, check out “The ranking decoded.”

For an explanation on the challenges business schools face with this executive degree, see the lead article in the report, “Business schools face EMBA challenge.” (Just to give you clue—it has something to do with the economy and companies becoming less than willing to shell out $100,000+ in sponsorship funds. Surprise, surprise.)

Yet challenges aside, many EMBA programs (especially those in countries that have been, until recently, underserved by business schools) are seeing an increase in enrollment. For more on EMBA success, read “Rising demand: executive MBA sector shows healthy growth.”

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In a message to the school (published on the Columbia website) Kravis credits his business success to his alma mater. He says that the school’s move to Manhattanville won’t just benefit the students and faculty, but the local small business owners in the area as well.

“We’re not just constructing a building, we’re building a community of entrepreneurs,” says Kravis. “If we don’t get our education system right, we’re going to be going backwards. I want to make sure this campus gets built. I think it will be phenomenal.”

According to a Crain’s New York article, Kravis’s pledge is the largest in the b-school’s history.

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