Which rankings to consider?

Expert replies

prachich1987: Legendary Member; Posts: 752; Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 2:47 amFollowed by: 10 members; Thanked: 20 times; GMAT Score:700

by prachich1987 » Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:23 am

Hi,

I am in the process of shortlisting schools & I am really confused.
I am not understadning which ranking should I consider as they differ from each other a lot.
For e.g
1)University of Minnesota (Carlson) is listed among Top tier school in business week ranking
Business week ranking : 28
US News ranking : 21
FT ranking : ranked nowhere in FT

2) SMU: Cox too is listed among Top tier school in business week ranking
Business week ranking : 12
FT ranking : 85

Thanks!
Prachi

Source: Beat The GMAT — Ask Stacy Blackman | Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:23 am

GMAT/MBA Expert

Lisa Anderson: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 3845; Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:57 pmFollowed by: 148 members; Location: Houston, TX; Thanked: 442 times

by Lisa Anderson » Mon Aug 01, 2011 7:44 am

Dear prachich1987,

I'm not surprised you are confused by the various rankings--they have varying methodologies that change each year and each publication has a different focus. Thus rankings should not be used to determine where you will apply or make the decision on where to go; rankings are a place to start in your research, to gather information on many schools in one place. You need to figure out what you want/need from your MBA experience; then evaluate potential programs against your personal criteria to come up with your own ranking. For tips on identifying possible programs, please read our sticky on school selection.

Good luck,
Lisa

Lisa Anderson
Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting

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