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EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS OF THE TOP 88 PROGRAMS Detailed Profiles Of The Top 88 Programs Students Rate Schools On Teaching, Alumni Networks & More Acceptance Rates, Average Salaries & ROI

THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE

Volume 03 Issue 01 May 2019

An education is just the start. At Gies, our students experience a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment where innovation thrives because it is put into practice. Both inside and outside the classroom, students are encouraged to challenge assumptions, consider new possibilities, and forge their own path. Thatâ€™s business on purpose.

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Top 10

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THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS 2019 Edition

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editorial John Byrne, Editor-In-Chief Marc Ethier, Managing Editor Nathan Allen, Rankings Editor Jeff Schmitt, Senior Writer Alison Damast, Contributing Writer Pearly Tan, Contributing Writer Greg Yang, Contributing Writer

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letter from the editor Greetings! Welcome to the 2019 Poets&Quants Best Undergraduate Business Schools Guide. If a goal of yours — or someone you know — is to attend an elite undergraduate business school, you’ve already made a good decision. For the third year, we’ve ranked the country’s best undergraduate business programs. This year we ranked more schools than ever and you can find profiles for all 88 of them in the following pages. In addition to the 88 school profiles, we’ve taken a few of our more helpful articles from Poets&Quants For Undergrads and put them together in what we believe is the most thorough and informative guide available on undergraduate business education. We have stories about the schools with the best fiveyear return on investment and the schools with the best employment rates, as well as the total cost of attending each of the 88 elite schools. Despite the rising popularity of healthcare and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors, business remains the most popular degree in the U.S. And it’s easy to see why. The degree is nimble. It’s a near-guaranteed path to early career success. And valuable and potentially life-long connections can result from it. Another reason that a business degree remains relevant: the constant innovation inside business schools. Simply put, B-schools have moved well beyond traditional areas like accounting and finance. Nowadays, schools are providing hands-on experiences that range from launching companies to developing software and apps to using business as a means to achieve social and environmental progress. Still not convinced? Of all 88 schools ranked this year, nearly 90% of 2018 graduates seeking employment had secured full-time positions within three months of graduation. Total compensation for those graduates — including starting salaries and signing bonuses — averaged just under $62,000. What’s more, they are going into some of the country’s most sought-after consulting, financial, and tech firms. So dig in. Pick a few schools you’re interested in and read up about their cultures. Check out the quotes from recent alumni on what really stood out in their experience. And use this guide as an intro and launching point to your college search. Best of luck to you.

Nathan Allen Rankings & Best Undergraduate Business Schools Guide Editor Poets&Quants

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contents UP FRONT Why Business Still Remains The Most Popular College Major Five reasons why you should consider majoring in business.............................................................9 What A College Degree Actually Cost These Days And which schools have the best return on investment.......................................................................11 The Best Business Schools For Employment Outcomes Where graduates earn the highest percentage of jobs and make the highest salaries......17

THE TOP UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS #1 University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School........................................................................23 #2 University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce.................................................................25 #3 Washington University at St. Louis Olin Business School...................................................27 #4 University of Michigan Ross School of Business........................................................................29 #5 University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business.........................................................31 #6 New York University Stern School of Business............................................................................33 #7 Cornell University Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management... 35 #8 Villanova University School of Business......................................................................................... 37 #9 Boston College Carroll School of Management..............................................................................39 #10 University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business........................................41 #11 University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Business.....................................................43 #12 The College of William & Mary Raymond A. Mason School of Business........................ 45 #13 Indiana University Kelley School of Business..............................................................................47 #14 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School........... 49 #15 Emory University Goizueta Business School................................................................................51 #16 Georgetown University McDonough School of Business...................................................... 53 #17 Wake Forest University School of Business.................................................................................55 #18 Georgia Institute of Technology Scheller College of Business.........................................57 #19 Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business.....................................................59

contents #20 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Gies College of Business...........................61 #21 University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management...........................................................63 #22 Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business.............................................................65 #23 University of Pittsburgh College of Business Administration.................................................67 #24 Northeastern University Dâ€™Amore-McKim School of Business................................................ 69 #25 University of Richmond Robins School of Business....................................................................71 #26 Texas Christian University Neeley School of Business..............................................................73 #27 Fordham University Gabelli School of Business.............................................................................. 75 #28 Babson College..................................................................................................................................................77 #29 University of Georgia Terry College of Business............................................................................79 #30 Boston University Questrom School of Business...........................................................................81 #31 Lehigh University College of Business and Economics.................................................................83 #32 University of Washington Foster School of Business................................................................85 #33 University of Wisconsin at Madison School of Business........................................................87 #34 Tulane University A.B. Freeman School of Business..................................................................... 89 #35 Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business........................................................... 91 #36 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Foisie Business School........................................................93 #37 Purdue University Krannert School of Management..................................................................... 95 #38 Michigan State University Eli Broad College of Business.........................................................97 #39 Miami University Richard T. Farmer School of Business.............................................................99 #40 Texas A&M University Mays Business School.................................................................................. 101 #41 University of Massachusetts at Amherst Isenberg School of Management................. 103 #42 Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business.......................................................................105 #43 Syracuse University Martin J. Whitman School of Management.............................................107 #44 Christopher Newport University Luter School of Business....................................................109 #45 Seton Hall University Stillman School of Business.......................................................................111 #46 Ohio State University Fisher College of Business..........................................................................113 #47 University of San Diego School of Business.....................................................................................115 #48 University of Miami School of Business Administration.............................................................117 #49 Rutgers Business School at New Brunswick..............................................................................119 #50 Elon University Love School of Business............................................................................................121 #51 The Pennsylvania State University Smeal College of Business............................................123 #52 Providence College School of Business...............................................................................................125 #53 The College of New Jersey School of Business.............................................................................. 127 #54 University of Missouri Trulaske College of Business...................................................................129 #55 University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business................................................................131 #56 University of California-Irvine Paul Merage School of Business..........................................133 #57 University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business...............................................135 THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS

