On Business School Rankings (Plus: High GMAT Score, High Salary?)

Wow, I am amazed how biased the comments are from Mr. Ferreira. I think that International schools, as those in Europe have a lot to offer, and the argument that the MBA was invented in the US, making it the best does not hold anymore. No one can argue that the best schools are in the US, but one cant forget there are excellent schools out there, such as LBS, Insead, Iese etc. Lets not forget we live in a globalized world. This is the same as saying the British should be entitle to win the World Soccer Cup since they invented the game, which results in the logical (not) conclusion that they have the best team! As a person seeking a top international MBA, I am more inclined to use FT, WSJ or The Economist as a ranking guide for a top MBA, than Businessweek, or US. News, which are completely US biased! Yes getting a great GMAT, increases substantially getting in a Top MBA program, and more likelihood of getting a better starting salary, although it is not the only factor, and maybe the salary is not the most important factor for everyone. I understand that Knewton is selling a product, that they want us to take the GMAT Prep, but the commentaries from Mr. Ferreira completely put me off considering using knewton’s services for a GMAT prep course!

Best regards, Claus Jensen, Denmark

Hi Claus,

Thanks for your comment. You might be interested in reading some of the comments that appeared after we posted this video on the online forum Beat the GMAT. You can find that conversation here. Basically, Jose’s main point in terms of American vs. international b-schools is that the top American schools have, as a rule, been around a lot longer than most international MBA programs. Many of the international programs are less than ten years old; as a result their alumni networks aren’t as strong. That said, Jose definitely concedes (as you’ll read in the BTG comments), that if you want to live in Europe, you should apply to European b-schools (and maybe the top American programs, if they’re in your range). Jose also notes in the BTG comments that he agrees that the rankings in places like US News and Business Week should pay much more attention to non-U.S. programs.

When it comes down to it, Jose definitely isn’t saying that students shouldn’t consider non-U.S. MBA programs, just that they should be aware of some of the possible downfalls of attending business school outside the U.S.

Thanks again for your response, and I hope this clears things up a bit!

Best,
Meghan

Sorry about that, the link to the BTG post is: http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2009/12/20/b-school-rankings-earnings-and-your-gmat-score

Hi Claus,

Thanks for your comment. You might be interested in reading some of the comments that appeared after we posted this video on the online forum Beat the GMAT. You can find that conversation here. Basically, Jose's main point in terms of American vs. international b-schools is that the top American schools have, as a rule, been around a lot longer than most international MBA programs. Many of the international programs are less than ten years old; as a result their alumni networks aren't as strong. That said, Jose definitely concedes (as you'll read in the BTG comments), that if you want to live in Europe, you should apply to European b-schools (and maybe the top American programs, if they're in your range). Jose also notes in the BTG comments that he agrees that the rankings in places like US News and Business Week should pay much more attention to non-U.S. programs.

When it comes down to it, Jose definitely isn't saying that students shouldn't consider non-U.S. MBA programs, just that they should be aware of some of the possible downfalls of attending business school outside the U.S.

Thanks again for your response, and I hope this clears things up a bit!

Best,
Meghan