<p>Not sure when they were released, but the 2011 Business Week "Best Undergraduate Business Schools" list for 2011 is out, and University of Illinois Urbana Champaign dropped from #26 to #30, which I believe is now the third year in a row it has dropped in the rankings. I have already accepted my offer of admission to the UI College of Business(did not pay deposit), but I also got into Indiana's Kelly school of Business, Penn State's Smeal school of business, and the University of Miami(FL) BSchool.(waiting on Tulane and USC) IU and PSU are both now ranked ahead of Illinois. Should I be concerned about this drop? I have several relatives who are successful alumni of the business school at Illinois, but I wasn't a big fan of the campus, and now that the program is seemingly weaker than my other options, do you think it's wise to reconsider my options?</p>
<p>Best</a> Undergraduate Business Schools 2011 - Businessweek</p>
<p>I think you should dig a little deeper into how the rankings are determined before you jump ship on Illinois business school.
“the student survey score counts for 30 percent of the final ranking, with the recruiter survey score contributing 20 percent. Starting salaries and the MBA feeder school measure contribute 10 percent each. The academic quality measure supplies the remaining 30 percent.”</p>
<p>Student surveys make up 30% of the final ranking. I think that is a big percentage and can move a school up a down the rankings pretty easily. I wonder what students they are surveying? </p>
<p>Anyway… I would not make a decision based on a Business Week ranking. It is a culmination of everything. If you like rankings I would look at more than one. Also, I would consider all the pros and cons of all the schools and make your educated decision from there.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but I had to respond upon seeing this as I knew it was about these rankings. The rankings are sometimes good for some things, but in this case (Bloomberg’s way of measuring)…</p>
<p>It’s a freaking undergrad. program. It’s rank (which hardly judges quality and perhaps is better at judging prestige, popularity, and things like “student satisfaction”) shouldn’t really influence your choice (It’s not like an MBA program). Just go there and do well. I’m sure it’s a good school. Seriously, actually trusting these rankings? They randomly moved us (Emory) from 7 to 3 ahead of Wharton (and we’re lower in almost every category measured). And one year, we went from 4 to 7. I go here, and am not a Business major. While I imagine the school is indeed solid compared to many peers, all I know is that students in it mainly run around with a relatively light workload (15.7hrs/week, and this is among the highest for B-Schools? Seriously!! I’m a science major, and I do way more studying/outside work than that per week, I almost spend that on French alone) complaining about the easya** grading curve implemented in Goizetta, where like up to 35% can get an A in a “core” class (that doesn’t even happen in most science electives). Basically, these rankings don’t tell much about the rigor and general quality of the programs. It just says that “X” school has a lower student-faculty ratio (which doesn’t matter if many profs are not as good at teaching as they should be) and other things.<br>
They bounce the schools around like yo-yos, which should tell you that the measurements aren’t that great. For all you know, the program could actually be better off than when say, class of 2011 entered, but rankings won’t really show it. Worry about actual quality, not rankings, especially sense it’s at least top 50. The fact that it’s even 30 indicates that it’s pretty solid. Plus, I think Illinois is pretty good overall, so the overall experience at the institution should end up good. And the campus is actually beautiful. What did you not like about it? Did you visit a B-School class or any class at your prospects? That should give you real insight. </p>
<p>Can’t actually believe you’re concerned about this. Until you actually read something about a school having slipping standards from inside of a school publication (meaning it’s so bad that even insiders needed to address it), don’t trust the ranking. Also, student surveys weighing so heavy could be bad. Student reviews aren’t normally based on things like academic rigor and quality more so than how easy grading is, or how relatively light the workload is, or even, the occurrence of large B-school student socialization events (even perhaps the pride of attending a school that ranks “X”). Basically, this parameter that counts as 30% may swing the ranks based on pretty immature views on academic/scholarly experience.</p>
<p>Is there a better way for general public to readily compare the universities besides a ranking. NO!</p>
<p>bernie nailed it. Especially with the yo-yo reference. haha</p>
<p>yes, there are much better ways to judge schools than rankings. visiting, for one. talking to trusted sources/friends that attend is great too. if you’re going to look at rankings, though, usnwr is generally more trustworthy than businessweek.</p>
<p>some things that i love about the business school that you wont see in rankings:
-emphasis on professional development from day one. they know that there’s more to business than technical skills.
-case-based learning. one reason the accy program is so prestigious is in its real-world applications. in all the majors, professors are supposed to teach students how classroom concepts are applied in the business world.
-the business instructional facility is an amazing building. (see this gallery <a href=“http://business.illinois.edu/instructional_facility/[/url]”>http://business.illinois.edu/instructional_facility/</a>)
-our computer lab is one of like three in the nation that subscribes to market information services like bloomberg, morningstar and capital iq. great for fin majors.</p>
<p>definitely more things i cant think of at the moment</p>
<p>wow, thanks for the detailed responses. I’m not jumping ship, I was just looking for anyone else’s opinion on the matter. For your question about the campus, the day I visited it was 5 degrees and there was 8 inches of snow and ice everywhere, which did not impress me at all. Being from Virginia, I was sort of disappointed. Plus, it was kind of in the middle of nowhere. But, I did go inside the business/other academic buildings, all of which were extremely nice. I’m definitely not rescinding my acceptance, but I’m just getting other people’s take on these rankings.</p>
<p>I just completed a shadow day. I’m impressed with the college of business. The internships seem strong, like Big 4 strong. The new facility seems like an ideal setting to learn. </p>
<p>I tend to not care that much about rankings. Especially NCAA basketball, where
Sparty/Izzo was ranked in the top 5 early on. Bazinga!</p>
<p>mpball-do you mind sharing your stats since you got into the business school from out of state and I am trying to do the same next year?..</p>
<p>@gottagonow I had around a 3.75 weighted GPA, 30 ACT, above average EC’s, decent essays, and had a parent who graduated from Illinois. Message me if you want more specifics</p>