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#58 University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business & Economics.....137 #59 Bowling Green State University College of Business.........................................................139 #60 Hult International Business School................................................................................................141 #61 University of Delaware Lerner College of Business & Economics...................................143 #62 Drexel University LeBow College of Business...........................................................................145 #63 Rochester Institute of Technology Saunders College of Business.............................147 #64 University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business..............................................................149 #65 University of Denver Daniels College of Business..................................................................151 #66 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Lally School of Management....................................153 #67 University of Tennessee at Knoxville Haslam College of Business............................ 155 #68 St. Louis University Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business.............................................157 #69 The University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management................ 159 #70 University of Arizona Eller College of Management...............................................................161 #71 University of Evansville Schroeder School of Business.......................................................163 #72 University of Utah David Eccles School of Business..............................................................165 #73 James Madison University College of Business......................................................................167 #74 Duquesne University Palumbo Donahue School of Business............................................169 #75 University of Oklahoma Michael F. Price College of Business...........................................171 #76 American University Kogod School of Business.......................................................................173 #77 St. Johnâ€™s University Peter J. Tobin College of Business.......................................................175 #78 Rutgers Business School-Newark.................................................................................................177 #79 University of North Carolina at Wilmington Cameron School of Business........... 179 #80 Northern Illinois University College of Business...................................................................181 #81 Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business...................................................................183 #82 Sacred Heart University Jack Welch College of Business.................................................. 185 #83 Florida Southern College School of Business...........................................................................187 #84 University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business & Economics................................189 #85 University of Michigan at Dearborn School of Business..................................................191 #86 Lipscomb University College of Business...................................................................................193 #87 Ithaca College School of Business....................................................................................................195 #88 University of Akron College of Business Administration.....................................................197

THE METRICS BEHIND THE INDUSTRYâ€™S LEADING RANKING Rankings Methodology Explained How We Crunched The Data To Rank 88 Schools...................................................................................199

THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS

Elon University leads the nation in the U.S. News & World Report “Programs to Look For” that lead to student success. For the fourth straight year, Elon is recognized in all eight program categories.

1 • STUDY ABROAD 2 • INTERNSHIPS 3 • SENIOR CAPSTONE EXPERIENCES 4 • FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCES 5 • LEARNING COMMUNITIES 6 • SERVICE LEARNING 7 • UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH/CREATIVE PROJECTS 8 • WRITING IN THE DISCIPLINES

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For graduate business degree seekers looking for a specialization along with or apart from an MBA, Poets&Quants' Specialized Master's Directory helps you narrow your results by program type, location, method of delivery, and business school ranking.

Designed by two of the world’s foremost authorities on business schools, John A. Byrne, editor-in-chief of Poets&Quants, and Matt Symonds, bestselling MBA author and columnist for Forbes and The Economist, CentreCourt MBA Festival pulls together officials from top schools and everything you need to know about the MBA.

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What A College Degree Actually Cost These Days

AND WHICH SCHOOLS HAVE THE BEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT BY NATHAN ALLEN

here’s just no way around it. College is expensive. Despite reports that some colleges have dropped costs over the past decade, and the fact that many students don’t pay the actual sticker price thanks to scholarships and grants, higher education is still pricey. And according to data submitted to Poets&Quants For Undergrads, the cost is increasing at most schools. Each year when we rank the country’s best undergraduate business schools, we ask for numerous data points from the schools. One of these is the total estimated cost of attending the school for the next four years. For the few schools that did not submit that data point, we estimated the total cost for the 2018-2019 academic year and multiplied it by four. For each school, the total cost figure includes all tuition and fees as well as housing and other living expenses over four years, assuming, as it must, that students live and eat on campus all four years. Among the 88 schools we ranked in 2018, the most expensive was Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management in Troy, New York. Rensselaer ranked 66th in this year’s ranking but carried an estimated price tag of $287,988 over the next four years. Just two other schools had total estimated costs greater than $280,000. New York University’s Stern School of Business estimates its total four-year cost at $284,286, while Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business reported a total cost of $280,292. Top-ranked Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania had the next highest total cost, at $276,592; and third-place Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School rounded out the top five with a total cost of $275,600. Of the 88 ranked schools, it costs at least a quarter-million dollars to attend 28 of them. The difference between RPI Lally and the least expensive school — Brigham Young University’s Marriott School — is $212,644. According to the College Board, the national average total four-year cost at a private college is $203,600. At public universities, the cost plunges by more than half to

