Should Rankings Determine Where To Get Your MBA?

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Rankings: you can’t escape them. For some, they are the ultimate determining factor when deciding where to apply to and attend.

According to Gareth Howells, Executive Director of MBA, MiF & Early Career Programmes at London Business School (LBS), 75% of LBS applicants “use rankings to assist their decision-making process… or to shortlist schools when deciding which to apply to.”

But by only focusing on rankings, you may be limiting your options. Howells cautions students to research the methodologies of each of the ranking sets as there can be “significant variations” in what is being measured. The key is to measure how these criteria align with your goals as a student.

For example, 50% of U.S. News Rankings criteria for MBA programs rely on career placement success. Starting salary and employment rates weigh 35% and recruiter-provided feedback weighs 15%. If your goal is to be in a traditional job (e.g. banking and consulting) with a high salary, then focusing on MBA programs that are higher up on the U.S. News Rankings may be helpful.

On the other hand, Bloomberg MBA rankings rely more on reputation scores provided by employers. Starting salary combined with job placement rate comprise 20% of the score while the employer reputation score weighs 35%. A nearly-equal weight of 45% is given to the perspectives provided by students and alumni, whose input is not considered in the U.S. News methodology. If you’re interested in overall satisfaction of students and alumni in these programs, then you may want to look more closely at the Bloomberg rankings…