Well, another week has passed and another ranking has been released; this time the U.S. News and World Report weighed in with its annual “America’s Best Business Schools 2008” issue.
We, at MBA Mission, recognize that we like to have our cake and eat it too. When rankings fluctuate wildly, we criticize them because institutions don’t change dramatically from year to year (“How is it possible that this school was the third best school last year and is suddenly the ninth best this year?”); when rankings just reinforce perceived brand power, we argue that the methodology is a bit toothless and that the powers that be are afraid to take risks.
In essence, we believe that all rankings should be viewed cautiously. While it is important to understand the relative brand strength of your school, it is also important to recognize that a good business school will be with you for seventy years and that rankings – for good or bad — will be different (unless you follow US News) when you graduate.
