How Should You Use MBA Rankings?
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Use MBA rankings as a broad way of viewing which programs are ranked high, medium, and low.
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Do your own research on each program’s culture, size, location, and career recruiting patterns. Also, consider the strength of its alumni network.
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Weigh each of those attributes according to your own personal and professional profile to define a list of reach and reasonable MBA programs for you.
The new year brings with it a fresh crop of MBA hopefuls ready to map out their MBA application journey. School selection is an important part of that process. Naturally, most applicants look to MBA rankings to help winnow their target list.
Yet, we encourage clients not to focus heavily on rankings when making their MBA program selections. In fact, placing an outsized emphasis on rankings often becomes a distraction for some applicants.
Sarah on the SBC team shared insights as a longtime SBC consultant and daughter of a top MBA program Dean. She shared:
“Rankings are all very complex algorithms that assign weightings based upon different things—quality of faculty, ROI, average salary upon graduation, % of graduates with employment, etc. ‘Rank’ versus ‘value’ is a subjective view. A ‘top’ school is different to every person. Yale was top 30 when I went to school, but is top 10 now. Ross was a Top 5 for many years and now it hasn’t made the Top 10.”
Curious about your chances of getting into a top B-school? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.
MBA Rankings Often Go Up and Down
We advise our clients to pick MBA programs based on what will add value to their careers and life. We encourage our clients to research each MBA program to derive a strong belief in why that brand is meaningful to them. Prospective students would do well to focus more on each program’s culture, size, or the strength of its alumni network.
If you’re thinking about business school, you should decide the factors that will play a role in where you apply. Consider cost, location, program specialties, faculty’s areas of expertise, and so on. Keep these factors in mind as you research specific programs. This will help you home in on the ones that fit you best.
“Applicants see an MBA as a long-term investment in their future,” says Beth, the former director of Kellogg full-time admissions and now on the Stacy Blackman Consulting team.
Most likely, your list will contain a few under-the-radar programs that aren’t at the top of the rankings. This is especially true if reputation isn’t the only factor that matters to you. Look at data points important to your career path when determining the value of a particular ranking.
However, know that if you aspire to a highly competitive position in banking or consulting, a potential employer will likely give an advantage to an applicant from one of the elite schools. Like it or not, that’s the reality in those industries.
That said, we think the ranking methodology would be improved by including measures that encompass diversity dimensions such as non-traditional industry students (or career goals) and social impact-oriented students/career goals.
Listen to B-Schooled Podcast Episode #90: Do MBA Rankings Matter?
Going Beyond MBA Rankings
As Find MBA once noted, business school rankings provide only a limited snapshot of a much larger picture. “Many students have jobs working for social good, which do not always have high salaries but are rewarding in other ways,” said Caryn Beck-Dudley, former president and CEO of AACSB International. “The geographic location and cost of living can distort salary reports as well.”
“Too narrowly defined methodologies don’t allow for the intricacies of each program to truly shine, and thus can’t give an accurate representation of what the program can do for the learners.” —Caryn Beck-Dudley
Ultimately, you should choose a program you genuinely connect with. Don’t worry about whether you’ll get into “the best MBA program of all.” Figure out which business school is the best one for you.
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership and Interview Prep to hourly help with essay editing, resume review, and much more! Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
