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Spring is here, the next cycle of MBA Admissions is gearing up, and that means it\u2019s also MBA and business school rankings season again.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n US News & World Report<\/span><\/i> just released its annual MBA ranking for 2024, reshuffling its list of <\/span>the best business schools<\/span><\/a>. The University of Pennsylvania\u2019s <\/span>Wharton School<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> Stanford GSB<\/span><\/a>, previously ranked No. 3 and No. 6, are on top once again, tied at No. 1. They knocked the University of Chicago Booth School of Business out of the top spot and into a tie at No. 3 with Northwestern University\u2019s <\/span>Kellogg School of Management<\/span><\/a>. Harvard Business School drops a spot to sixth.<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>Haas School of Business<\/span><\/a> at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Virginia\u2019s <\/span>Darden School of Business<\/span><\/a> broke into the top 10, up from No. 11 and No. 14 respectively. Three other contenders \u2014<\/span> Columbia Business School, Duke University Fuqua, and University of Michigan Ross School of Business \u2014 slipped out of the top 10 again and fell into a three-way tie for 12th place.<\/span><\/p>\n This 2024 ranking comes just weeks behind <\/span>The Financial Times\u2019 <\/span><\/i>Global MBA rankings<\/span><\/a>, where Wharton, which fell out of the 2023 rankings, rocketed back into first place, Harvard Business School fell to 11<\/span>th<\/span> place, and Stanford GSB dropped all the way to a head-scratching 23rd.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n MBA program rankings garner high interest, clicks, and views, so they seem to be attracting some new players Many publications and organizations \u2014 including some business schools themselves<\/a>, such as Georgia Tech\u2019s Scheller College of Business<\/a> \u2014 have jumped into this high-profile and potentially lucrative game, trying to quantify the quality of MBA programs based on type, platform, return on investment, and more. Even LinkedIn chimed in with a ranking based on potential for career growth, but with a methodology that Poets&Quants called <\/span>shrewd but botched<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The appeal of MBA rankings is understandable. You are investing many thousands of dollars in your career trajectory. You\u2019re deciding where and how you will spend the next two years, immersing yourself in a life-changing journey of professional and personal growth. And you\u2019re choosing a network of friends and colleagues, some of whom may be with you for life. It\u2019s nice to have some quantitative and qualitative data to guide that big investment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But, given the sheer volume of rankings, the large swings in how schools place from year to year, and the multiple ties among closely clustered schools, how can you make sense of MBA rankings? How helpful are they in choosing your target schools \u2014 and making sure you know you\u2019re getting your money\u2019s worth?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here at Fortuna, we\u2019ve been watching the MBA ranking game for a long time, and we have some advice on how to use rankings and the data beneath them effectively.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Wild swings in where schools place might raise doubts about their validity \u2013 whether it\u2019s Wharton dropping out of the <\/span>FT<\/span><\/i> list last year entirely, University of Pittsburgh climbing 39 places from 86<\/span>th<\/span> last year to 45<\/span>th<\/span> in <\/span>US News <\/span><\/i>this year, or Brandeis University\u2019s 27-spot drop to 107<\/span>th<\/span> place. Universities and business schools are large, complex, well-established institutions that aren\u2019t going to change that dramatically in a year or two. What could possibly have changed to explain those results?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One reason behind the dramatic swings in schools\u2019 placements from year to year is that the publications and organizations behind the graduate school and MBA rankings are often tinkering with the inputs and relative weights from year to year, and that can lead to very different outputs. That\u2019s why it\u2019s crucial to <\/span>read the fine print<\/b> behind the numbers, to make sure you understand the methodology and data behind them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For example, this year <\/span>US New<\/span><\/i>s refined how they factored in graduate salaries, weighting them by profession to control for common salary differences across industries. <\/span>This makes things more equitable for schools that are not sending most of their graduates into highly compensated finance or tech jobs. This change, combined with reduced emphasis on starting salary at graduation, may have helped boost the Haas School four places into a tie for seventh place with Yale School of Management and New York University\u2019s Stern School of Business. By this new measure, Haas ranked fifth, even though its average salary and bonus was the lowest of any top ten MBA program at $188,343.<\/span><\/p>\n At a glance, the <\/span>FT\u2019s <\/span><\/i>salary data looks like it\u2019s cited in dollars and Euros. Look closer and you\u2019ll see they have adjusted the figures to reflect spending power. That\u2019s a reasonable adjustment that can be helpful \u2013 or it can be misleading if you\u2019re not aware.<\/span><\/p>\n To be fair, annual methodology changes reflect a continual effort to improve the value of ranked results. But changes in methodology also may mean that rankings are at the mercy of the business cycle. Last year, <\/span>US New<\/span><\/i>s changed its methodology so that job placement rates accounted for a full 50% of a school\u2019s ranking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That makes sense, because job placement is a factor that students really care about. <\/span>However, given swings in the economy and employment markets, this factor could have a huge impact in a boom year for recruiting in the finance industry or a downturn in the tech sector. This could really affect middle-ranked schools. \u201cAre you suffering because your school is sending people into tech careers and the tech sector is laying people off?\u201d wonders Judith Silverman Hodara, a Fortuna co-founder and director.<\/span><\/p>\n As MBA rankings multiply, they are also specializing. Some are ranking schools on specific outcomes, such as career trajectory or return on investment. It\u2019s important to know what the rankings are measuring, what factors go into them, and what is left out. Some rankings may be based on factors that just aren\u2019t that meaningful or relevant to you. For example, among the 21 factors blended into the <\/span>Financial Times<\/span><\/i> rankings are the share of faculty with PhDs and data on the composition of the institution\u2019s board. Those may not have a big impact on your professional future.