Wharton Takes Over Top Spot on New U.S. News MBA Ranking
Harvard loses its crown, Wharton ranks first, and Purdue stumbles in new U.S. News & World Report “Best Business Schools” ranking.
The annual U.S. News & World Report Best Business Schools ranking, largely regarded as the most prominent MBA ranking system in the United States, debuted its newest annual listing, with The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School taking the top mantle.
The Philadelphia metro business school ascends past Harvard Business School and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business—both tying for first last year. Both schools took a minor tumble to the third overall spot, sitting in a three-way tie with the MIT Sloan School of Management. Stanford’s Graduate School of Business lept into the second overall spot, which comes just a few months after the Silicon Valley school maintained its status as the best in the world according to the Financial Times.
U.S. News & World Report Top 10 Business Schools
| School | This Year's Ranking | Last Year's Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Wharton (University of Pennsylvania) | 1 | 3 |
| Stanford Graduate School of Business | 2 | 4 |
| Harvard Business School | 3 (tie) | 1 (tie) |
| Booth (University of Chicago) | 3 (tie) | 1 (tie) |
| Sloan (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) | 3 (tie) | 5 |
| Columbia Business School | 6 (tie) | 9 |
| Kellogg (Northwestern University) | 6 (tie) | 6 |
| Haas (UC Berkeley) | 6 (tie) | 7 (tie) |
| Yale School of Management | 9 | 11 (tie) |
| Fuqua (Duke University) | 10 | 11 (tie) |
Within the top 50 business schools, this year’s ranking largely resembles last year’s. In fact, only three business schools—the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, the Iowa State University Ivy College of Business, and the The Manderson Graduate School of Business at the University of Alabama—moved into the top 50 since last year. The three business schools to fall out of the top 50 were Rutgers Business School, the Haslam College of Business at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. All three moved down the ranking by at least 10 spots each.
U.S. News Ranking Rising Business Schools
No school saw a better year-end turnaround than the aforementioned Iowa State University Ivy College of Business. The Midwest business school moves from the 79th spot last year to 47th this year; a 32-spot increase. On the news of the new ranking, Dean David Spalding says in a press release, “This significant rise in the ranking is a direct result of the quality work our faculty do every day in the classroom. At a time when some universities are dropping their full-time MBA programs, the Ivy MBA continues to excel. Our internationally known faculty provide a top-notch MBA experience that helps our MBA graduates advance their careers to the next level.”
Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business earns the biggest ranking bump from U.S. News this year, moving up 32 spots from last year.
Ten schools in the top 100 saw double-digit rankings jumps, with Iowa State accruing the greatest increase. The University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics, the Oklahoma State University Spears School of Business, and the Babson College F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business all saw a rise of at least 20 spots this year as well.
Purdue, Case Western Stumble
On the opposite end of this year’s ranking is Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management, falling a total of 21 spots from 53rd last year to 74th this year. The University of Kansas School of Business and the Saunders College of Business at RIT join Krannert as this year’s three biggest falling schools, each dropping at least 20 spots respectively. Like most of the annual U.S. News rankings, the placement fluctuation is much more apparent the further and further down the list you go, with schools in the top 50 largely remaining stable.
U.S. News 2020 Ranking Methodology
To formulate its ranking, U.S. News & World Report analyzed “475 MBA programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International.” A total of 367 schools responded to its surveys, but only 131 schools made the final ranking “because they provided enough of the required data on their full-time MBA program that were needed to calculate the full-time MBA rankings, based on a weighted average of the indicators.” Those indicators, with the weighted values, are as follows:
Quality Assessment (0.40)
• Peer assessment score (0.25)
• Recruiter assessment score (0.15)
Placement Success (0.35)
• Mean starting salary and bonus (0.14)
• Employment rates for full-time MBA program graduates
Student Selectivity (0.25)
• Mean GMAT and GRE scores (0.1625)
• Mean undergraduate GPA (0.075)
• Acceptance rate (0.0125)
Did The Methodology Changes Affect This Year’s U.S. News Ranking?
