How MBA Students & Alumni Rank Their Business Schools

An artist’s rendering of IE Business School’s new skyscraper campus in Madrid

A SCHOOL FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Still, the gap between Stanford GSB and Cornell Johnson in Entrepreneurship is .37 of a point – larger than the difference between #2 Cornell and #12 UCLA Anderson. At the same time, Johnson’s 6.51 score ties it with IE Business School. A program founded by entrepreneurs, IE Business School weaves a startup mentality throughout its curriculum – even kicking off programming with the required entrepreneurship course. At the same time, the program invests heavily in preparing students to be founders, scalers, and intrapreneurs.

“We expose students to the tools they can use to validate and pivot their ideas,” explains Jose Esteves, the associate dean of the International MBA program, in an interview with P&Q. “This includes exposure to the minds and mentorship of 40+ experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts during the Startup Lab and even more industry experts during Venture Lab. The Labs are also connected to more than 20 incubators, accelerators, and similar entrepreneurial programs in Spain, which we link with IE startups when students choose to continue their entrepreneurial journey post-MBA.”

Founding out the Top 5 are Berkeley Haas (6.49) and MIT Sloan (6.31). Surprisingly, Babson College – consistently ranked among the top startup schools in the country, didn’t notch a Top 12 score in Entrepreneurship from students and alumni.

SAYING ‘YES’…IN ALL CAPS

When it comes to engaged and supportive alumni networks, two MBA programs come to mind: Dartmouth Tuck and USC Marshall. Sure enough, these schools tied for 1st in Bloomberg Businessweek’s poll. On the surface, these schools couldn’t represent a deeper contrast, headlined by their rural vs. urban and east coast vs. west coast divides. At their core, these schools apply similar strategies. Both programs heavily engage students in decision-making – and hold their students accountable for paying forward the benefits they’ve enjoyed.

Dartmouth Tuck, in particular, is the archetypal “self-select” school – where students embrace the culture and relish small-town life and cold winters.  2019 grad Sophia Cornew jokes that “no one ends up in Hanover by accident,” adding this is a place “where everyone says “YES!” in all caps.” By this, she means that students buy into the expectation of a deeply-connected class – and the responsibility to be “generous, supportive, and famously responsive alumni” for life.

Dartmouth Tuck’s STEM announcement came in January. Tuck photo

“Tuck alumni enthusiastically support current students,” Renee Hirschberg, Director Of Alumni Engagement and Advancement Operations, tells P&Q. “They frequently return as visiting executives and classroom guests, and they generously offer industry insights, career advice, and more. Individual alumni-student mentorships are facilitated through the Tuck Networking Hub. Alumni connections flourish beyond the bounds of Hanover. Alumni around the world will host events for fellow Tuckies who are in town, be it a group of students participating in a TuckGO program, students interning in the summer, personal travel, or a regularly scheduled Tuck ‘Tails. These connection points (and so many more!) create a lifelong bond to the school and to everyone who has, or will, graduate from Tuck. There is no other MBA network or community like it.”

BEST NETWORKS: AMERICAN AND IVY LEAGUE

USC Marshall might take exception to that last remark. There, the students have pinned a name onto this phenomenon: “The Trojan Network.” In a nutshell, Marshall grads look out for each other. When there is a student in need, Marshall MBAs are known to drop what they’re doing and open their Rolodexes.

“At Marshall, we believe our 93K+ strong Marshall alumni network is a true differentiator,” explains Suh-Pyng Ku, Vice Dean for Graduate Programs, in a 2019 interview with P&Q. “We operate by the guiding principle that engaged students will become engaged alumni and engaged alumni are essential for a great student experience. Students are given the opportunity to make an impactful connection with alumni who return to Marshall as guest lecturers, career mentors, and open doors to their professional networks. The involvement by students and alumni is intended to foster a true vested interest in each other’s success and in the School that continues beyond commencement.”

In the wake of a job-killing, industry-disrupting, confidence-sapping pandemic, a potent alumni network comes in handy.  Stanford GSB and Berkeley Haas tied for the 3rd-highest survey score here at 6.53 (followed by Notre Dame at 6.52). Sure enough, seven of the ten highest-scoring schools in this measure were Top 10 American MBA programs.

WANT PRESTIGE? GO TO CAMBRIDGE (EITHER ONE)

Cambridge students punting along the River Cam.

This rule also applied to prestige – with one notable exception. While the University of Cambridge didn’t rank among Bloomberg Businessweek’s dynamic dozen in Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Network, it scored a 6.94 in Prestige – the second-highest score in the entire survey. Then again, Cambridge reigns as one of the most storied universities in the world – and offers unforgettable experiences that students won’t find anywhere else.

“Doing an MBA at Cambridge provides an opportunity to explore ideas outside the realm of purely business,” writes 2020 grad Blerina Xhelilaj. “To provide one example, I was fortunate to attend a talk with Noble Laureate, Didier Queloz, regarding his work with exoplanet detection.”

That said, Cambridge’s score was matched by MIT Sloan (situated, ironically, in Cambridge, Massachusetts). While Cambridge is shrouded in the lore of Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Byron, and Stephen Hawking, MIT is associated with engineering, physical sciences, and robotics – the home of technological breakthroughs ranging from radar to spreadsheets. In other words, MIT Sloan boasts new world prestige, a place where theories turn into trials and visions emerge as ventures.

“The learning ecosystem is literally the best in the country,” writes 2020 grad Steve Tuekam. “MIT is essentially the best gift you can treat yourself with if you have a growth mindset, between the immense course catalog with cross-registration opportunities in various schools; the leading healthcare and tech companies as neighbors; and the vibrant entrepreneurship community where your friends live and breathe innovation on a daily basis.”

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