The Argument That Only Top-5 Business Schools Are Worth It Is Dead Wrong
Many often argue that if you can't get into one of the top schools (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, the University of Chicago, Northwestern, and MIT, for example), that an MBA isn't worth the time and investment.
They're wrong.
In a Quartz article arguing against enrolling in lower-tiered MBA programs, Jay Bhatti cites data from US News and World Report stating that less than 80% of students at Harvard and Stanford have a job when they graduate - so it must be worse elsewhere, right?
But data collected by business-school focused website Poets & Quants suggests that MBAs have excellent job prospects, even if they graduated from a school well outside the top 10 of most rankings.
Three months after graduation, 98% of students at Emory's Goizueta School of Business had a job offer. They got a median base salary of $100,000 with an average signing bonus of $25,000. Emory is ranked No. 18 in US News' business school rankings, and No. 39 in Business Insider's.
Meanwhile, Ohio State's Fisher School of Business, ranked No. 27 by US News, reported that 97% of its students had jobs three months after graduation, with a $90,000 median base salary and $18,000 average signing bonus.
Those are extremely impressive numbers, especially when compared to law school.
Of course, there are many valid arguments against business school - that it's gotten too expensive, is not well suited to those looking to become entrepreneurs or join startups, and is less valuable than it used to be.
But for people looking to transition into management, gain business skills, or switch industries, there's a case for business school. Beyond the education, you get access to aggressive and experienced career services professionals, MBA internships that often lead to future jobs, and an influential network of alumni.
The argument to skip the Master's degree if you don't get into one of the most elite institutions may apply to law school, considering the job market and law's long-term prospects, but it simply doesn't hold for business school.
Here are the 30 best b-schools for employment prospects, ranked by job placement rates three months after graduation:
| Emory (Goizueta) | 98.10% | 98.00% | $100,000 | $25,000 |
| Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 97.80% | 95.00% | $125,000 | $25,000 |
| Columbia Business School | 97.00% | 96.00% | $110,000 | $30,000 |
| Ohio State (Fisher) | 97.00% | 96.00% | $90,000 | $18,977* |
| UNC (Kenan-Flagler) | 96.10% | 88.00% | $100,000 | $25,000 |
| New York (Stern) | 96.00% | 94.00% | $107,450* | $32,899 |
| Washington (Olin) | 96.00% | 96.00% | $100,000 | $15,000 |
| Univ. of Washington (Foster) | 96.00% | 98.00% | $105,000 | $24,182* |
| Texas-Austin (McCombs) | 95.90% | 94.00% | $100,000 | $20,000 |
| UC-Berkeley (Haas) | 95.80% | 96.00% | $120,000 | $20,000 |
| Vanderbilt (Owen) | 95.60% | 91.10% | $100,000 | $17,500 |
| Dartmouth (Tuck) | 95.00% | 95.00% | $115,000 | $25,000 |
| Indiana (Kelley) | 95.00% | 95.00% | $100,000 | $20,000 |
| Northwestern (Kellogg) | 94.70% | 96.00% | $120,000 | $25,000 |
| Stanford | 94.00% | 90.00% | $125,000 | $25,000 |
| Rice (Jones) | 94.00% | 95.00% | $101,229* | $21.315* |
| Chicago (Booth) | 93.70% | 95.00% | $115,000 | $25,000 |
| Harvard Business School | 93.00% | 95.00% | $120,000 | $25,000 |
| MIT (Sloan) | 92.20% | 96.00% | $120,000 | $25,000 |
| Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) | 92.10% | 92.00% | $112,000 | $24,554 |
| Yale School of Management | 91.10% | 90.00% | $110,000 | $25,000 |
| Georgetown (McDonough) | 91.10% | 91.00% | $100,000 | $25,000 |
| Cornell (Johnson) | 91.00% | 92.00% | $105,000 | $25,000 |
| Duke (Fuqua) | 90.60% | 93.00% | $110,000 | $25,000 |
| Maryland (Smith) | 90.20% | 91.00% | $92,000 | $15,000 |
| Virginia (Darden) | 89.60% | 94.00% | $105,000 | $25,000 |
| Michigan (Ross) | 88.70% | 85.00% | $112,000 | $25,000 |
| UCLA (Anderson) | 88.00% | 91.00% | $100,000 | $25,000 |
| USC (Marshall) | 82.00% | 77.00% | $103,000 | $20,000 |
* indicates average rather than media