I was wondering, what is the best ranking to use when picking a b-school. I know that several are published (FT, economist, etc). Also, when people refer to Top 10, top 20, etc, are they referring to specifically English schools, or is it world wide? Thanks in advance.
No ranking is so important or consistent that it warrants individual consideration. If you’re thinking: “Hmm, school x is ranked 9th here and 14th there, which ranking carries more weight?” - don’t worrry about that. The margin of error is so broad here that it doesn’t really matter. From what I gather, most people rely on the Businessweek rankings (in America) for whatever reason. For example, Last I checked, WSJ had ranked Carnegie Mellon 4th overall, and HBS in the teens. Everyybody consideres HBS top 5, while nobody regards CMU as tip 5. Just rememeber that these things are really fluid. It’s like boxing - there’s 8 different organizations that bestow title bellts.
You want to go to a place where people recognize the name (I’ve heard of that place), and have a good impression (they produce some pretty smart people). There are a few places that install confidence just by hearing the name: Columbia, NYU, Stanford, MIT, Harvard (less for finance, more for business in general) etc… Don’t worry too much about their absolute ranking; just try to get into that class of place.
I’d personally go with the best alumni network. The more of them that are working on the street and the tighter the network, the better chance of getting a good gig.
Use the BCS standings.
With the way the job market is now, might as well go for WhatsAMatter U
US News
http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/undergrad_bschool/ The bank I work for hires a lot of Ross Michigan graduates.
business week, ask anyone who recruits at a top 20
Each ranking has a unique methodology – so dig into the details and discover what’s important for you. E.g. one ranking (is it FT?) is largely based on increase in compensation 3 years out of the program. Other surveys rely on student satisfaction surveys, recent rank (to add stability), selectivity, and many other criteria. If you don’t want to dig to find the ranking(s) most relevant for your goals, then as joemontana suggests: use them all (e.g., average the results).
Forbes has a nice new uncontroversial ranking and rankings methodology. Check it out!
In Europe, global top 20 ranked b-schools do have a certain cachet. I don’t know so much about the States. People tend to look at the rankings of FT, the Economist, and Business Week. For what its worth I would consider these on a par with any of the top US schools (moreover all of which are completed in 1 year / 15 months apart from LBS.) LONDON BUS. SCHOOL INSEAD INSTITUTO DE EMPRESA (IE) IESE HEC These are usually there or there or thereabouts.They are particlarly valuable for network, alumni relations, on campus recruitment and standard of teaching in comparison to second tier institutions. I know this is not a direct response to your query but I am trying to provide a less US-centric perspective for what its worth. Would any of you US guys disagree that these schools are on a par with the great and the good in “the greatest nation on earth” as your politicians often refer to it. All the best