Why MBAs Are Even More Satisfied Than The Most Optimistic Survey Shows

Although these results are from the early 2000s–the last time the magazine publicly released this data–and may have changed in more recent years, the point remains clear: the more highly selective schools tend to graduate the most satisfied MBAs.

The upshot: Satisfaction by MBA alumni, especially the most highly ranked schools,  is higher than even GMAC’s highly optimistic survey.

A CHANGE IN METHODOLOGY MAY HAVE IMPACTED SCHOOL PARTICIPATION

This is also the first year GMAC introduced a new methodology, which provides schools with the opportunity to survey their entire alumni population. “In the past iterations of the Alumni Perspective Survey that were follow-ups to the Global Management Education Graduate Survey, some of these universities participated in the student exit survey and therefore the alumni were included in those iterations of the survey (2001-2013),” added D’Amato. “We changed the methodology to provide better service to graduate schools of business, allowing them the opportunity to benchmark their alumni and receive question-by-question analysis of their alumni by various characteristics.”

Asked if GMAC’s researchers think the exclusion of Harvard and other top schools impacted the survey’s results, D’Amato said, “This is a purely speculative question that is not based on research nor empirical evidence. When we examined the class of 2013 approximately three months after graduation, we found that 90% of all graduate management education students were employed (92% from full-time two-year MBA programs; 95% of US citizens were employed)—these rates are comparable” to those reported by many of the top schools  (Chicago, 95%; Wharton 96%; Northwestern 95%; Harvard 93%; Dartmouth 95%; Columbia 97%).”

DON’T MISS: THE MBA DEGREE: IS IT REALLY WORTH IT? or THE MBA BUMP: HOW MUCH TO EXPECT?