Best Business Schools

There is a growing number of business schools sprouting up all over the world in a rather fast pace.  All of them guarantee prospect students’ success and expertise in advance business management techniques through their MBA, Executive MBA and doctoral programs.

The primary reason why students attend business schools is to increase their salary potential and their marketability in the business world. An effective business degree leads them to a wide range of opportunities they can pursue, which include finance services, sales and marketing, human resources and operations management, accountancy and consultancy services.

But while it’s true that a business school degree advances your career and helps you earn more money, the key to a successful career in business still lies in finding the right business school. At a top business university, you will learn the art and science behind business and gain the skills you need to work in the corporate arena. It is a great place to find your niche.

Consider the following pointers in choosing the right business school.

•Cost of studying. If budget is an issue, scout for a school with reasonable rates and which wouldn’t compromise the quality of education offered. A business school degree can cost you a lot of bucks, therefore cost should be carefully considered before applying. 

•Programs offered. Does the school/university offer the type of program you want? As stated earlier, there are different program varieties to choose from in business schools to date. A two-year MBA degree, for instance, can be crammed up in a single year depending on the institution.

•Admission system. Some universities have a really strict system of student selection. Their competitive application process makes make it hard for average students to get in. To calculate your chances, match your credentials (GPA, test scores, etc.) to the school’s requirements.

•Program curriculum. Most school curriculums encourage specializing in a single aspect of business. The recent education review, nevertheless, proposes a revision to this – an inclusion of special courses that would lead students to different fields of specialization. When you’re looking for advance studies, consider one that has an updated program curriculum.

•Teacher-student ratio. If you are looking for individualized attention, consider a school with relatively small class sizes. 

•Institutional statistics. If you’re gunning to make it really big in the corporate world, choosing a school with remarkable placement statistics is imperative. Search through the records or ask around about the school’s reputation. Current students and alumni can give you a succinct background of the institution’s performance.

To determine which schools are the most reputable, the recent issue of Forbes magazine features an updated list of the best business schools in the world. It is the publication’s sixth biennial ranking of universities offering business-related courses based on company-administered surveys.  The instrument used ranks universities based on return of investment (compensation five years after graduation minus tuition and the forgone salary during school). Ranking is as follows:

1. Dartmouth (Tuck)
2. Stanford
3. Harvard
4. Virginia (Darden)
5. Pennsylvania (Wharton)
6. Columbia
7. Chicago
8. Yale
9. Northwestern (Kellogg)
10. Cornell (Johnson)
11. NYU (Stern)
12. Duke (Fuqua)
13. UC Berkeley (Haas)
14. Texas-Austin (McCombs)
15. UNC (Kenan-Flagler)
16. Iowa (Tippie)
17. MIT (Sloan)
18. Brigham Young (Marriott)
19. Michigan State (Broad)
20. Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)

If you wish to learn more about the different business programs offered in each of these schools, there are many different degree search portals that are free to use online.

