The best business schools don't just do one thing well. They focus on relentless excellence across all dimensions: programming, experience, support, satisfaction. That cohesion, and the strategy and execution behind it, permeates every corner of their programs. The right people all join. It's a virtuous cycle: respected leaders recruit A-level talent and embrace high-potential talent, who join top companies and pave the way for others to follow.
MBA rankings are designed to condense data into one neat number. Princeton Review The Princeton Review takes a different approach. Instead of summarizing data, it breaks it down so readers can see specifically what makes a target school stand out. The rankings are made up of 18 categories, including the quality of faculty and the quality of consulting programs. Rather than the final index score being tied to questionable weightings, Princeton Review We simply present the top 10 performing programs in each category. In the process, readers can identify the programs with the highest student and alumni satisfaction in the areas that matter most to them. Call it an imperfect tool that allows readers to think for themselves, to respect their readers, and to have the courage to do things differently.
The result? As with many rankings, Stanford Graduate School of Business and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management solidified their M7 credentials by regularly ranking among the top schools across the board. Princeton Review There were several up-and-coming universities in the rankings, including Virginia Darden, Michigan Ross and Vanderbilt Owen, that rank in the rankings as undervalued assets worthy of deeper consideration.
methodology
“Since we began ranking business schools in 2004 in multiple categories rather than a single list, our goal has been to help students seeking business school find the MBA program that's best for them,” writes Rob Frank. Princeton Review's editor-in-chief said in a press release, “Each of the schools on our 2024 list has impressive characteristics of their own. What they have in common are three characteristics that have broadly influenced the criteria for these rankings: excellent academics, a strong experiential learning component, and excellent career services. What was impressive to us, and likely to future applicants as well, is that all of our 2024 Best Business Schools garnered highly favorable ratings among the MBA students we surveyed.”
The 2024 edition was announced on July 16th. Princeton Review Better late than never for the MBA rankings. After all, the 2023 rankings will be released in February 2023, with a gap of nearly 18 months between the rankings. To put together the student portion of the 2024 rankings, Princeton Review More than 21,500 on-campus respondents who were enrolled in 244 graduate business programs over the past three years were surveyed. As part of the student survey, respondents rated a variety of areas from faculty to campus life. In addition, Princeton Review Surveys were handed out to school administrators, collecting data on “academics, selectivity, faculty, technology platforms, career services, and other topics.”
whole, Princeton Review They collected 60 data points to compile rankings across 18 categories, using a mix of data from students only, administrators only, and students and administrators combined. However, instead of providing actual school scores, they Princeton Review It simply ranks the top 10 in each category, which makes it impossible to tell the difference between ranked programs or how unranked programs rank relative to comparable schools.
Yale and NYU win back-to-back titles, Kellogg in disarray
Princeton ReviewThe programming rankings may be the most valuable metric. Think of it as a combination of school data like employment and starting salaries, and student assessments of how well a school prepares students for a career in a particular field. Princeton Review We cover seven different industries:
consulting
finance
management
marketing
operation
Non-profit
human resources
Not surprisingly, different schools top each of the seven lists. Yale Business School once again tops Consulting, while University of Michigan Ross surpasses Virginia Darden to become the second-best MBA program in the field (Northwestern University's Kellogg School jumps from unranked to No. 4). NYU Stern once again takes the No. 1 spot in Finance, beating Columbia Business School and Virginia Darden (while Northwestern University's Kenan-Flagler and Rice Jones maintain their No. 4 and No. 5 spots). Northwestern University's Kellogg School takes the top spot in Management, taking the top spot from Stanford Business School (which dropped to No. 4). As with Consulting and Finance, University of California, Berkeley's Haas School is a newcomer, coming in at No. 4 in Management.
While Kellogg has traditionally been labeled a “marketing school,” it actually ranked sixth in this evaluation. In fact, only Stanford GSB remained in the top five for marketing, but it dropped from first to fifth. Washington Foster took the No. 1 spot, followed by less impressive programs like Indiana Kelley, Wisconsin Business School, and UCLA Anderson. Additionally, Dartmouth Tuck, which was ranked second in marketing last year, actually dropped out of the top ten.
Kellogg MBA Student
The Difference Between Kellogg and Owen
What's puzzling is that Purdue Krannert came in at the top of the list in operations, even though it doesn't offer a full-time MBA program. The same can be said for Penn State Smeal, which came in at No. 3. Bard College, which was No. 2 to Stanford GSB in the nonprofit category last year, has taken the top spot, and Pepperdine Graziadio has risen from No. 5 to No. 2. BYU-Marriott follows Bard's lead, this time in human resources, jumping from No. 2 to No. 1.
In the ranking of various academic programs, three programs – Stanford GSB, Northwestern University Kellogg School, and Vanderbilt University Owen School – were ranked in the top 10 in four categories. Unfortunately, Stanford GSB lost its number one spot in three categories this year. At the same time, Duke University Fuqua School and Virginia Darden School were ranked in the top 10 in three categories.
Historically, Kellogg has been associated with teamwork rather than management. In fact, the school says MBAs are likely to participate in 200 team meetings during their time at Evanston. In Kellogg's worldview, service and collaboration are the foundations of being an effective manager. The school brands itself as “less ego, more impact” leadership, an approach based on reflection and self-awareness that fosters dialogue and trust.
“The school’s focus is to develop leaders who can navigate environments of change and who are shaped by and embody the essential qualities of creativity and collaboration,” Emily Haydon, Kellogg’s associate dean for enrollment and financial aid, explained in a 2023 interview. P&Q“With this focus and shared culture, we develop leaders who leverage an empathetic mindset to drive relationships and performance, both professionally and personally.”
In contrast, the success of Vanderbilt Owen's programming is a byproduct of its individualized approach, where each student receives intensive support to achieve their career growth plans.
“All the resources you need to succeed are important: world-class faculty and dynamic classrooms, life-changing career opportunities, immersive experiences and environments, and professors, staff and peers who care about your success,” Bailey McChesney, Owen’s director of MBA admissions, said in a 2024 interview. P&Q“The Vanderbilt MBA program has all of this, but what sets us apart is our small, very close-knit community and amazing setting in Nashville, Tennessee, so all of these resources are easily accessible and the people behind them know your name. Walking through any of our buildings for just a minute means students can meet their leadership coach, career coach, academic advisor, professors and pass dozens of their classmates. Our community cares deeply not only about the outcomes students achieve, but also their experiences and growth in the program and their success far beyond business school.”
A Vanderbilt Owen University student takes notes in a marketing class.
Why Darden Faculty is Ranked #1
The rankings also included seven categories based solely on student survey results, including:
The best classroom experience: “The quality of the professors' teaching, the integration of new business trends and practices into the curriculum, the intellectual level of classmates' contributions in course discussions, and whether the business school meets the students' academic expectations.”
Best professors: “How good the professors are as teachers and how approachable they are outside of the classroom.”
Most Competitive Students: “Competitiveness among classmates, heavy workload, academic pressure, etc.”
Most family friendly: “How happy married students are, how many students have children, how supportive the school is of students with children, and how much the school does for the spouses of students.”
Best campus environment: “Student happiness, their opinion of the town and campus community in which the school is located, the availability of school activities, and the level of participation of their peers.”
Best practices: “How smoothly the school is running and how easily students can get admission in compulsory and popular subjects.”
The Greenest MBA: “How well does the school prepare students for environmental/sustainability and social responsibility issues and careers in the green job market?”
Following page: Links to 18 business school rankings Princeton Review.
