Business Week has just published its much anticipated 2006 ranking of full-time MBA programs. The list, compiled biannually, is intended to help applicants identify viable target schools and is assembled based on surveys of students at the programs and the recruiters hiring their graduates. Extensive information about the ranking methodology and commentary on the list-topping schools are available on the BW site; but for now, let’s take a look at the results:
1. Chicago GSB
2. UPenn / Wharton
3. Northwestern / Kellogg
4. Harvard
5. Michigan / Ross
6. Stanford
7. MIT / Sloan
8. Berkeley / Haas
9. Duke / Fuqua
10. Columbia
11. Dartmouth / Tuck
12. UCLA / Anderson
13. Cornell / Johnson
14. NYU / Stern
15. UVA / Darden
16. CMU / Tepper
17. UNC / Kenan-Flagler
18. Indiana / Kelley
19. Yale SOM
20. UT Austin / McCombs
Chicago has topped the BW list for the first time in the school’s history – a development that spells great things for the program – based on students’ satisfaction with the facilities and flexible curriculum. Dethroned from the top spot, Kellogg comes in at #3 this year and Wharton, having fallen to #3 in the 2004 rankings after enjoying several consecutive years in the top slot, is back up to #2; this seems to suggest that both schools are holding their own in terms of career services and student contentment. Michigan is looking good at #5 (especially when considered in conjunction with it’s stellar showing on the WSJ list) and Duke has inched its way into the top 10, but the biggest mover is Berkeley, leaping from #17 to #8 on this year’s list.
Rankings are a great starting point for school selection, but we of course want to remind readers that there is simply no substitute for firsthand visits to the program and in-depth information when deciding on issues of fit. Best of luck to everyone entering this phase of the application process!