$101,160 for in-state students, and to $163,760 for out-ofstate students. Including private and both in- and out-ofstate total costs across all 88 schools ranked in this year’s P&Q best undergraduate business schools ranking, the overall average is $181,672. To be sure, paying a high cost isn’t necessary to receive a solid business education. All 88 ranked schools are in the top 10% of all accredited business schools nationwide. But even within the top 88, some of the highest-ranked public universities offer elite business education for in-state students at half the cost as some private schools on the list. One example is the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. The school recently announced it would be raising the cost of tuition by $2,000 a year for business majors. Considering Kenan-Flagler is a two-year program, the cost hike isn’t as impactful as it would be for a four-year program. KenanFlagler still remains one of the least expensive schools for in-state students, at a four-year total cost of $101,252. Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, also a top-15 school like Kenan-Flagler, has a total fouryear in-state cost of $103,082. Five other top-15 schools currently provide a business education for in-state students at less than $150,000: 11th-placed University of Texas-Austin ($112,192), fourth-placed University of Michigan ($123,866), second-placed University of Virginia ($133,598), 12th-placed College of William & Mary ($135,568), and the University of California-Berkeley ($141,032). For least-expensive ranked schools, Brigham Young University tops the list. Biz majors at BYU can still earn a degree for just $75,344. The next least-expensive school is James Madison University, where in-state students pay a total four-year cost of $88,432. Seven of the 88 ranked schools still offer a degree for a total four-year cost of less than $100,000. The upshot is that attending a university in the United States is a massive investment for many young adults and their families. But it can also be a savvy investment, and there are many ways to measure the return-on-investment THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS

of a college degree. We believe the best way is to take the average starting salary of the most recent graduating class, multiply it by five (for five years of work), and subtract from that number the total estimated cost for attending the school for four years. For example, if the average starting salary for a school is $50,000, and the total cost of attending the school for four years is $200,000, the five-year ROI would be $50,000. Using this method, the business school currently offering the best ROI on a degree is the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce. With a 2018 average starting salary of $75,068 and a total cost for in-state students of $133,598, the five-year ROI total is $241,742. PUBLICS OUT-ROI PRIVATES Attending an in-state school is the best bet for students looking to avoid or quickly pay off pesky student loans. Following Virginia with a five-year ROI of $237,474 is the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. The University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School follows with $232,083, and the University of California-Berkeley Haas School of Business and University of Texas McCombs School of Business round out the top five with $225,478 and $223,823, respectively. Of the 88 ranked schools that submitted employment and total cost data, 10 have a five-year ROI of at least $200K. The first private school to show up on the ranking is Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Business, which is 10th on the list and has the lowest fouryear total cost of all schools at $75,344. The average across all 88 schools considering both in-and out-of-state costs of attending is $110,520. SCHOOLS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ROI LIST: MOSTLY PRIVATE This year, only two schools are still in the red five years after graduation (last year with 82 ranked schools, the number was four). However, for two straight years, Hult International Business School sits at the bottom of the five-year ROI ranking. With an average starting salary of less than $35,000 and a total cost of $268,400, Hult has a five-year return of -$94,680. The other school with a negative return after five years is the University of St. Thomas, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at -$2,782. Whereas large public universities comprise the vast majority of schools with the best five-year returns, private colleges and universities make up the majority of the bottom 15. Out-of-state students at the University of California-Irvine Merage School of Business make up the only public university population on the bottom 15. POETSANDQUANTSFORUNDERGRADS.COM

We also took the average starting salaries at all schools and multiplied them at five, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years of work. At 30 years out, the total tops $1 million for all ranked schools. The 30-year total tops $2 million at 15 schools. The two highest-earning schools are New York University’s Stern School of Business and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Both schools reported average starting salaries higher than $80K for their 2018 graduating classes. At that rate, graduates can expect to earn more than $2.4 million over three decades. Of course, this number is unlikely to remain static. In most cases, graduates will make much more as promotions, raises, and salaries compensate for inflation. But with starting average salaries as the only factor, the average 30-year total across all 88 ranked schools is just under $1.8 million. There are some obvious limitations to this data. First, large percentages of students won’t be paying the actual sticker price for a college degree. Grants and scholarships do exist, and generally speaking there are more and in larger quantities at private universities with bigger endowments. Next, the five-year salary total is based on the average of the Class of 2018. Obviously, with an average, there will be many students making more or less. Plus, year-end bonuses and signing bonuses — as well as raises and promotions — make returns better. Bottom line: Across the board, an undergraduate business degree has the potential to be a very lucrative investment. Choose wisely.

P&Q School Rank

2018 Average Five Year Salary Total

Total Minus Total Cost

Virginia (McIntire)

$75,068

$375,340

$241,742

Michigan (Ross)

$72,268

$361,340

$237,474

14 10

UNC at Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler) Berkeley (Haas)

$66,667 $73,302

$333,335 $366,510

$232,083 $225,478

Texas (McCombs)

$67,347

$336,735

$223,823

South Carolina (Darla Moore)

$61,946

$309,730

$216,038

13 73 18

Indiana (Kelley) James Madison Georgia Tech (Scheller)

$62,734 $58,257 $62,545

$313,670 $291,285 $312,725

$210,588 $202,853 $200,960

Brigham Young (Marriot)

$55,148

$275,740

$200,393

Purdue (Krannert)

$57,473

$287,365

$195,597

Washington (Foster)

$61,039

$305,195

$193,403

Rutgers (New Brunswick)

$60,228

$301,140

$190,420

Wisconsin

$58,603

$293,015

$188,819

William & Mary (Mason)

$64,724

$323,620

$188,052

Georgia (Terry)

$56,428

$282,140

$188,052

Massachusetts (Isenberg)

$57,782

$288,910

$174,884

Texas A&M (Mays)

$57,286

$286,430

$174,878

The College of New Jersey

$58,000

$290,000

$173,567

Texas at Dallas (Jindal)

$58,100

$290,500

$173,356

Minnesota (Carlson)

