Rankings vs. public opinion vs. actual job offers

Question

I know that the GMAT Club is a niche group of individuals (I mean, how many people who take the GMAT are actually on this website? It seems everyone on here has scores >700, which is not indicative of the actual score that the average individual attains), but how do rankings come into play when it comes to job offers?

In your eyes (or experience), does the higher ranking school come into play when interviewing for a job? Basically, does one get the job for going to a no. 11 school versus the person that went to the #17 school, just because of ranking?

We all know the business schools here by name (Anderson, Ross, Stern, Fuqua, etc.), but does the general public and future employers really care about any of that? Is the average employer going to know what Kellogg or GSB is? Or do they just care that you got a solid MBA from a top 50 school?

I ask because I intend to go into marketing, and I've having a tough time deciding if I should stay on the waitlist at UCLA or just accept USC. Reading the forums and the rankings has me down about USC, however its a great school that everyone around else seems to think is amazing.

MDF · Answer

It depends on the industry and company that you want to work for. If you go to a top ranked school, the more desirable, high-paying firms that many MBAs want to work for (e.g. Google, McKinsey, Goldman) come to campus and aggressively recruit/interview students. This isn't to say that you can't get an interview with one of those firms if you go to a lower ranked school, it's just that it's going to be a lot more difficult because: 1) you'll have to network really hard since the firms don't come to campus, 2) you'll have to be one of the very top performers in your class, and 3) it's unlikely the school will have the mechanisms in place to prepare you for interviewing with those particular firms (again, since they don't come on campus to recruit).

Later on in your career (say 10+ years post-MBA) when you're looking for a job, the ranking of the school probably won't matter at all. Your employer may not even care if you have an MBA. What will matter is your network and career progression for the past 10 years, both of which will arguable stronger if you attend a top program.

I'd recommend putting together a list of 5-10 companies that you'd be happy to work for post-MBA. Then look at the employment reports of UCLA and USC to see how they compare in regards to the number of grads hired by the companies on your list.

CobraKai · Answer

General public? No. Future employers? Yes. Mainly because employers that hire MBAs know the merits of the higher ranked schools. They're a "screen" if you will that lets the employer know what they're getting from their core schools. The thought process being, "If this person got into this school, they're doing something right." So to answer your question: the average MBA employer will definitely care and know what Kellogg or GSB is. Companies that don't regularly hire MBAs might not know, but then again, are you going to try to get hired by a company that doesn't have MBA type positions? Doesn't make much sense to do so.

The reason it's important to go to a top school is for on-campus recruiting, and if a certain company doesn't recruit on campus, chances are, an alum from that school works there and networking can be done that way, along with career treks, etc. The disadvantage a Top 50 school would have is that those top firms don't come to campus, and the chances of there being an alumni connection are slim. Getting into a Top 50 school simply doesn't pass the "screen" test that getting into a top 15 school does.

Here's an additional resource for you. You won't be eligible as a 2016 PT grad, but keep this site in mind for future reference.  https://mbaveterans.com/eligibility-requirements

pancaketown · Answer

Conversely, wouldn't it be equally difficult at a top ranked school to actually land an internship or job? For different reasons, though. It seems there would be more competition at a top ranked school, and you'd still have to be at the top of your class. Or do you see it differently?

lb2015 · Answer

Interesting discussion.

On a similar note, I am from the northeast and when I tell people it's between UVA and Yale at this point (pending Yale decision next week), they assume Yale is a much better business school. In fact, a lot of them haven't heard of UVA until I say "University of Virginia" (nevermind if I said "Darden"). Yale is obviously more of a household name due to the Ivy League status, and being in the northeast only emphasizes that further. Arguably, Darden provides better recruiting, though personally I put them in about the same category. It's just interesting trying to explain that to people who aren't as familiar with b-schools.

If I didn't know much about business schools, I'd probably assume USC was the better school just from my perception of the school's overall prestige. But I agree that the on-campus recruiting is what will really make the difference and why it might make sense to wait it out at Anderson. At a top 20 school, you'd be guaranteed to have solid recruiting, at USC you might be more on your own.

Have you seen this article? It sounds like they've mostly resolved the issue, but it speaks to your question about job offers at USC:

https://www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... is-jobless

cheetarah1980 · Answer

Yes and no. Top ranked schools have internship and job placement stats well over 90%. Booth has a 100% internship placement rate. Will everyone get their first choice internship/full-time job? No. But will most people find something? Yes. So if you're looking to get into consulting, a top ranked program won't guarantee you a spot at MBB, but it'll definitely get you into the industry (as long as you don't screw up the case). There's competition at top schools, but it's different. It's not for jobs in general, but particularly coveted roles that everyone wants. Hope that makes sense.

OptimisticApplicant · Answer

I largely agree with the other posters. Here's a post I recently created on the subject of rank and school selection: rank-and-school-selection-149225.html To answer your questions specifically (and again, this is all my personal opinion)... "Do rankings come into play when it comes to job offers?" - It completely depends on the company. Higher ranked schools have much broader reach in terms of both brand recognition and alumni network. If you want a job outside of CA, UCLA is a much better bet. "Basically, does one get the job for going to a no. 11 school versus the person that went to the #17 school, just because of ranking?" - It plays a minimal role - maybe a tiebreaker - during the interview process. However, students from the #11 program are able to more easily get interviews (through OCR and networking) for opportunities that students from the #17 program are not aware of/are not considered for. That said, differences are much larger at a national level than a regional level. "Does the general public and future employers really care about any of that?" - The general public judges b-schools based on their knowledge of the parent university (e.g., they think Yale has a stronger business school than Northwestern). Future employers are not the general public though...a vast majority of them are well-versed in how b-schools stack up. "Is the average employer going to know what Kellogg or GSB is? Or do they just care that you got a solid MBA from a top 50 school? " - They average employer (of b-school students) will know the difference. "I ask because I intend to go into marketing, and I've having a tough time deciding if I should stay on the waitlist at UCLA or just accept USC." - A few points...(1) if I were you, I would just put a deposit down on USC either way...(2) if you cannot lose that deposit, then your decision should be based on your post-MBA goals - where do you want to work? how condifident are you that you want to go into marketing? is it important that you work for an elite company (e.g., Google)? If you are sure that you want to work in marketing in CA and you don't care about working for an ultra-elite brand, then USC is going to provide you with a lot of really great opportunities, and I wouldn't hold out for UCLA. On the other hand, if you're unsure about marketing and unsure about CA, and/or desperately want to work for a prestigue company, then I'd seriously consider waiting on UCLA. Good luck! Let us know how you make out. Best, OA

Rankings vs. public opinion vs. actual job offers

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