2012 U.S. News Ranking of the Best B-Schools

HOW U.S. NEWS’ 2012 TOP 51 TO 75 SCHOOLS STACK UP AGAINST EACH OTHER

School	Index	Peers	Recruiters	Selectivity	GPA	GMAT	Salary	Employed	Later
51. Arkansas	52	3.0	2.7	45.0%	3.50	649	$62,745	85.7%	90.5%
52. Weatherhead	51	3.2	2.9	69.7%	3.40	633	$81,152	62.5%	87.5%
52. Temple	51	2.9	2.4	32.6%	3.46	631	$83,457	81.4%	95.3%
54. SMU	50	3.2	3.0	37.0%	3.25	641	$88,693	61.1%	81.1%
54. Missouri	50	2.5	3.2	45.4%	3.49	647	$56,254	85.3%	92.6%
56. Northeastern	49	2.8	3.1	30.8%	3.33	630	$71,499	65.9%	95.1%
57. G. Washington	48	3.1	3.1	47.7%	3.28	631	$83,180	51.3%	85.0%
57. Arizona	48	3.4	2.9	58.7%	3.43	604	$86,374	47.6%	73.8%
57. Georgia	48	3.2	2.8	40.6%	3.36	643	$94,463	48.6%	70.3%
57. Massachusetts	48	2.9	2.6	23.8%	3.45	644	$79,220	45.0%	90.0%
61. Babson	47	3.3	3.1	69.7%	3.13	616	$86,934	54.4%	82.5%
61. Connecticut	47	2.9	2.3	42.2%	3.51	630	$87,600	59.1%	84.1%
63. Rutgers	46	2.6	2.7	54.7%	3.30	638	$90,724	60.4%	90.6%
64. Baylor	45	2.7	2.6	35.8%	3.36	624	$67,617	73.2%	92.7%
64. Iowa State	45	2.4	2.6	54.7%	3.50	620	$62,634	83.3%	96.7%
64. USC (Moore)	45	3.0	2.9	65.7%	3.33	633	$80,420	56.5%	73.9%
64. Tennessee	45	2.8	2.9	47.8%	3.42	600	$74,551	63.2%	84.2%
68. Syracuse	44	3.0	3.2	41.1%	3.44	627	$74,140	46.7%	64.4%
68. Pittsburgh	44	3.1	2.6	45.8%	3.39	612	$73,969	51.9%	83.3%
70. William & Mary	43	2.9	2.9	56.5%	3.30	614	$76,835	51.8%	81.9%
70. DePaul	43	2.8	2.9	44.4%	3.22	625	$73,801	66.7%	84.6%
70. Rensselaer	43	2.8	2.8	60.0%	3.34	653	$77,780	44.0%	76.0%
70. Neeley	43	2.7	2.7	70.3%	3.19	643	$75,915	63.0%	91.3%
70. Univ. of Miami	43	2.8	2.8	48.3%	3.33	636	$76,646	48.0%	80.0%
75. Bentley	42	2.9	3.0	54.9%	3.29	582	$71,694	64.3%	85.7%

Source: U.S. News & World Report 2012 MBA Ranking

How to Read the Above Table:

School: To fit all the data in the table above, we used the shortest possible name of the school. That’s why some schools are identified by their university names and others by the name of the business school.

Index: The total score that U.S. News assigns to a school. U.S. News says the “data were standardized about their means, and school scores were weighted, totalled, and rescaled so that the top school received 100; others received their percentage of the top score.”

Peers: This is the peer assessment score (the highest possible score is a 5.0) that comes from U.S. News’ survey of “business school deans and directors” of accredited master’s programs in business. The magazine asks B-school officials to rate programs on a scale from “marginal” (1) to “outstanding” (5). A school’s score is the average of all the respondents who rated it. It accounts for the largest single weight in the survey, 25% of the final ranking.

Recruiters: This is the recruiter assessment score (the highest possible score is a 5.0) that comes from U.S. News’ survey of “corporate recruiters and company contacts” from MBA programs previously ranked by U.S. News. They are asked to rate full-time programs on a scale of “marginal” (1) to “outstanding” (5). A school’s score is the average of all the respondents who rated it. U.S. News averages the two most recent years of these results. It has a weight of 15% of the final ranking.

Selectivity: The percentage of applicants who are accepted for admission to the class that was entered in the fall of 2011. This metric is self-reported by the schools and has a weight of only 1.25% in the final ranking.

GPA: The average undergraduate grade-point average of students entering the full-time program in fall of 2011. This metric is self-reported by the schools and accounts for 7.5% of the final ranking.

GMAT: The average GMAT score of students entering the full-time program in the fall of 2011. Scores range from a low of 200 to a high of 800. This metric is self-reported by the schools and accounts for 16.25% of the final ranking.

Salary: The average starting salary and bonus of 2011 graduates of a full-time master’s program in business. U.S. News says that “salary figures are based on the number of graduates who reported data. The mean signing bonus is weighted by the proportion of those graduates who reported a bonus, because not everyone who reported a base salary figure reported a signing bonus.” This metric accounts for 14% of the final ranking.

Employed: Employment rate for 2011 graduates at graduation. Those not seeking jobs or for whom no job-seeking information is available are excluded. This metric accounts for 7% of the final ranking.

Later: Employment rate for 2011 graduates three months after graduation. This metric is given a weight of 14% of the final ranking.

(Table of the Top 76 to 101 schools and how they stack up against each other on the following page)