Last September, calls for changes in the MBA ranking methodology seemed to be answered by several large publications, including U.S. News. The company’s Chief Data Strategist, Robert Morse, noted, “There is an active and ongoing debate about how to best measure quality in education, and we pay close attention to that debate. Over time, our ranking model has put more emphasis on outcomes measures … As part of this evolving process, we’ve wanted to measure whether schools were successful at serving all of their students, regardless of economic status.”
The overarching issue seemed to lie within a framework that continually rewarded students and business schools that actively enrolled more and more students from affluent families. In response, U.S. News decreased its ranking value of acceptance rates, which previously rewarded schools that were more selective. Now, as seen above, the weighted value of acceptance rates is less than 1 percent.
However, the changes in the formula did not seem to bare much tenable change in the outcomes. The top 50 schools were largely unchanged, with only minor variances. Several schools, such as Iowa State and Oklahoma State were handsomely rewarded in the new ranking, moving up at least 20 spots each. However, schools rising and falling by 10, 20, even 30 spots in a given year isn’t a new occurrence. In fact, last year, nine schools in the top 100 rose at least 10 rankings from the previous year.
Stay tuned to MetroMBA for more information and analysis of this year’s MBA rankings.
Top Deferred Enrollment MBA Programs Geared Toward Younger Candidates
Most of the time, full-time MBA programs require work experience and, overall, class averages of professional experience are close to five years. Rarely are programs open to younger candidates who are still pursuing their undergraduate degrees. However, that all changes when it comes to deferred enrollment programs.
These programs guarantee senior undergraduate students a spot at some of the top MBA programs in the world, two to five years after they graduate. This means that you graduate with a plan for the future and the time to figure out the details.
Recently, MIT Sloan announced a new deferred enrollment program, joining the ranks of other top b-schools including Chicago Booth, Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, UVA Darden, The Wharton School, and Yale School of Management. Each of these programs is set up similarly and vies for top talent at undergraduate schools around the world.
How Deferred Enrollment Programs Work
“This type of program is for those who know that an MBA program is something they want to pursue, in the future. Not directly after their undergraduate degree (in most cases), but a couple of years later,” explains Alex Brown, an MBA admissions expert at Clear Admit.
Ambitious undergraduate students apply to b-school during their senior year and then receive a promise of a seat in a future cohort. Typically, students gain two to five years of work experience between acceptance and starting the MBA. Then, after their deferral, they join the same MBA cohort as the traditional full-time MBA.
“By applying and gaining admission, it helps reduce the uncertainty of their plan, going forward. So rather than entering an analyst program at a consulting firm, for example, with the hope of gaining admissions to a top MBA program after a few years, they can enter the analyst program knowing they have an MBA option already,” Brown says. “Of course, it doesn’t stop them from changing their mind, or pursuing other MBA options, and forgoing the early admission.”
These deferred enrollment programs are ideal for future leaders. Typically candidates have outstanding internships, strong academic credentials, and high test scores when they apply. “Also, these candidates are still typically early in their career arch when they do attend their MBA program. But, it makes sense if they are focused and really understand how the MBA program will help develop their career further,” explains Brown. “It’s good for candidates with focused career goals.”
Additionally, it’s important to note that deferred admissions MBA programs are designed to attract different types of students. They want candidates who might not typically have business school on their radar, but come from a STEM or humanities background. The key for applicants is to have a solid plan for the future and knowledge of how the MBA fits into that plan.
So, what are some of the top deferred enrollment programs and how are they unique?
Deferred Enrollment at a Glance
At a glance, most of the top b-schools offer very similar MBA programs geared toward younger candidates. All but Yale SOM are two years in length and place students in the same cohort as the full-time MBA. On the other hand, the Yale Silver Scholars program is three years in length with the first and third year being the same as the standard MBA and the second year in an extended internship. The reason behind this difference is that the program accepts candidates directly after their undergraduate career without any work experience.
The Yale Silver Scholars is one of the many MBA deferment programs offered at some of the best business schools in the world.
The rest of the programs encourage students to take two to five years off to gain work experience before they start their MBA. However, in some cases, work experience is not necessary if acceptance is during their final year (fifth year) of graduate school, such as is the case for Stanford’s deferral program.
