Volatility plagues (yet) another MBA program ranking
At Vantage Point, we have a love-hate relationship with the rankings. On one hand they provide a directional indication of the quality of MBA programs and competitiveness of admission. On the other, complex and/or subjective ranking methodologies and the volatility that ensues can be misleading. Yet, we continue to dissect the rankings year after year. The latest MBA rankings to ripple through the MBA community are Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s, published last week.
Here are the highlights:
- Harvard Business School remains #1 overall, same as last year.
- Stanford GSB and Duke Fuqua each rose 5 places, to take the #2 and #3 spots, respectively.
- One of the largest gainers in the top 10, Tuck, rose 9 places to #5, driven by the Employer Survey component of the ranking methodology, which ranked Tuck #8 this year vs. #21 last year.
- Biggest surprise: Rice (Jones) joining the top 10 at #8, gaining 11 spots since last year, effectively kicking Columbia Business School out of the top 10.
- Biggest loser (in the top 10): Kellogg dropped 6 places to #9.
- Outside the top 25, volatility seemed to increase, with swings >10 places the norm. (Our advice: take that with a grain of salt.)
The point: Use the rankings strategically as part of your comprehensive research on your target schools. The only thing that’s certain is that the rankings will change again next year!
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Hooked on the rankings? Read more!
Best of luck to you! If you’d like to chat more about the rankings or about anything related to your MBA applications, please reach out to us. We love to hear from you!
After embarking on my own MBA journey, I co-founded Vantage Point MBA Admissions Consulting to help aspiring business school students get accepted to the top MBA programs in the U.S. and Europe. As President, I currently lead a team of over 25 superstar consultants to give our clients an unmatched experience, with a focus on white glove, personalized collaboration and mentorship.