{"id":21087,"date":"2013-10-13T12:54:04","date_gmt":"2013-10-13T19:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=21087"},"modified":"2013-10-13T12:54:05","modified_gmt":"2013-10-13T19:54:05","slug":"top-20-mba-programs-in-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/top-20-mba-programs-in-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 20 MBA Programs in 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are the 20 best MBA programs in the U.S. for 2013 according to Forbes<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
SCHOOL AND RANK <\/strong><\/td>\nPRE-MBA SALARY <\/strong><\/td>\n2012 SALARY <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1. Stanford GSB<\/a><\/td>\n$80,000<\/td>\n$221,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2. Chicago Booth<\/a><\/td>\n$76,000<\/td>\n$200,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3. Harvard Business School<\/a><\/td>\n$80,000<\/td>\n$205,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4. UPenn Wharton<\/a><\/td>\n$80,000<\/td>\n$205,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5. Northwestern Kellogg<\/a><\/td>\n$73,000<\/td>\n$176,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6. Dartmouth Tuck<\/a><\/td>\n$72,000<\/td>\n$189,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7. Columbia Business School <\/a>
\n<\/span><\/td>\n		$74,000<\/td>\n$192,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8. Duke Fuqua<\/a><\/td>\n$63,000<\/td>\n$152,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9. Cornell Johnson<\/a><\/td>\n$59,000<\/td>\n$155,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10. Michigan Ross<\/a><\/td>\n$61,000<\/td>\n$153,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11. UNC Kenan-Flagler<\/a><\/td>\n$60,000<\/td>\n$141,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12. MIT Sloan<\/a><\/td>\n$70,000<\/td>\n$185,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13. UCLA Anderson<\/a><\/td>\n$65,000<\/td>\n$165,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14. UC Berkeley Haas<\/a><\/td>\n$71,000<\/td>\n$175,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15. UVA Darden<\/a><\/td>\n$67,000<\/td>\n$158,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16. CMU Tepper<\/a><\/td>\n$60,000<\/td>\n$135,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17. Brigham Young Marriott<\/td>\n$50,000<\/td>\n$109,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18. Yale SOM<\/a><\/td>\n$54,000<\/td>\n$144,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19. Indiana Kelley<\/a><\/td>\n$50,000<\/td>\n$120,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20. Iowa Tippie<\/td>\n$46,000<\/td>\n$118,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

For more info, please see Forbes<\/em>\u2019 lead article \u201cStanford Tops 2013 List Of America's Best Business Schools<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why the Forbes<\/em> Ranking Matters <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Forbes<\/em> ranking is interesting for one simple reason. It focuses exclusively on ROI five years after graduation. This year Forbes looked at the graduates of 2008, the class that graduated into the Great Recession, the financial melt-down, and the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns. It was a tough time to launch a career.<\/p>\n

Forbes<\/em> heard from almost 5,000 grads from 100 schools and \u201ccompared their earnings in their first five years out of business school to their opportunity cost (two years of forgone compensation, tuition and required fees) to arrive at a \u20185-year M.B.A. Gain.\u2019\u201d It ranks programs based on that pre-tax gain. (For the details of Forbes<\/em> methodology, click here<\/a>.) It does not include programs where less than 15% of alumni responded or where there was negative ROI. It also does assume reduced increase in salary without an MBA.<\/p>\n

Potential Flaws: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 It relies on reporting from grads who have an interest in their alma mater being highly ranked. In other words, like all surveys, it can be gamed.<\/p>\n

\u2022 While Forbes<\/em> does attempt to reflect financial aid and differences in cost of living, it doesn\u2019t reflect disparities in varied industries and functional roles. You are going to go into a specific field and industry. The averages in that industry are going to matter to you more than the average of the graduating class at your business school.<\/p>\n

\u2022 In its methodology Forbes<\/em> assumes that without an MBA, the candidates would have had half the increase in salary that they had with the MBA. I don\u2019t know if there is any data supporting that assumption or if it is generous or stingy.<\/p>\n

Take-Aways from the Forbes Ranking<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the potential flaws, the Forbes ranking does have value. I noticed or took away the following:<\/p>\n

1. An MBA from a top MBA program<\/a> pays, and pays well<\/em>. It didn\u2019t pay off as quickly as it did 10 years ago, but it pays. A 3-5 year payback on an investment with gravy for the rest of your career is an excellent investment. And if you are lucky enough not to graduate into the kind of almost unprecedented financial disaster the Class of 2008 faced, you should have a shorter payback period and higher gain. This is the clearest conclusion from the Forbes ranking. To me, it is far more important than any individual school\u2019s actual rank or even movement of one school since 2011, when Forbes had its last ranking.<\/p>\n

2. The schools with the shortest payback period were NOT the highest ranked programs. They were BYU Marriott, Indiana Kelley, and Iowa Tippie. See \u201cBusting Two MBA Myths<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. There are some surprising winners<\/a> (UC Davis, UCLA Anderson, CMU Tepper, Duke, Ross, and UNC Kenan-Flagler) and losers<\/a> (Yale SOM, UVA Darden, and NYU Stern).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said it before and I\u2019ll say it again. Use rankings<\/a> for the data they provide and as sources of insight into trends over time. Don\u2019t view any individual ranking as an influential factor in choosing where to apply or where to attend. And for heaven\u2019s sake, take the time to understand what is actually being ranked and evaluated.
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