$56,989

$284,945

$172,445

Miami (Farmer)

$59,540

$297,700

$172,380

Michigan State (Broad)

$58,706

$293,530

$172,262

Cornell (Dyson)

$74,493

$372,465

$171,727

Penn State (Smeal)

$60,046

$300,230

$171,651

Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Gies) $63,079

$315,395

$171,395

Bowling Green

$53,300

$266,500

$169,354

Rutgers at Newark

$54,211

$271,055

$166,447

Houston (Bauer)

$54,144

$270,720

$166,340

Utah (Eccles)

$51,478

$257,390

$162,654

Delaware (Lerner)

$54,087

$270,435

$162,285

Texas Tech (Rawls)

$53,473

$267,365

$161,613

Ohio State (Fisher)

$54,740

$273,700

$155,909

Arizona (Eller)

$54,041

$270,205

$155,909

Oklahoma (Price)

$53,134

$265,670

$150,894

THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS

ONE COLLEGE HALL, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19104 ADMISSIONS OFFICE: 251-898-7608

university of Pennsylvania

T $275,040 In-State Total Cost

$275,040 Out-of-State Total Cost

6.5%

Acceptance Rate

1486

Average SAT

$92,057

Average compensation (including bonus)

95.7%

Class of 2018 accepting jobs 90 days after graduation

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he Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has placed first in the Poets&Quants Best Undergraduate Business Schools Rankings the past two years. The secret behind that? At Wharton, they call it the “Leadership Journey.” “One unique aspect of the Wharton experience is the Leadership Journey, a set of four modules that prepares students for leadership roles by providing experiential learning as well as evidence-based content on leadership, communication, teamwork, and diversity,” Lori Rosenkopf, vice dean and director of Wharton’s Undergraduate Division, says. THE FOUR-YEAR JOURNEY The Leadership Journey at Wharton is broken up into four years. It starts in students’ freshman year, where they take Wharton 101. The class, as Rosenkopf describes, is the gateway course of the Leadership Journey. “The course objectives are to introduce students to the wide-range of curricular opportunities available at Wharton, make students more aware of their strengths and leadership potential, and orient students to the Wharton experience and empower them to become engaged members of the scholarly and co-curricular community,” Rosenkopf says. Through the course, professors and alumni guide conversations about critical problems, research, and leadership in a series of sessions spanning the school’s curricular areas. In their second year, students take Wharton 201, where the focus is on developing and practicing oral and written communication skills for presentations and business memos across a range of scenarios. Junior year focuses on Wharton 301. This course develops skills to work productively in diverse teams. By their senior year, students are ready for the capstone courses. Through the capstone course, students apply knowledge to practice for actual or simulated clients. These courses, Rosenkopf says, allow students to practice analytical thinking skills, including consideration of ethical issues, practice written and oral communication skills, and practice working in an assigned team environment by leveraging the experience developed in earlier modules of the leadership Journey. EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES Wharton offers a number of experiential learning opportunities for its students to apply their knowledge. One of those opportunities is the Wharton Industry Exploration Program (WIEP). The program offers short-term, half-credit courses students can take during school breaks. Often, these courses feature pre-travel classes, visits to businesses,

university of Pennsylvania lectures, extracurricular activities, and networking opportunities with alumni. “WIEP courses are designed to provide an understanding of the particular industry’s business environment, help students gain a working knowledge of the sector’s business practices through lectures and direct interaction with business leaders, help students explore and prepare for careers in that sector, and connect students with alumni and others in the industry,” Rosenkopf says. Additionally, the WIEP courses are catered to specific industries and locations. For instance, the New York City and San Francisco courses focus on entrepreneurship, established and emerging technology, and the finance of innovation and feature visits to techsector businesses. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles course features visits to arts, entertainment, and media businesses. In Washington, D.C., the course focuses on public policy research. Students participate in research seminars at various D.C. agencies within the public policy sector and take part in informal interactions with policy researchers. Another experiential learning opportunity is the Wharton International Program (WIP). WIP is a half-credit course in which students receive intensive training prior to embarking on a shortterm global adventure that includes business site visits, university lectures, cultural excursions, and networking opportunities with students, alumni, and business contacts from the host country. “I took part in a Wharton International Program, visiting Athens and Istanbul with Wharton classmates,” Samina Hydery, a class of 2016 alum, says. “While we were there, we met with key leaders and executives who were also Wharton alums.” Each year, Wharton offers three distinct WIP courses. This year’s locations include Colombia, Italy, and China. “WIP courses are designed to provide an understanding of a region’s business and cultural environment, help students gain a working knowledge of local business practices through lectures at partner schools and direct interaction with business managers, explore the value of different business models, promote intercultural awareness and communication, and help prepare students for careers in the global economy,” Rosenkopf says.