<\/span><\/p>\n Stanford GSB historically has notched the highest alumni satisfaction ratings and gets top honors from the <\/span>FT<\/span><\/i> for its alumni network and aims achieved, as well as the highest average weighted salary for its graduates. Yet in its latest MBA rankings released in February, the <\/span>FT<\/span><\/i> couldn\u2019t get adequate alumni satisfaction data from Stanford GSB and zeroed out that factor. Without it, GSB ended up ranking 23rd out of the top 100 schools globally. \u201cI think most people will decide that placement reflects badly on the ranking rather than being a true reflection on the Stanford GSB,\u201d my Fortuna cofounder and director Caroline Diarte Edwards observes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In another example of paying attention to what\u2019s missing, the Scheller College rankings rate schools based on return on investment, calculating it based on a ratio of just two data points: median graduate starting salaries and tuition. Initially, University of Florida Warrington College of Business came out on top as the school that offered the most bang for the buck. Elite M7 schools did not fare so well, because they are quite expensive, and even strong job placement and high starting salaries can\u2019t overcome that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, this measure ignores scholarships, overstating what students may actually invest. It measures ROI only in the short term and leaves out intangibles that may yield benefits over time. How can this ranking put a value on Wharton\u2019s alumni network, or the opportunity to make contacts in New York\u2019s finance or fashion industry if you\u2019re at CBS or NYU Stern?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (It\u2019s of interest that Scheller briefly <\/span>came out #1 in its own ranking<\/span><\/a> \u2014 until they spotted a data issue that misstated tuition and left the University of Texas Jindal School of Management at the very bottom of the list. When the error was corrected, Jindal vaulted to the top.)<\/span><\/p>\n The proliferation of MBA rankings can pay off for you. Because rankings all tend to emphasize different factors measured in different ways, you benefit from looking at more than one ranking. Look at enough, and you\u2019ll see some trends emerge, with schools clustering in the top 20, the middle 50, and so on. If you look at past years, you\u2019ll start to notice if a school popped up to excel one year and then faded back to the middle of the pack.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You can find rankings that rate schools based on their strength in areas that interest you. For instance, the <\/span>Princeton Review ranks graduate programs<\/span><\/a> in entrepreneurship; so does <\/span>Poets&Quants<\/span><\/a>, albeit with a more global focus. Other rankings may rate schools based on their ESG focus or on their commitment to diversity and inclusion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Also, look beyond the single rank number to the data that the rankers have conveniently collected for you. That\u2019s the true value of rankings. \u201cThe premise of a ranking \u2014the view that there is a single order in the world of business schools that we should all agree with \u2014 is false,\u201d says Diarte Edwards. \u201cThere is no one-size-fits-all school. Everybody has a different view about what is important in the quality of a business school. It very much depends, for a candidate, on what they are looking to get out of the experience.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s useful about MBA rankings is that they aggregate useful data about schools, and it\u2019s worth digging into that on the dimensions that matter to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Often, there\u2019s only a sliver of difference between schools numerically. \u201cPeople reading the MBA rankings need to keep in mind that these are great schools; it doesn\u2019t really matter if the school is # 1 or #10, to be honest. It\u2019s a fantastic cohort to be part of,\u201d says Diarte Edwards. Given the wild swings in where schools end up, \u201cI think what matters for these schools are not the headlines; it\u2019s about the more longer-term trends. When you\u2019re looking at rankings, see what schools have been consistent performers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Rankings are hard to ignore, and they can provide some useful frame of reference if you\u2019re new to the business school landscape or just starting your research. <\/span>However, it should be just a single data point in your school research.<\/span><\/p>\n No ranking can adequately sum up the full MBA experience into a single number. Rankings can\u2019t quantify many facets that matter: where you\u2019ll live, who you will learn from and study with, what experiences will be available, how the school\u2019s culture and community feel to you, and so much more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA top ranking means little if the school is not a good fit for you and your goals,\u201d says Patty Keegan, a Fortuna director and former associate dean at Chicago Booth. \u201cYou\u2019re making a significant investment in your future and spending an intensive two years of your life in school, so the culture and environment matter. The fit of the school should never be overlooked, despite all the ranking noise,\u201d Keegan stresses.<\/span><\/p>\n Fortuna cofounder and director Judith Silverman Hodara agrees. While the rankings change their weights to prioritize some inputs, what you value as an individual matters more. \u201cThe salary you make when you leave might not be as important as who is in your LinkedIn network in the future,\u201d she says. \u201cDoes it matter whether it\u2019s 1 or 6 or 10? What matters is if you feel at home. There are so many other things you should be taking into consideration on a personal level that have nothing to do with rankings.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So, take the rankings with a grain of salt and use them carefully. Being the best business school according to <\/span>US News<\/span><\/i>, the <\/span>FT<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>Bloomberg Businessweek <\/span><\/i>can be very different from being the best business school for you<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n The post MBA Rankings: How to Use Them Effectively<\/a> appeared first on Fortuna<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Spring is here, the next cycle of MBA Admissions is gearing up, and that means it\u2019s also MBA and business school rankings season again.\u00a0 US News & World Report just…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1831,775,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-fortuna-admissions","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62339\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Read the Fine Print<\/span><\/h2>\n
Watch What They Are Ranking\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Don\u2019t Rely on a Single Ranking<\/span><\/h2>\n
Take Rankings with a Grain of Salt<\/h2>\n