P&Q’s Must Reads: How ChatGPT-4 Ranks The World’s Best MBA Programs

Hello everyone  –- Welcome back to Poets&Quants’ Must Reads, a quick, digestible recap of the top business school news, sponsored by CentreCourt, P&Q’s virtual admission events.

I’m your host, Kristy Bleizeffer, and I’ll be highlighting the most important P&Q stories you might have missed. So, let’s get to it. 

No. 1:  How ChatGPT-4 Ranks The World’s Best MBA Programs

How would ChatGPT rank business schools? And how accurate would a list of full-time MBA programs actually be?

To put it to the test, Poets&Quants asked the AI chatbot to take a stab at ranking the best MBA programs in the world. The results were likely much as you’d expect: Not great, but pretty passable.

We also asked the chatbot to answer MBA essay questions from some of the top schools. Here, it did surprisingly, if not frighteningly, well. 

You can find both stories on our homepage. You’ll also find ChatGPT’s own disclaimer for its ranking shortcomings: “As an AI language model, ChatGPT does not have the capability to rank MBA programs on its own,” the chatbot admitted after hours of back and forth with our Poets&Quants reporter. “However, it can analyze data and trends from various sources and provide insights that can help prospective MBA candidates make informed decisions about their education and career paths. ChatGPT can provide information such as average alumni salary, employment rate, faculty research output, and other relevant data points that can be used to compare MBA programs.”

So do with that what you will.

No. 2: New Ranking Measures ROI At The Top 30 U.S. MBA Programs

Let’s face it, it’s hard getting into a top business school. What applicants want to know more than almost anything else is whether all the effort is worth it.

Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business has developed a tool that calculates an MBA-salary-to-tuition ratio at the top 30 B-schools as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. It does this by comparing the median starting salary for the Class of 2022 and total out-of-state tuition/fees for two years of residential MBA study, with data sourced from the schools themselves.

How did your prospective target school fare in the new ranking? Check out the full story to find out. You can find it in our trending tab.

No. 3: Some MBAs With Consulting Job Offers Report Being Asked To Delay Their Start Dates

At Poets&Quants, we’re starting to hear anecdotal stories of Class of 2023 MBAs being asked to push back their start dates at leading consulting firms – in some cases as much as a year. Others are having their offers pulled completely.

While several B-schools contacted by Poets&Quants for this story reported they had not heard of any job rescissions or delays in the consulting sector, the stories have persisted. One Harvard Business School student reportedly had an offer from an MBB firm pushed from August 2023 to August 2024, and a Wharton student confirms she has heard “rumblings” of delayed starts from colleagues.

Reporter Marc Ethier wades into a possibly troubled sector in this story while taking a look at other employment trends ahead for MBAs. Find it on our homepage.

No. 4: Our Weekly Round Up of  News You Can Use

No matter where you are in your MBA journey, we bring several helpful stories for you this week.

First up: For those looking at a future application, mark your calendars. Registration for the new GMAT will open in the third quarter. Check out this story for all the important updates on the timing, structure, and content of the revamped admission test. Find it on our homepage. 

Next: Speaking of admission tests: Be sure to read our Secrets to Smart GMAT & GRE Prep with five surprising tips to getting your best score. You’ll find that story in our admissions hub.

Finally: Are you in the enviable position of having multiple MBA invites, but don’t know which to choose? This story from our friends at North Star Admissions – Deciding Between MBA Programs – outlines the criteria you should weigh to find the program best for you.  You can find it in our admissions hub.

And, that’s it for this week’s Must Reads recap. 

I also want to alert school seekers to Poets&Quants’ upcoming Online MBA admissions event. In these virtual panels, you’ll learn about the best online MBA programs from admissions and career experts as well as students currently enrolled. Our next event is April 18 and 19, and you can register now for free.

Again, I’m Kristy Bleizeffer, and you can join me next week, right here, for a recap of what’s important in the world of business education. Thanks for listening and, as always, stay informed!