WHAT ALUMNI SAY “I took part in a Wharton International Program, visiting Athens and Istanbul with Wharton classmates. While we were there, we met with key leaders and executives who were also Wharton alums. I also took part in a senior Capstone, which was a great simulation to put together all that we learned in the classroom with peers.’’ - Recent alum “I did two 10-day global immersion trips. The first to Portugal and Morocco, and the second to the Dominican Republic where we spoke with and learned from business professionals about the current climate through a social impact lens.” - Recent alum “I went for the Wharton International Program Retail trip to Hong Kong and Macau. It was an excellent experience to help us understand retail and supply chain management in the Eastern part of the world. We met with top executives, had great mentorship sessions, and were encouraged to build relationships with leaders of top companies such as Tory Burch, Li & Fung, etc. It was an immersive experience that involved a factory visit, a course at HKUST (partner school in Hong Kong), and a sense that Wharton is keen on fostering the next generation of world leaders.” - Recent alum

CAREER OUTLOOK The career outlook for Wharton grads is among the strongest. Nearly 96% of the Class of 2018 were employed full-time by the end of September with an average overall salary of $80,354. Part of that success may be due to Wharton’s exceptional career services and opportunities to connect students with alumni. “Students at Wharton have access to many employers both within the Philadelphia region and beyond,” Rosenkopf says. “They connect with employers through career fairs and information sessions on campus, industry conferences and events, and employer site visits and treks in Philadelphia, New York and other regions. In addition, our Handshake job board had nearly 40,000 positions posted on it during the 2017-2018 academic year for Penn students and alumni.” THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS

PO BOX 400173, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, 22904 ADMISSIONS OFFICE: 434-924-3865

university of VIRGINIA

T $133,598 In-State Total Cost

$276,592 Out-of-State Total Cost

12.2%

Acceptance Rate

1407

Average SAT

$80,842

Average compensation (including bonus)

97.9%

Class of 2018 accepting jobs 90 days after graduation

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his year the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce continued its slow rise up the rankings, passing Washington University in St. Louis to nab the second spot. And like last year, the high rank was buoyed by very high scores from alumni. Virginia’s alumni placed them first in the alumni survey portion of the ranking for the second year in a row. Akin to the few two-year programs still remaining, students at Virginia begin with two years of liberal arts, before applying to McIntire School for entry their junior year. Only 59% of applicants to McIntire are accepted, meaning even if you get into the University of Virginia, you’re not guaranteed a spot in the School of Commerce. During the past application cycle, nearly 750 applied and 362 were admitted. The average SAT score of that class boasted an average SAT of 1407 and average high school GPA of 4.22. Change and innovation is on the way at McIntire. Last September, the university announced a $25 million gift from The Chris and Carrie Shumway Foundation that will be an early cog in a new bioscience and business program. The funds will also go towards a new building for the business school that will feature labs for behavioral research and handson learning of analytics and visualization. Most recently, the school announced the B.S. in Commerce degree has earned STEM designation from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. International graduates will now be able to apply for the F-1 visa, which tacks on an additional 24 months of working and living in the U.S. McIntire is the only prominent business school to offer a STEMdesignated degree at the undergraduate level. A GENERAL EDUCATION FOUNDATION At the center of the McIntire business education experience is the Integrated Core Experience (ICE) Curriculum for which all third-year students must participate. ICE goes beyond classroom curriculum and places students with companies to solve real problems they are facing. “Our graduates have great breadth and depth of knowledge from their two years of study before going in depth into business,” Ryan Nelson, the associate dean for Undergraduate Program at McIntire, says. “Our graduates report back that they were client-ready for their internships, with the confidence to present information and data in an effective way. Employers also share that our students work well in teams and can integrate with people across all areas of business, probably from practice through our ICE curriculum.” The ICE curriculum during the first year in McIntire includes 12 credit hours in the fall semester, and nine credit hours in the spring semester, which also includes engaging with corporate partners on live business cases and putting to practice their classroom knowledge and

university of virginia problem-solving skills. McIntire partners with companies like Hilton Worldwide, CarMax, Rolls-Royce, and Anheuser-Busch InBev. “Our ICE curriculum makes classes more business-like as the students develop an integrated thought process through problemsolving and not just strategic analysis of issues,” Nelson explains. “From marketing and finance, to organizational behavior, students know they’ll receive direct feedback from client organizations on their ideas, which motivates them to work harder.” NEW CURRICULUM AND EMPHASIS ON TECH AND BIG DATA Future McIntire students will be able to take advantage of a revamped curriculum. During the 2017-2018 academic year, the school conducted a holistic assessment of their curriculum and the student experience from matriculation through graduation. The focus was on ensuring a coherent and consistent flow of content from end-to-end, focusing on meeting a desired set of knowledge, skills, and attributes for their graduates. Over the last three years, the school has also leveraged student projects to evaluate and improve the process that they are directly connected to, such as admissions, academic advising, and career advising. With the continued growth of data analytics fluency in business graduates, the school has also created a business analytics track that takes an interdisciplinary approach to business administration. Other new courses they have introduced in line with changes to the field of business technology include Big Data, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Digital Innovation, and a Digital Safari to Silicon Valley. “At the McIntire School, we believe that innovation is our tradition,” Nelson boasts. In addition to a stellar and top-notch academic experience, McIntire boasts some impressive job statistics. In this year’s ranking, McIntire placed third in the career outcomes category only behind The Wharton School and New York University’s Stern School of Business. The school reported that 95% of 2018 graduates had at least one business-related internship before graduation. According to data submitted by the school, students in the Class of 2018, they had a slightly higher starting pay of $75,068, with average signing bonuses of $9,313.

