lookitsdanman wrote:
BearMBA2018 wrote:
I’d like to make one additional point.
Everyone that applies to business school wants to be judged based on who they are as a person, and what they have accomplished. Nobody wants to be viewed as just a number or collection of GPA and GMAT stats. That being said, is it really fair for us to view Stern as a number (ie. US News Ranking) rather than a holistic experience? This is especially true for roughly half of the accepted students in each class who have GPA’s and GMAT scores below Stern’s average. Wouldn’t it be hypocritical to criticize Stern for being ranked #20 if your measurable statistics may in fact be bringing down the data that is used to calculate Sterns ranking?
Unfortunately it’s difficult for US News to measure the intangibles students bring to each business school, but in my opinion this is where Stern shines. From what I can tell, the emphasis placed on EQ by Sterns admissions staff creates a much more well rounded class, a generally friendlier, more collaborative, and overall more productive environment. The reality of the situation is that if you were accepted at Stern with lower than average statistics, they’ve taken a risk on you based on their evaluation of your total package. Let’s take a step back and evaluate Stern the way they evaluated each of us that applied. The ranking is frustrating, but Stern is much more than just a questionable US News ranking.
well said!! Completely agree that rankings do not mean everything, and it's the total package of the school and program that should help you make your decision on where to matriculate.
While I generally agree that this new ranking should not be the determining factor when deciding which program to attend for reasons people have mentioned (particularly because the ranking is not reflective of the actual quality of the program), I think that it does highlight a lack of improvement on the part of the school. I believe that Stern would have dropped in rankings to a 12-14 position, and while this wouldn't make me not attend Stern, it is disconcerting that Stern has not made significant improvements and is actually seeming to be backtracking. I also think that this #20 ranking will be tough to overcome over the next few years. Whether we think it is valid or not, these rankings are a huge contributor and guide for people applying to MBA programs. This will surely affect next year's applicant pool and to a lesser extent this year's yield, which will in turn have a negative impact on future rankings.
Also, not sure what
DoorDelano was specifically referring to, but there have been rumors of dysfunction among the administration at Stern, so I think some people are taking this rankings blunder as a sign of that. I spend a lot of time with Sternies and know students who work in admissions and they have commented on this to me, so I don't think that these rumors are unfounded (although some may be exaggerations). That being said, this seems like it is a huge wake up call for the Stern administration and that they are jumping into action to try and fix things. I think that this mistake will likely end up actually leading to improvements by the school's administration. Although, it will be interesting to see if these improvements mitigate the negative impact that the rankings blunder will have over the next few years..