The Top Business Colleges in the US
With over 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States, how do you know which ones are the top schools? What about the best business schools?
Find the answers to all your questions in this article!
What Makes a Good Business School?
Colleges offer a wide range of opportunities to students who are pursuing business degrees. For example, students have access to top academic courses, clubs, career counseling, internships, connections, and much more.
But… What makes a business school a top college?
The QS Global MBA Rankings “assesses over 300 institutions to determine the top-ranked business schools in the world,” and they do so by collecting data through surveys. They compare datasets from 5 quantitative indicators that “demonstrate performance and impact” in student experiences and outcomes.
Here is an overview of the 5 key indicators of what makes a good business school:
1. Employability
The most important part of getting a degree is being able to use it in the real world. A good business school will prepare you with the interpersonal and technical skills needed to enter and succeed in the workforce. Schools that have a strong reputation with employers and leading companies will often have a higher employment rate after graduation. Another indicator of a good business school is the career planning services they offer.
According to Joy Bussell, the director of career development at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, “the team works closely with students in one-to-one coaching sessions to hone their CV, profile, and career narrative.” Ultimately, their goal is to support “strategic career planning so…students [can] fully own and direct their career development.”
2. Alumni Outcomes & Entrepreneurship
Rich alumni outcomes can offer current students a strong network for mentorship and unique industry experience, opening many opportunities for their future. This can be extremely helpful for employment or entrepreneurship goals. To determine the strength of alumni outcomes, the QS Global MBA Rankings looked at 50,000+ leaders like CEOs, executives, and board members from the biggest global companies (e.g. Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, PepsiCo), identifying the schools they graduated from. Those schools have alumni networks of world-renowned business leaders.
3. Return on Investment
This indicator essentially measures whether the time and money you put into your business degree was worth it. It is determined based on factors like your career opportunities and salary after graduation. In terms of numerical data, QS Global MBA Rankings maps the average salaries “after 10 years of graduating, against average salaries before enrollment.” They factor in the costs of tuition, living expenses, and financial aid to ensure realistic datasets. A higher difference between salaries before and after graduation typically indicates a greater return on investment, as you were able to gain better opportunities and benefits from your business education.
4. Thought Leadership
Much like any other college or university, faculty is one of the top determining factors of a school’s academic strength. Business schools, in particular, consider a college’s “thought leaders” which are those who “offer innovation, insights, and influence across the business world, asking the big questions to create positive change.” Thought leaders often teach and lead research, allowing students to learn directly from their experiences and expertise. According to Professor Andrew John, the associate dean at Melbourne Business School, thought leadership is a strong reflection of a school’s teaching values. Thus, the best teaching methods should mimic the process of “curating, translating, and applying research…to provide evidence-based insights that students can apply [in real life]...and critically analyze research themselves so that [students] can become thought leaders too.”
5. Diversity
Alongside academics and networks, one of the most important things to consider about a college is its diversity. Schools can be diverse in race, gender, age, upbringing, financial background, and much more. A more diverse community of students is often better because students get to see various perspectives and mindsets through their peers. Being surrounded by people who share different lives from yours can widen your perspective of the real world and develop the important skill of understanding unique viewpoints.
Learn more about how the top business schools are ranked.
Top Undergraduate Business Programs
The above provides an overview of what makes a good business school. Now, let’s explore the top 8 undergraduate business programs in the United States, according to the U.S. News & World Report from 2024.
*These colleges are tied for the 8th position.
See how the U.S. News calculated the 2024 Best College rankings.
The universities listed above are some of the top universities to study business as an undergraduate student in the US. Although these are the top universities, you should continue to explore other universities that may be suitable for your profile. In order to do this, you can use Kollegio, a free-of-cost tool that has the most extensive college matching software available!
Top MBA Programs in the US
Here are the top 15 MBA business programs in the United States, according to Top MBA from 2024.
If, instead, you’re searching for post-graduate degrees for business, the above list encompasses the top 15 business degrees in the US.
Conclusion
Although there are ranks for the top business colleges in the United States to see what schools you should apply to, they are all objective. In the end, the perfect college is subjective and ultimately comes down to what fits you the best. If you are struggling with finding the right college, check out Kollegio, an AI-powered college counseling app! Kollegio gives personalized recommendations for schools that fit your profile based on academic factors like GPA and standardized test scores, but also personal preferences like location, population size, cost to attend, and more!
If you already know what school you want to attend, Kollegio has other game-changing features to help you land a spot in your dream school! They have expert AI reviews for college essays, personalized assistance to build your activity list, and deadline trackers for all your applications. Do you want to know the best part? It’s all free!
So what are you waiting for? Sign up now to leverage your college applications this season!
By Annabel Chou