WHAT ALUMNI SAY “The format of McIntire’s ICE education involves an integrated core experience where students spend a full semester working on a live business case. The goal of the project is to do a comprehensive 360 gap and opportunity analysis for a company with a given aspiration (e.g. increase brand resonance, optimize balance sheet, etc). The scope requires students to address every function of the business - from sales to marketing to finance. At the end of the semester, my team and I presented our case findings with a final recommendation. Our audience was the executives of the company, who flew down to Charlottesville to hear our proposal. The opportunity to engage with these seniors leaders, share our ideas for them, and discuss their challenges was perhaps the most transformational moment of my education. We were no longer studying hypothetical business theory in textbooks, but were rather bringing the principles to life as true creators of value.” Recent alum “(I participated in) an immersive consulting project in which we were assigned a company and had the opportunity to analyze the company as a whole and make an educated recommendation pitch to members of the company. We traveled around Australia and New Zealand and used our experiences of visiting different companies around the two countries to support our presentations.” Recent alum “I worked on a Leadership Minor project, where I organized a Habitat Build for a group of students who were affected by the murder of our friend, Hannah Graham, for the 1-year anniversary of her death. I had to reach out/ search for all of the students that would appreciate this and coordinate with Habitat to make it possible. I then, wrote a paper detailing what I did, how I did it, and what it meant to the people involved.” - Recent alum

THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS

204 MENDOZA COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, NOTRE DAME, IN 46556 ADMISSIONS OFFICE: 574-631-7505

UNIVERSITY of notre dame

A $264,194 In-State Total Cost

$264,194 Out-of-State Total Cost

19%

Acceptance Rate

1429

Average SAT

$69,060

Average compensation (including bonus)

96.5%

Class of 2018 accepting jobs 90 days after graduation

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t the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business, all students are engaged in the process of identifying and evaluating major issues and trends impacting society in the future and exploring potential business implications that can drive sustainable innovation. After all, they are to be the leaders of tomorrow. The research-based course is titled Junior Research Challenge: Foresight in Business and Society and compels students to think about poverty rates, the wealth gap, natural resources, and supply and demand, instead of learning about classroom theory in a manner that is separated from the real world. Regardless of their majors, Mendoza students in their junior year are expected to be ready to begin thinking about the world’s most pressing challenges. “Our graduates have a real desire to contribute to the improvement of society, and it’s because we combine a strong grounding in business disciplines, with a broader perspective,” Interim Dean Martijn Cremers says. “Half their education is in the school, and the other half is outside.” Mendoza is focused on developing business people who believe in the greater good, and one of the biggest changes the school has made in recent years is to move from being a three to a four-year program to better serve their students. First-year students can now take at least two core business courses. “The change allows students to have more time to discern their majors, start working on their careers earlier, and be more prepared when interviewing for internships and jobs,” Cremers says. In Fall 2018, the school received 4,477 application to join the undergraduate business program, and in total, 840 students were admitted, giving the program an acceptance rate of 19%. BUSINESS ANALYTICS MAJOR RECENTLY ADDED The school has recently made several innovative changes to the program to help ensure their graduates are attractive and desirable by employers in the industry. A new major in Business Analytics was started in Fall 2017, and the Marketing major was expanded to include five major electives. Marketing majors can now also choose to specialize in either Marketing Decision Analytics, Brandscaping, Consulting and Market Development, and Digital Marketing. The college also recently shared that 40 percent of its new faculty hires were in IT, Analytics and operations, and that the chair of the IT, Analytics, and Operations department are working to further expand the offerings to students interested in the area. The Notre Dame Institute for Global Investing was recently set up to help “bridge academic and traditional college coursework and the practical application of technical concepts.” Students who choose to engage with the institute can participate in educational events

university of notre dame nationwide, attend practitioner-led workshops on campus, and connect with industry experts on investment. Though some of its services may serve finance students best, students from all majors can benefit from many events that they host as well. THE GLOBAL MENDOZA EXPERIENCE For Mendoza students who wish to add to their resume that they have received a truly global business education, the school offers an International Business Certificate Program to students who complete the required foreign language, international business, and culturalbased courses. The certificate, awarded at graduation, is only available to Mendoza undergraduates, who must take five approved courses and a minimum of 15 credit hours, including one foreign language course at intermediate level and above. Mendoza undergraduates can also choose to study abroad from 44 semester programs that take place in countries including Australia, France, Ireland, China, Israel, Switzerland, Singapore, and Japan. Cremers shared that most students have study abroad experiences in London and Dublin, Ireland, and that 55% of students have a global experience before graduation. Kate Hermeling, a Class of 2016 graduate, was among those who chose to travel to Dublin. “The program allowed me to learn about international business relations, work with talented and diverse students, and discover differences in the accounting and tax fields in the U.S. and Ireland that enhanced my learning,” Hermeling, who works as an experienced audit associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, says. “This time abroad and the classes were a key piece in my development and interest in business. My problem solving and project management skills were developed through group projects with many foreign students.” STRONG JOB AND CAREERS REPORT This year, 96.5% of the graduating class seeking employment did so within 90 days of graduation. The average starting salary for the Class of 2018 was $65,000 and 58% reported an average signing bonus of $7,000. An impressive 95% of alumni completing our alumni survey said that their first job after graduation was in their desired function, and about 83% of them said that their first job was also at their desired company. Some 80% of them said they believed their business degree from Mendoza College of Business would be instrumental in helping them reach their dream careers. “We are practicing the foresight to encourage students to think of the future and the potential of the world and not just their own,” Cremers says. “They need to begin imagining what things could be like in ten years if they used business to contribute to solving problems and get to work. Our business is a force for good.”

