[推荐]BW:The Best B-Schools of 2006

The Best B-Schools of 2006

For the Class of 2006, things couldn't be better. Among the top 30 B-schools, job offers were up 20% over 2004, to an average of 2.3. And the average salary is up more than $8,000 or 9.7%, to $95,000, with grads from nearly a third of the schools now raking in six-figure paychecks. After three years in the doldrums, even applications are up, with nearly two-thirds of all full-time programs seeing a boost, compared to 21% in 2005.

Tuition and fees were up 15% across the board, with the typical two-year cost for a top-30 program up more than $10,000 since 2004. Enrollment of women and minorities continued to advance, but just barely. They now account for 29.2% and 9.8% of students in the top 30, respectively, up from 28.5% and 9.6%.

The letter grades are based on survey responses from grads at 73 U.S. schools and MBA recruiters at 223 companies. The top 20% in each category earned A+s. The next 25% got As, the next 35% got Bs, and the bottom 20% received Cs.

Click column heading once to reorder from highest to lowest. Click twice to reorder from lowest to highest.

								ENROLLMENT², %			MEDIAN PAY³, $ (THOUSANDS)				RECRUITER GRADES⁶			MBA GRADES⁷
RANK	SCHOOL	2004 RANK	CORP. POLL	GRAD. POLL	INTELLECT. CAPITAL	ANNUAL TUITION¹, $	APPLICANTS ACCEPTED, %	WOMEN	INT'L	MINORITIES	PRE-MBA	POST-MBA	RESPONDENTS W/ OFFER BY GRADUATION⁴, %	AVG. WORK EXPERIENCE⁵, MONTHS	COMMUNICATION	TEAMWORK	ANALYTIC SKILLS	TEACHING QUALITY	CAREER SERVICE

