MBA Rankings
MBA Rankings Coverage
Since the late 1960s, publications have released MBA rankings based on differing methodologies. Common ranking criteria include admissions statistics, post-MBA career outcomes, and feedback from students, alumni, and employers. While each ranking has its own methodology, it is important to note that they change frequently, often resulting in significant changes year-to-year (and sometimes sparking criticism from those with an interest in the market for graduate management education).
Bloomberg BusinessWeek was an early pioneer of MBA rankings, and remains influential. US News & World Report is generally considered the most accurate ranking of U.S. programs. The Financial Times uses a slightly different methodology, but is also closely watched. For your convenience, we have provided quick summaries of these major MBA program rankings:
Major MBA Rankings
Most MBA rankings are released annually. MBA applicants generally look to rankings to help them identify MBA programs to consider, whereas schools use the rankings to highlight their prominence in the marketplace.
While Clear Admit covers the major MBA rankings news, we do not produce our own ranking. We do, however, know much about candidates’ preferences thanks to our MBA DecisionWire tool.
The Tier System
Different rankings list schools in different orders, and even so, no ranking gets it right; this is illustrated by looking at the top three schools listed for each of the rankings we profile above. None have Harvard and Stanford as 1-2 (in either order), and Wharton as 3. That order is accepted in the industry, and reinforced by our own internal analysis of DecisionWire data. It is because of these inconsistencies in main stream rankings that we believe a tiered-ranking system actually makes more sense.
In a tiered-ranking system, we suggest that certain schools, like Booth, Sloan, and Kellogg, are equally good, and for different candidates, based on their preferences, one may well be preferred over the other two. If you want a more tech-focused MBA for your long-term goals, Sloan might be best. If your interests like in the financial services arena, Booth might have the edge, whereas Kellogg should provide your more opportunities in the consulting arena.
This is all to say, we don’t believe there is a true ordinal ranking for all candidates, without taking into account an individual candidate’s preferences regarding career and geographic focus.
MBA Applywire
I took the GMAT in May of this year (Focus Edition) and now I'm beginning to research whether an MBA is right for me. School selections were kind of a shot in the dark. I want to end up in corporate leadership in Atlanta area long-term, still not sure if the consulting route or just a higher level corp dev/strategy role post-MBA would be more conducive to that. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Outside or work I volunteer for a local housing advocacy group, the neighborhood civic association, and a pro-bono consulting group for nonprofits.
26 M, Received Test Waivers for all 5 schools, Applied Accounting and Finance major. Former D1 swimmer and captain, Lgbt* , Strong extracurriculars (academic mentor, social chair for analyst class, career mentor and ambassador for early ID program at my bank).
Looking to move into MBB/ T2 consulting within fintech space or strategy and ops role at tech company.
Indian male
Spent 1.5 years at a bulge bracket in the India middle office, earned a transfer to the NYC front office where I was an analyst for a little over a year. Got early promoted to associate last year and have closed several public M&A transactions for my coverage group.
Planning to switch to venture capital post MBA, in the essays focusing my goals are impact investing VC funds which are slightly more niche but fit my overall narrative and story well.
Have several awards from college for national competitions (ideation challenges, debating, case studies)
Have some experience with angel investing as well.
Primarily targeting Harvard, Wharton, and Columbia.
Hi! I'm applying to the above schools & I'm hoping to be admitted somewhere with significant scholarship. I currently have 2Y 9 months YOE and was promoted twice at a BB bank (from analyst > associate > AVP) during that time period (also part of an LDP).
Had to step away in March for family caregiving duties, and I'm currently looking for another role, so I will enter the MBA at about 3.5-4 YOE.
I'm a female LGBTQ+ applicant, from SEA, though of Indian origins.
TIA!