UrbanPrep
JackSparr0w
When you all refer to "Top 15" which rankings are people going by? US News?
I think the consensus is that the schools that are top 15 in the consortium are Tuck, Ross, Haas, NYU, Darden, UCLA, Yale. these schools can afford to be more selective in regard to their interviews and admissions through the consortium than the other member schools. Correct me if I'm wrong though. Those 7 plus Duke and the M7 are considered top 15!
Take a look at the methodologies for ranking when you're considering them. I was using US News which relies heavily on ratings from other schools, admissions information, and career placement stats. I switched over to Bloomberg after I read their methodology, which is basically a survey of graduating students to see what they thought of the program, as well as a satisfaction survey of the people hiring the students from those programs. I very much appreciate this methodology. Also keep in mind that ratings are really measuring how good a school was a couple year ago, your experience may differ.
Ratings are a tricky thing. Like rating the "best car" or "best food", it's really up to you to determine what experience you want and what school will give you the best chance of getting it. If you can find a rating system that measures schools in a manner you find useful, you're in luck! Otherwise, get all the information you can and compare.