Ivan91 wrote:
MBAreapplicant84 wrote:
The 2014 Business Week rankings are out. UCLA Anderson is up from #18 in 2012 to #11 this year!
https://www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... ings-tableWhile to me UCLA is definitely top 10 school, any ranking which puts Duke as #1 and Harvard as #6 is not a ranking which carries any authority
Haha, agreed! I don't know of many people that choose Fuqua over HBS. Rankings in general need to be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, looking over the spectrum of different ranking can paint a decent picture of where a particular business school stands in the overall general landscape. But deciding to apply or attend a school based on these less than perfect rankings alone is a mistake. People need to do more research than just looking over the rankings. Find out what each b-school you are interested in has to offer. How will it help you reach your short and long-term goals. Go to the school that will best position you to be able to achieve those goals.
So, I don't mean to get on a soapbox or anything, but I guess I will just for a minute. I have talked with several prospective students regarding why I chose Anderson. They other night at a prospective student event, an individual asked me what other schools I was accepted to and why I chose Anderson. I mentioned that I was accepted to Darden as well and the individual quickly responded, "Darden is higher ranked than Anderson. Why didn't you just go there?" I explained my career interests and that many of the companies that I am interested in don't actively recruit from Darden (I am not bashing Darden in anyway, I loved Darden, it's a great school). I also told him I want to stay on the West Coast after graduation.
Another thing I have come across frequently in conversations I have had and on forum, blogs, etc. is the perception that because of the relatively low number of students that go into consulting compared to other top schools, Anderson is not strong in consulting. I think it's important to look beyond the numbers and ask yourself why the numbers are the way they are. Last year, about 14% of the students took full-time position in consulting. At a quick glance, you can come to the conclusion that compared to other top schools where the percentage going into consulting can be much higher, closer to 30%, Anderson is just not strong in consulting. Or if you took the time to dig a little deeper you may come to the realization that the number may be lower because there is just a more diverse set of career interests among the student body. I think more important than the percentage of students going into a particular field, like consulting, is how many students wanting to get a job in a certain industry get one? What firms recruit students from that particular school? For consulting, if you are interested in MBB, of those interested in going into consulting and target MBB, how many land jobs there?
I'll get down from my soapbox now, but the moral of the story is, whether you are looking at Anderson or any other school, take the time to look beyond the rankings. Understand yourself and what you want to get out of b-school. Then when looking for a school that will get you to where you want to go, take time to do a bit more research than just browsing the school websites, career stats, and looking through ranking information. The things you learn may end up changing your mind on where you want to go, I know it did for me.
Sorry to go on forever. Good luck to everyone applying, interviewing, or waiting for invites!