Is it safe going by Rankings ?

Question

Hi Experts,

As we all well aware, there are different rankings available for B-schools such as Top 100 B-Schools in the world, Top 50 Schools in Europe, etc..
Though it wont be too good to mention about particular Ranking, I would like to know whether is it safe if we simply choose a Business School based on its global ranking without seeing much insights about a particular school, in the belief that the ranking process have considered/compiled the details based on most of the factors which influences the global reputation of the particular school. Please share your thoughts on this.

Hope this question will help others too!!

Thanks!!

aichdee · Answer

No, it wouldn't be safe to choose a business school based on ranking alone. In my opinion, rankings should be used as a general guideline to see the reputation of the schools. However, every school is different. One person might be a great fit for a school such as NYU and a terrible fit for Dartmouth. It is very important to research schools and see which schools you think are the right "fit" for you. There are a number of factors to look at: concentrations, school reputation, location, and many others.

GoBruin · Answer

You should use it as a guide, and also know which schools are typically concider elite and ultra elite. Typically schools are refered to as the M7 or Top16 because there tends to be a drop after those segments.

After you know where the schools are ranked, you then should understand what the schools strenghts are. Because most people going into B-school know at least somewhat where they want to end up, that would change your school choices. IE if you were planning to go to Finance, you may choose a school like NYU or Columbia over say Kellogg since NYU/CBS are really strongly connected with finance. Same goes for healthcare, if you wanted healthcare, Wharton/Kellogg/Duke might be ranked higher.

Generally people would concider schools to be known for 2 major feeders for employment. Harvard/Stanford/Wharton typically are strong in all fields but after that it would be.

Columbia=Finance/Consulting
Kellogg=Marketing/Consulting
Ross=Consulting/GM
Booth=Finance/Consulting
Haas=Entreprenuial/Tech
MIT=Finance/Consulting/Tech
NYU=Finance
Duke=Consulting/healthcare

This is just a slice, in every school there are gonna be people who can make it into every field but it's good to know what each school has strong pipelines and recruiting.

exekutive · Answer

Thanks aichdee,GoBruins !!

riverripper · Answer

I disagree with gobruins on the two things theory. Top 5-10 schools are generally seen as extremely well positioned in many careers...and you also need to remember some careers look for very similar skills. GM and consulting often value the same general skillset, Kellogg's administration has told us they feel we are a general management school since GM covers operations, finance, marketing...all the skills you need to run a business.

If you want an idea of how programs stack up and want a ranking for schools located in America...use US News. Its definitely the most accurate guide of all ranking systems but its not going to 100%. Personally I think overall ranking is more important most of the time...only look at specialties when it comes down to peer schools. If you want marketing and have equal offers from Kellogg and MIT probably better off at Kellogg, if you want finance go to Booth over Kellogg and MIT.

GoBruin · Answer

Fair enough, I agree with Riverripper.

If you do want to choose a school, it's also important to look at the recruitment report. Some companies recruit heavily at one school yet may not recruit at all at another school ranked higher. You need to know what industry you're looking for.

Is it safe going by Rankings ?

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