“Generally, the students co-exist in the same program,” explains Brown. “Younger students might have more energy and enthusiasm, older candidates might have more experience and insights. It can become a great blend for an academic experience.”
Other stand-out differences include the fact that the Wharton Moelis program is only for University of Pennsylvania students. Sloan allows MIT students with an undergraduate GPA of 4.25 to avoid the GMAT, and Darden and Wharton both include scholarships for their deferred programs.
Finally, you can expect to apply to each of these programs in April, around the Round Three MBA application deadline, though Darden uniquely offers three application deadlines.
Inside the Top B-Schools with MBAs Geared Toward Younger Candidates
The differences between the programs lie in the characteristics and incentives offered by each. Here’s a deeper look at some of the top offers, who can apply, and how it works.
• Chicago Booth Scholars Program
The Chicago Booth Scholars program is for candidates with three or fewer years of full-time post-undergraduate work experience. It’s open to undergraduates from any institution in their senior year, granting applicants a two to four-year deferment before starting the MBA program. While working full time, students have the opportunity to engage with Booth, explore the community, travel, and whatever else is of interest. Applications are due in April and are similar to the full-time MBA application.
• Columbia Business School Deferred Enrollment Program
The Columbia Business School Deferred Enrollment program is open to undergraduate and graduate students who apply during their final year of schooling. Once accepted, you can take two to five years to enter the workforce and start the full-time MBA program when it’s right for you. Applications are similar to the full-time MBA program with slightly different short answer questions and are due in April. Once you decide to matriculate, you join the full-time MBA program.
• Harvard Business School 2+2 Program
Harvard’s 2+2 program is the best-known deferred MBA of its kind. Candidates apply in their final year of undergraduate or graduate school, then spend a minimum of two years (maximum of four) working full-time before they begin their full-time, two-year MBA program. This program is specifically for students working in the public, private, or nonprofit sector with an emphasis on STEM and humanities disciplines. The application is essentially the same online application for the MBA program; the application fee is simply lower. The admissions deadline is in April. Candidates enter the full-time MBA program once they have met work experience requirements.
• MIT Sloan MBA Early Admission
The MIT Sloan MBA Early Admission program is open to any exceptional undergraduate student. However, MIT students can avoid the GMAT with a GPA above 4.25. You can apply your senior year or directly after graduation in either your undergraduate or graduate academic career. Applications are due in April, and between acceptance and starting the program, candidates may seek two to five years of full-time work experience. Once matriculating, students enter the same MBA full-time program.
• Stanford GSB Deferred Enrollment
The Stanford GSB Deferred Enrollment program is open to undergraduate students who want to begin their MBA immediately after their senior year. However, students can defer for one to three years to gain work experience. You can apply during any of GSB’s three application rounds and can choose which year’s MBA program you’d like to enter. If you decide to defer for one to two years, you can apply for specific fellowships the year before starting your full-time MBA.
• UVA Darden FYSP
The UVA Darden FYSP program is open to undergraduate students in their final year and fifth-year master’s students. Candidates can apply in March, May, and August, and once admitted begin their professional journey. They ear two to four years of work experience and gain access to the Darden alumni community for mentorship, networking, and individualized career support. Then, once ready, candidates join the regular full-time MBA program with a guaranteed scholarship in hand.
• Wharton Moelis Advance Access Program
The Wharton Moelis program is a feeder program only for University of Pennsylvania undergrads. Students accepted into the program receive special professional development, career services, and access to the Wharton community such as annual retreats, mentoring, and a potential $10,000 a year fellowship. You apply senior year during Round 3 MBA admissions, and with evaluation similar to the overall MBA pool. You defer for two to four years of work experience and then join the regular two-year, full-time MBA program when you’re ready.
• Yale SOM Silver Scholars
The Yale Silver Scholars program was initially created just for Yale undergrads, but now recruits from an international talent pool. The difference with this program is that students start their MBA immediately after college graduation. You spend one year taking core curriculum before your full-time extended internship in year two. Then, your third year, you return to Yale SOM to complete your degree. Students integrate into the Yale SOM MBA, but have special programming and career development tailored to them. Candidates apply their senior year and fill out the same full-time MBA application.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from its original source, Clear Admit.
