Academic institutions have a love-hate relationship with published school rankings. On the one hand, school officials like the prestige that high rankings confer, arguably making them more attractive to prospective students. On the other hand, if their school is ranked too low, they dispute the methodology, dismissing the findings as irrelevant. The Wall Street Journal, in conjunction with Harris Interactive, has entered the fray with a handy guide to the top graduate business schools. Unlike other rankings that survey alumni, students, or the schools themselves, this compilation is based on surveys from recruiters, that is, the people who actually hire MBA graduates for jobs. Consequently, how recruiters regard the schools who are training prospective hires makes for a higher value-added ranking. There is also excellent content here on the MBA job market in general, good tips on how to apply effectively for admission, smart insights into schools that are attractive to women and minorities, and a lot of feedback from recruiters that is essential to anyone who might want to embark on an MBA graduate degree program. Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business is the top-ranked school and is thoroughly profiled, as are the rest of the top 50, making this an extremely useful feature for MBA applicants. This annual has now appeared twice, and if it continues with the high level of research evidenced here, it will deservedly become the best overall business school ranking, making it a well-thumbed mainstay in libraries for years to come. Highly recommended for all libraries and especially vocational education collections.
Richard Drezen, Washington Post, New York City Bureau
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
For years, prospective M.B.A. students seeking guidance on which business schools to consider have had to rely on rankings compiled with vague methodologies, subject to the biased opinions of students and school administrators. Now come The Wall Street Journal and Harris Interactive, the worldwide market-research firm, with their second annual survey that has become the single most important reference tool for students, school administrators, and corporate recruiters. Using a carefully constructed methodology and Harris Interactive's online polling expertise, The Wall Street Journal Guide to the Top Business Schools 2003 shows students what corporate recruiters -- the "buyers" of budding management talent -- really think of the schools and their students.
Each profile of the 50 top M.B.A. programs, as well as of the 50 runners-up, includes information on admissions, enrollment, test scores, the industries and companies most likely to hire the school's graduates, and graduates' expected first-year salaries. The Wall Street Journal Guide to the Top Business Schools 2003 also covers:
* The current business-school boom
* The growing importance of internships
* Dramatic changes in the M.B.A. job market
* The salary and bonus outlook
* Top schools for minorities
* Top schools for women
and includes lists of:
* Top public and private schools
* Top large and small schools
* Top schools by region
* Top schools by industry
* Top schools by academic discipline
* "Hidden gems"
With the credentials of the world's leading business newspaper and the survey's unprecedented methodology, The Wall Street Journal Guide to the Top Business Schools 2003 is the essential guide for students, schools, recruiters, and anyone considering an M.B.A. degree.
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