WHAT ALUMNI SAY “The University of Notre Dame requires a semester long project that challenges students to research and predict the future of a particular industry, product, or business sector. It was an intensive process involving a large group paper, continuous presentations, and research tasks. I improved my presentation, research, and project management skills.”Recent alum “As part of the business curriculum at Notre Dame, each student is required to participate in class called Foresight in Business and Society, in which students work as a team to complete a semester-long analysis and research project on their selected topic to deep-dive into their selected industry to understand past trends and analyze and project the future of that area through the lens of a selected critical question. At the end of the semester, students present their research findings in to faculty, staff, and other students.” - Recent alum “I participated in a course run jointly by the Mendoza College of Business and the Notre Dame Investment Office called Applied Investment Management (AIM) where we were responsible for a then $11M portfolio of investments for the endowment. As part of the course we also were connected to the AIM alumni through visits to private equity and investment groups in San Francisco during a fall visit.” - Recent alum

THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS

800 E. LANCASTER AVE, VILLANOVA, PA 19085 ADMISSIONS OFFICE: 610-519-4000

Villanova University

A $266,891 In-State Total Cost

$266,891 Out-of-State Total Cost

22%

Acceptance Rate

1408

Average SAT

$66,921

Average compensation (including bonus)

96.1%

Class of 2018 accepting jobs 90 days after graduation

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t Villanova University’s School of Business, students have a series of courses laid out to develop and hone their skills to be business leaders of tomorrow. As freshmen, the students will take a course called Business Dynamics in the fall semester, where they’ll explore the various business disciplines, and how they interact with each other and exist in society. There are also several required elements in the course, including a professional development curriculum and a Bloomberg certification they must earn, which will lay the foundation of their education. As sophomores, students take a course in Competitive Effectiveness that combines an introduction to marketing with an introduction to management. The course is led by a faculty member from each discipline, and students work on a live case study from a company who presents a problem or opportunity at the start of the semester. Students then spend the semester working on a marketing plan to address the issue. Previous companies who have partnered with the school for this course include Ikea, Comcast, and Johnson & Johnson. “The first course gives students a big, broad introduction to business and its role in society, while this stimulates the account manager side of students, while they learn how to work in teams that they may not necessarily have selected on their own, as it is in real life,” Brenda Stover, executive director of the O’Donnell Center for Professional Development at Villanova, says. “They also get to work on their communication skills as they create presentations, write up a marketing plan and produce a management paper.” When students enter their junior year, they’ll take the Global Political Economy course to open their minds to the interconnectedness of economies, and how history and politics in one country can affect another. The current-events driven class is meant to help students bridge theory and practice before the move into taking their required Strategic Thinking and Implementation course as seniors, where they’ll be trained to think about the long-term growth of organizations. “More likely than not, the students will be doing all of these for the rest of their lives, and these courses help simulate real world experience beyond entry level,” Stover says. “Our courses often combine both theory and application to give students the experience they need before going to work.” Villanova university is a private research university in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, and is names after Saint Thomas of Villanova. Their School of Business offers students a four-year program, and received 6,620 application in Fall 2018. Of these, 1,461 of were admitted, giving the school an acceptance rate for direct applications of 22%. The school shared that the average SAT score of students entering the undergraduate business program in Fall 2018 was 1409, and the average ACT score was 32.4, while the average high school GPA was 4.29.

VILLANOVA university FEATURING THE ‘BACKPACK TO BRIEFCASE’ In a “Backpack to Briefcase” professional development curriculum that is part of the required Business Dynamics course that all freshmen take, students begin their career journey by learning how to assess the environment with a course in informational technology, where they’ll learn to design and create spreadsheets as a tool for business decision-making. As sophomores, business students must participate in a seminar to define and implement their job search and career development strategy. They can also make use of the opportunities provided by Villanova to expand their professional networks through increased interaction with alumni and employers. When they get to their junior year, the school expects them to begin trying to figure their competitive edge and marketing it. Students must take a one-credit course where they learn and practice preparing for an internal case competition by working in small teams to do case analysis, present their findings, and come up with recommendations they present to a panel of company executives and faculty. While honing their communication skills, figuring out their leadership style, and receiving feedback from business professionals, students in previous classes have had the opportunity to work with companies including Tesla Motors, Apple, and PepsiCo. Upon becoming seniors, they are invited to attend a series of social, professional and spiritual activities designed to bring the senior class together, as they cement their friendships before parting ways to become industry professionals. “The Backpack to Briefcase program is embedded into the business curriculum to grow as the student grows,” Melinda German, associate dean of Undergraduate Business Programs, says. “What we hear from employers is that our students are the whole package, that they graduate not only with well-defined academic abilities, but also the soft skills they need to succeed such as emotional intelligence, poise, and savvy.”

WHAT ALUMNI SAY “As a freshman, I participated in Villanova School of Business’ Global Citizens Program. I studied abroad in Singapore and interned with KPMG. This experience has led me to connect with the professionals at networking events and showcase the immensely valuable opportunities I was given as a freshman.”Recent alum “My capstone project was one of the most influential parts of my college career. Being chosen as the team leader and immersing myself in the project helped me to understand that there is more to business than what I had pictured. It wasn’t just what my parents do, but really opened my eyes to all the possibilities that a business degree could open up for me.” Recent alum “The Study Abroad-Global internship program was a unique experience with the London School of Economics. Additionally, curriculum course such as Competitive Effectiveness allow you to work with companies in a consulting role and work on real problems facing the company.”- Recent alum

STRONG EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS Over 92% of alumni from the school’s Class of 2016 said that they would recommend the business program to a friend or colleague, and about 85% said they felt the program prepared them well for the world of work. In the Class of 2018, over 96% of graduates found full-time jobs soon after graduation, drawing a marginally higher average salary of $63,709, and a slightly lower average signing bonus of $6,923. “A major point of distinction of our program is the high-touch environment set up for the students,” Stover said. “Students get a highly personalized journey while they’re here, and they thrive from that.”

THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS

2110 SPEEDWAY, STOP B6000, AUSTIN, TX 78712 ADMISSIONS OFFICE: 512-472-1062

university of texas at austin

I $112,912 In-State Total Cost

$255,152 Out-of-State Total Cost

22.8%

Acceptance Rate

1384

Average SAT

$72,052

Average compensation (including bonus)

99.6%

Class of 2018 accepting jobs 90 days after graduation

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n 2018, no school had better employment rates than the University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Business. Out of all 2018 graduates seeking employment, 99.6% had secured a job offer within 90 days of graduation. The school’s location in up and coming Austin and proximity to major cities like Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio makes it an attractive option for students looking to land early successful jobs. The McCombs School is just a 15-minute drive away from the downtown offices of KPMG, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Grant Thornton, and many other multinational companies. The area is also home to the Austin Convention Center, over 10 international hotel brands, and the Zilker Botanical Garden, Zilker Metropolitan Park, and Austin Nature & Science Center. Students at McCombs can choose to major in Accounting, Finance, International Business, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Science and Technology Management, and Supply Chain Management. The school also offers an Integrated Masters in Professional Accounting, where students can graduate with a Bachelor in Business Administration and Master in Professional Accounting in five years. The school received 8,732 applications to join their four-year undergraduate degree program in Fall 2018, and admitted 1,901 students. The total full-time enrollment for all business majors in Fall 2018 was 4,752, and the acceptance rate for direct applicants was 22.8%. EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING A BIG PART OF UT-AUSTIN EDUCATION

There are plenty of other opportunities for students to gain hands-on learning while at McCombs, and 63% of alumni from the Class of 2016 shared that they were involved in some kind of signature experience while at McCombs. Alumni Christin Urso told Poets&Quants that she found that the business program at McCombs emphasized experiential learning which she benefited much from. “Our program emphasized a case-based education, so there was significant project work that included thorough quantitative analysis, building decks, and crafting realistic and actionable recommendations,” Urso, who is now an account manager at Atlas Edibles, says. “These activities, among others, gave me experience and reference materials that I could directly reference when similar asks came up in “real-world” experience.” Nearly 85% of alumni from the Class of 2016 said that they would recommend the program at McCombs to a close friend or colleague without hesitation, and almost 80% said that the program had prepared them well for the world of work.

university of texas at austin The school reported that 91% of students from the Class of 2018 had at least one business-specific internship before graduation. OPPORTUNITIES LOCAL AND ABROAD For McCombs students looking to take their business education worldwide, the undergraduate degree program has partnerships in over 25 countries, covering Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Oceania. Students can choose to go on an exchange program during the fall, spring, or summer semesters at any one of the school’s 31 partner universities, or go on a summer faculty-led program. Countries that students can visit include Italy, Switzerland, Singapore, Thailand, Spain, France, Norway, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, or Mexico. Nicole Nagel, an alumnus from the Class of 2016, says that she was part of a global supply chain study abroad program, where they “followed Target’s supply chain backwards.” They started at a store in Austin, before moving to a distribution center in Midlothian, then the Port of Long Beach, Target’s nearby de-consolidation center, and finally a port in China and four factories that Target sourced their products from. The group also visited an air freight operation in Hong Kong. Global supply chain study abroad program, where we followed Target’s supply chain backwards, starting at a store in Austin, then visiting a distribution center in Midlothian, Texas; then the Port of Long Beach and Target’s nearby de-consolidation center, and finally a port in China and 4 factories Target sources from. They also visited an air freight operation in Hong Kong, where the bulk of the program was located. Cait Gillespie, a Supply Chain Management, says she interned at a logistics company in Shenzhen, China, that became the main topic of conversation in many of her job interviews, spent her last semester at McCombs revising procurement case studies for a professor, and won second with her team in a Target case competition. In short, it seems there are no shortage of hand-on learning opportunities for students at McCombs.

WHAT ALUMNI SAY “We managed a tech project from user story creation to implementation, review, and maintenance for an external community client. It gave me an immense amount of understanding in project management, product development, client communication, resource and expectation management, and interpersonal relationships.” -- Recent alum “I interned at a logistics company in Shenzhen, China. It was the main topic of conversation in any of my job interviews. After that, I came back and spent last last semester revising procurement case studies for a professor. Additionally, I competed in a Target case competition through procurement (my team won 2nd).” - Recent alum “Our program emphasized a case-based education, so there was significant project work that included thorough quantitative analysis, building decks, and crafting realistic and actionable recommendations. These activities, among others, gave me experience and reference materials that I could directly reference when similar asks came up in “realworld” experience.” - Recent alum

FROTHY JOB METRICS Not only did high percentage of 2018 graduates secure jobs, they had a boost in average salaries. The average starting salary for 2018 graduates was $67,347 compared to $62,298 for 2017 graduates. Signing bonuses also increased from $6,649 to $7,410. About 55% of alumni from the McCombs Class of 2016 said that the quality of teaching in business courses was outstanding, and over 60% said that their business school experience was lifechanging. Over 80% of them said that their first job after graduating was in their desired job function, and about 80% said that their first job was in their desired company.

THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS

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business.rutgers.edu

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The Best Undergraduate Business Schools