School v. School: Dartmouth Tuck or Columbia Business School?
It’s tough enough to decide exactly where and what you want to study. But when prospective b-schoolers begin to weigh less tangible but equally important factors like reputation, alumni network, and return on investment, that’s when the MBA selection process really becomes daunting. This is especially true when you size up two MBA programs of comparable stature.
We’d also argue that’s where the process becomes interesting. So don’t fret! Let our School v. School series to do some of the heavy lifting for you. See below for our blow-by-blow comparison of two reigning champions of business education: Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and Columbia Business School.
Dartmouth or Columbia: What is Right for You?
Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business
Tucked … away in a small, rural campus in Hanover, New Hampshire, the Tuck School of Business boasts a tight-knit student body and an intimate setting. Over half its student body lives in campus housing, and MBAs belong to small group study teams that convene at the start of their programs.
Tuck consistently ranks among the top business schools in the country. U.S. News and World Report ranks Tuck 8th in management and 10th overall. Tuck offers a traditional full-time, two-year MBA with a variety of concentrations, as well as several short-term executive education programs.
Why Tuck?
- The Advanced Management Program offers “a transformative experience for senior business leaders who seek to innovate, drive growth, and create value.” The Minority Business Programs focus on guiding business owners as they “adjust their strategy, refine their operations, and build their enterprises to scale.”
- Additionally, Tuck offers two programs designed for non-traditional b-schoolers: the Business Bridge Program is a four-week intensive mini-MBA program for liberal arts students. Next Step is two-week program for military veterans and former athletes.
- Tuck is known for its community, with a focus on personal connections, including self-initiated interviews, accessible faculty, and a generous alumni network.
What Is Missing?
- The opportunities that come packaged with a major city and business hub are missing from Tuck’s rural setting.
- While Tuck’s tuition is roughly $5,000 more than Columbia’s, its total costs are $110,173—over $1,200 more than Columbia’s per year.
Tuck vs. Columbia MBA Rankings
| Publication | Tuck School of Business | Columbia Business School |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. News & World Report | 10 | 9 |
| The Economist (Global) | 12 | 11 |
| Financial Times (Global) | 15 | 9 |
| Forbes | 5 | 6 |
| Bloomberg Businessweek | 19 | 7 |
Columbia Business School
Located in the heart of New York City, Columbia Business School—like Tuck—is one of the oldest in the country. Unlike Tuck, Columbia students are in immediate proximity to highly coveted networking, partnership, and placement opportunities of a global business hub.
Columbia’s Programs
Columbia also routinely ranks among the top b-schools in the country—10th in management and 9th overall. Columbia also offers a full-time two-year MBA with various concentrations, Executive MBA, Doctoral Program, an accelerated MBA, multiple Masters of Science options and Executive Education Programs.
Why Columbia?
- The Executive MBA Program offers a traditional MBA program but on a schedule that accommodates full-time employment.
- The Doctoral Program offers a Ph.D. in multiple disciplines and “prepares individuals who have a deep interest in shaping the business research and policy of tomorrow through academic research.”
- First-year students can apply for admittance into the Value Investing Program where they learn to identify, value, research and manage investments.
What Is Missing?
- Columbia is reported to have an intimidating 17 percent acceptance rate—compared to Tuck’s ever-so-slightly more accessible 23 percent
- Only 18 percent of Columbia’s faculty members identify as women, compared to 23 percent at Tuck—both reflect a shamefully low national statistic.
Tuck vs. Columbia MBA Cost Per Year
| Dartmouth Tuck School of Business | Columbia Business School | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuiton | $72,150 | $67,532 |
| Full-Cost | $110,173 | $97,580 |
Both MBA programs are among the most elite in the country, and offer some pretty appeasing salary possibilities.
Tuck vs. Columbia MBA Salary
| Tuck School of Business | Columbia Business School | |
|---|---|---|
| MBA Graduate Salary Range (2018) | $60,000-$215,000 | $52,000– $308,000 |
| MBA Graduate Median Base Salary (2018) | $130,000 | $130,000 |
With comparable tuitions, post-graduate salaries, and employment rates, they contrast most when it comes to class size. While Tuck promises a secluded and intimate B-school setting, it’s tough to beat Columbia’s location in a global financial capital.
