"One of the many reasons why full-time MBA programs are in decline has to do with the rising quality and interest in undergraduate business education. Many companies, particularly in the financial sector, have come to prefer undergrads because they are just as well prepared to make an immediate contribution at work and they are a lot cheaper to hire than MBA grads.
So which undergraduate business programs are the best in the U.S.? Our new ranking of the best undergrad business schools, published today (Dec. 13), shows that the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School wins top honors for the second year in a row. Right behind Wharton is the University of Virginia’s McIntire School, Washington University’s Olin Business School, the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business." …
list not withstanding , S just finished up undergrad finance major with high honors at TCNJ. a Great experience and many opportunities were afforded him. Had three job offers and is all set with high paying position at one of the top consulting firms. To note, he was offered exact same positions that those from “higher ranked” schools. So if your proactive and get yourself a high gpa ,a school like TCNJ would give you every opportunity and save $$$ for grad school.
Interesting article, but the ratings & rankings include too few business schools.
Not included in the rankings include: MIT, USC, Arizona State (ASU), Univ. of Florida, Iowa, GWU, Georgia State, Colorado, UConn, Kansas, Alabama, Auburn, Nebraska, FSU, Temple, Pepperdine, Case Western Reserve, Loyola-Chicago, Ole Miss, and Washington State among many others.
Because of the size of their programs, it is important to include business schools such as USC,ASU, Florida, Auburn, Alabama & Georgia State in such a survey.
While Forbes rated & ranked 88 undergraduate business schools, US News rates & ranks 215.
VMT he applied on his own with an extensive resume, but they also have a history of recruitment from the school and in fact he spend a good deal of time with a recent TCNJ grad that was hired from the previous summer intern class.
Here’s the thing, many top companies think highly of TCNJ . But it still falls to your child to get the high gpa and be proactive in their job searches. No one takes them by the hand and does this, they have to make it happen.
I told my son when he was a freshman (and he turned down a few NESCAC schools to attend TCNJ), that he had to be in the top 5% of his major and all would work out well. I still believe that, maybe its 10% but I also believe it is true in most schools.
I find these rankings, relying on student reviews and alumni reporting, very suspect. Since big business has turned away from its 1980’s knee-jerk towards MBAs, undergrad business schools have really flourished. To Stones’ point, there are many not particularly high ranked national universities that have excellent undergraduate business programs, providing excellent opportunities for post-graduate employment. SUNY Binghamton has an excellent reputation in this area from what I understand. That said, I cannot personally shake the sense that undergraduate at a generally perceived ‘elite’ undergraduate business program carries tremendous value. Not everyone can gain entrance and it is by no means a requirement for success to graduate from such a program. My guess, to the extent such schools carry cachet, is that there is a bit of leeway when it comes to academic performance. The range of students graduating from such programs and getting top employment is probably somewhat broader. Just a surmise. As Stones points out, it still falls to the student to work hard and to excel. Top grades, even at a lower-ranked school, have significance and can open doors.
student reviews and alumni reporting are a great source of information . Surely, using an alumni network is one of the easier strategies to employee in a career search. Further, top MBA programs are in fact in very high demand. It is all of the lower tier ones that keep springing up ,that I would agree have little added value in most cases.
I agree that student reviews and alumni reporting can be helpful, particularly for parents and prospective applicants. However, I think they are suspect as a metric for rating schools. I think the value in elite MBA programs is similar to the value placed on such schools in other professions, e.g., law. The ability to represent (and bill out) an employee as a Harvard Law grad provides a lot of justification for higher rates.