1	Chicago	2	3	1	9	42,182	NR	31	30	16	72	95	96.9	62	A	A	A+	A+	A+
Students appreciate option to tailor curriculum to their interests. Living in Chicago gets pricey, but most say facilities and faculty are worth the expense.
2	Pennsylvania (Wharton)	3	2	4	8	44,795	21	32	42	7	80	105	97.1	71	A+	A	A+	B	A+
Students say competitive program improves the academic experience. Decision to allow students to disclose grades to recruiters has many disconcerted.
3	Northwestern (Kellogg)	1	1	2	23	41,115	24	31	28	10	70	100	95.9	62	A+	A+	A+	A	A+
The word used over and over by Kellogg students is "collegial." School balances individual development and teamwork, case studies and lectures.
4	Harvard	5	4	8	7	46,056	15	35	33	NR	79	105	96.6	54	A+	B	A+	A+	A+
Case method allows students to solve real-world problems. Ivory tower is not everyone's cup of tea, but alumni network is vast.
5	Michigan (Ross)	6	5	10	16	42,024	28	34	35	11	60	95	94.8	64	A+	A+	A+	B	A
Lack of grades diminishes competition and increases focus on work. Facilities are lacking but undergoing a makeover.
6	Stanford	4	10	3	5	43,380	10	32	43	10	73.5	110	99.3	48	A+	B	A+	B	A+
With Silicon Valley around the corner, innovation reigns. Extensive electives cater to students with interests beyond banking and consulting.
7	MIT (Sloan)	9	9	5	6	42,364	20	31	30	7	74	110	96.3	57	B	B	A+	A	A
MIT offers unique courses with entrepreneurial focus and attracts students with engineering backgrounds. Prominent faculty remains accessible.
8	UC-Berkeley (Haas)	17	7	7	11	36,634	18	35	31	6	70	100	94.8	67	A	A	A	B	A
Tech and entrepreneurial specialties give Haas grads an edge in innovation. Curriculum is not as well-suited for those with eyes set on Wall Street.
9	Duke (Fuqua)	11	8	9	4	39,350	36	29	39	9	64	95	93.4	70	A+	A+	A+	A+	A+
Students on "Team Fuqua" enjoy the collaborative learning experience. Good for the hand-holding types but some would like more debate and conflict.
10	Columbia	8	6	16	13	40,948	17	35	42	15	75	100	94.3	60	A+	A	A+	B	A
Students appreicate vast alumni network and high-profile speakers. Access to recruiters for everything from international companies to lesser known employers.
11	Dartmouth (Tuck)	10	15	12	2	40,903	20	33	34	8	70	100	91.8	68	A	A+	A	A+	A
Small class-small town leaves something to be desired. But many appreciate the "self selecting" crowd that attends. General management program is specialized.
12	UCLA (Anderson)	14	17	15	1	36,094	29	28	30	6	63	95	90.1	57	A	A	A	B	B
Students go by an "excellence without attitude" mantra. Active student clubs provide career development, but there's limited access to East Coast recruiting.
13	Cornell (Johnson)	7	16	14	3	38,800	36	24	33	7	60	95	97.1	59	A	A+	A	A	A
Particularly popular among career switchers, Cornell offers small class sizes and accessible professors. Students enjoy new immersion learning programs.
14	NYU (Stern)	13	12	11	25	39,600	22	40	38	17	60	95	91.7	59	A	A+	A	A+	A+
Local alumni base is large and former students are willing to lend a hand in the job search.
15	Virginia (Darden)	12	14	6	35	41,000	41	21	27	7	62	95	96.3	61	A+	A+	A	A+	A+
Case method works well in small classes, which foster Socratic learning. Students get individual attention from administration and faculty.
16	Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)	15	13	20	20	42,288	29	21	28	11	59	95	94.9	52	C	B	B	A	B
Tepper's small class size creates intense focus, intimacy, and greater hands-on responsibility. Curriculum is geared toward the quantitative mind.
17	North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)	16	18	18	10	36,383	47	27	28	9	55.5	90	93	64	A	A	A	A+	B
Job placement leaves most grads smiling, but international students may not have the same luck. Extracurricular activities and pleasant location add to the appeal.
18	Indiana (Kelley)	18	11	21	31	30,458	40	27	41	12	50	87	87.5	63	A	A+	A	A+	B
Kelley is praised for general education but is found lacking in specialties like consulting and investment banking. Strong regional bias limits recruiting options.
19	Yale	22	26	13	28	42,685	22	38	22	7	55	95	95.5	58	A	A	B	A	A
Small program size means easy access to alumni and faculty. Students applaud new dean Joel Podolny, cited for being a visionary leader.
20	Texas-Austin (McCombs)	19	19	24	27	36,200	37	29	25	8	60	90	88.9	60	A+	A+	A	C	B
Complaints include unresponsive administration and poor career placement for international students. Variety of classes and other resources balance equation.
21	USC (Marshall)	27	28	19	30	39,000	36	35	22	8	60	89	87.4	62	B	B	B	C	A
Strong community and alumni network offer lifelong career contacts. Drop in 2004 rankings led to major program overhaul, but students want further improvement.
22	Georgetown (McDonough)	25	22	23	34	36,000	41	38	30	11	53	90	90.3	62	C	C	B	A	B
D.C. area offers students many opportunities for work in the public sector and international business. Demanding classes are taught by diligent professors.
23	Emory (Goizueta)	20	36	17	15	37,826	34	27	36	11	54	90	91.9	59	B	C	B	A	A
Students extol leadership development, accessible professors, and caliber of classmates. One-year program offers a popular alternative to two-year MBA.
24	Purdue (Krannert)	21	20	26	17	30,310	42	16	45	7	45	85	93.3	55	B	C	B	B	B
Students laud financial aid offerings and diverse, international student population. Curriculum emphasizes quantitative skills and teamwork.
25	Maryland (Smith)	28	38	22	12	36,444	39	28	36	9	50	85	85.9	60	C	C	B	C	C
Smith grads gripe about regional recruiting and inadequate career services. But tight-knit community and affordable tuition help ease the strain.
26	Notre Dame (Mendoza)	24	21	32	32	34,045	49	20	26	13	45	85	80.2	52	B	B	C	C	B
Students miss proximity to big city, but enjoy the tight-knit community and finance training. Recent switch from semesters to a 7-week system gets mixed reviews.
27	Washington U. (Olin)	23	29	27	29	36,655	54	29	39	11	40	85	92	52	C	B	B	A	C
Small class size means personal attention from faculty, but on-campus recruiting is a disappointment. Campus hosts a noteworthy leadership speaker series.
28	Rochester (Simon)	29	25	28	24	39,711	36	28	48	18	40	83	82.6	55	A	A	A	A	B
Quality of education, analytical skill development, and personal attention from faculty is highly rated, but poor showing by recruiters frustrates students.
29	Michigan State (Broad)	NA	27	31	21	25,046	33	31	37	11	45	85	96.1	60	C	B	C	B	A
Teamwork focus means most grades are based on group, rather than individual, performance. Students praise outstanding career services center and faculty.
30	Vanderbilt (Owen)	30	32	25	33	39,249	44	26	24	6	55	87	92.2	55	B	A	B	B	B
Students laud the overall experience at Owen. Grads say that rigorous curriculum leaves them well equipped for future careers.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. 2005-06 (where applicable, out-of-state figures used)
2. For combined years 2005-2006; minority figure does not include Asian-Americans
3. Salary only; does not include signing bonus, stock options, or other compensation. Based on respondents to student survey; does not represent entire graduating class.
4. Based on respondents to student survey.
5. Supplied by schools.
6. Based on 2006 recruiter survey.
7. Based on 2006 student survey.
NR: No response
NA: Not applicable

Data: BusinessWeek, Cambria Consulting

Research by Louis Lavelle, Geoff Gloeckler, Fred Jespersen, Megan Tucker, Paula Lehman, and Sonal Rupani.