For additional insight, be sure to check out the news at both Tuck and Columbia.
Columbia Business School Talks Taxing Multinational Corporations
The first step toward social responsibility is, arguably, fair taxation. There’s just one problem—for years, multinational corporations have raced to pay the fewest taxes or avoid paying it altogether. For example, Apple employs a few hundred people in Ireland, so it falls under the .005 percent tax bracket. And Apple isn’t the only multinational company to do so.
Let Introverts be Introverts, Says Stevens Guest Speaker – New York News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
To Be Successful, Organizations Should Let Introverts Be Introverts, Says Stevens Speaker – Stevens Institute of Technology School of Business News
Introverts make up a third to a half of our workforce, and yet the majority of workplaces are built for extroverts—from open floor plans, bustling activity, to meetings dominated by who can be most assertive. These environments are not conducive to introverts, who are most productive when left alone to work and create.
Susan Cain, speaker at the Stevens Institute of Technology’s Excellence Through Diversity Lecture Series, shares how important it is to create that space for different work styles.
“There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all environment. We need to be thinking day by day, team by team, office design by office design, how we can set things up so that there are varying levels of stimulation.”
Cain adds, “There have been a whole bunch of studies that have come out over the years showing that most people believe that introverts make inferior leaders and are passed over for leadership positions. On the other hand, there is another set of studies showing that introverts in leadership positions often deliver out-sized performance returns.”
You can read more about Cain’s lecture series event here.
Faster Internet Fuels Job Growth in Africa – Columbia Business School News
New research from Columbia Business School‘s Jonas Hjort and Uppsala’s Jonas Poulsen finds that the expansion of fast Internet in Africa has created jobs, increased employment rates, and greatly benefited populations with lower levels of education.
Professor Hjort writes, “These findings shed light on how modern information and communications technology can affect employment rates, structural change, job inequality, and firm growth in the poorest region of the world.”
“Our results imply that faster Internet allows firms to create (or retain) a lot of positions that otherwise would not be tenable in Africa,” adding that “access to information and communication can help give people with lower education a more secure foothold on the economic ladder, and improve living standards.”
You can read more about the growth here.
Impact Investing is About to Become More Mainstream Than Ever – Gabelli Connect
Last month, 350 guests gathered for Fordham’s inaugural Impact Investment Convening to discuss investing for social and environmental good.
Blended finance projects are already cited by the United States, Canada, Netherlands, and the Nordic countries as “proof that private capital could answer the problems that, historically, government couldn’t.” Investors are successfully driving interest in socially responsible investing and there is great potential to reach untapped markets.
The Convening was organized by Peter Lupoff, MBA ’86, Gabelli executive-in-residence and Center for Research in Contemporary Finance fellow. Lupoff explains, “What’s more is that the greatest transition in wealth is about to occur, from boomers to millennials. They care about how their money is spent, socially and environmentally, so it makes good sense for the traditional markets to embrace this – the capital will demand it.”
Keynote speaker Danielle Kayembe, CEO and founder of GreyFire Impact, points out, “The gender divide in consumer products and industry at large reflects a huge untapped area. Some estimates say women drive up to 85 percent of consumer spending in the United States, and, globally, women control some $36 trillion in total wealth.”
You can read more about impact investing here.
What Do You Do If You Can’t Afford an MBA?
An MBA is expensive. There’s no doubt about it. So, how do you afford one?
According to U.S. News & World Report, the average cost of an two year, full-time MBA from one of the top business schools in the U.S. is over $130,000. That number doesn’t include the cost of boarding and books ($40,000), peripheral expenditures ($20,000), and the cost of lost income ($120,000). Altogether, your total opportunity cost could come to around $300,000 for a two-year MBA.
If that number sounds astronomical, you’re not alone. While earning an MBA can advance your career path and greatly enhance your future earnings, few people feel blasé about the upfront cost. However, with a little bit of research, insight, and know-how, paying for your MBA doesn’t have to be out of your reach.
If you’re a prospective MBA student worried that you can’t afford an MBA, here are a few ideas to help you pay.
