The 2010-2011 BusinessWeek Magazine rankings are in, and this year there's a brand new #1 on the Top 100 Undergraduate Business Schools ranking – Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. Mendoza rose from number #2 on last year's 2009 BusinessWeek Top 100 Business Schools, and switched places with the former #1, Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce.
Here are the top 20 undergraduate business schools in America, according to BusinessWeek Magazine:
- University of Notre Dame, Mendoza School of Business
- University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management
- University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School
- Cornell University, Johnson School
- University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business
- Emory University, Goizueta Business School
- University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
- Boston College, Carroll School of Management
- University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business
- Brigham Young University, Marriott School
- New York University, Stern School of Business
- Washington University, Olin Business School
- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School
- University of Richmond, Robins School of Business
- Miami University of Ohio, Farmer School of Business
- Babson College
- Wake Forest University, Wayne Calloway School of Business and Accounting
- Indiana University Bloomington, Kelley School of Business
- Villanova University, Villanova School of Business
Big Movers on this Year's List
One of the biggest climbers in this year's list was Boston College, which jumped from #17 to #9. MIT rose from #7 to #3. Another big climber was Bentley Waltham, which almost cracked the top 20 and climbed from #33 to #21. DePaul University in Chicago leaped up the charts from #71 to #40. And the single newcomer on the top 20 list was Babson College, an undergraduate institution in Babson Park, Massachusetts that's exclusively a business school.
On the downside, Villanova University fell from #11 to #20. Brigham Yong dropped from #5 to #11. Lower on the list, the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management fell from #55 to #67, and Ohio State's Fisher College of Business dropped from #42 to #59.
Cost of a Top Undergraduate Business School Degree
The cost of an education at these top schools varies quite a bit. As is the case with most college degrees, the difference between a business degree at a private school is usually far more expensive than a business degree at a public school.
Top ranked Notre Dame is a private school, and a business school education will set students back over $38,000 a year. However, second ranked University of Virginia is a public school, and a business degree there is less than $10,000 a year.
Other than the University of Virginia, the biggest bargains in the top 20 are Brigham Young (about $4300 a year) and the University of North Carolina ($5600). Indiana University and the University of Texas at Austin both cost less than $10,000 a year. The most expensive school on the top 20 list was the NYU, at over $40,000 a year.
Choosing an Undergraduate Business School: Do Rankings Matter?
The BusinessWeek ranking is prestigious, and students who attend these competitive programs can certainly expect to have somewhat of an advantage in the business world. However, it's important to remember that college rankings aren't everything. Students need to weigh all of the options when considering a school, including cost, geographic location, the school's specializations, and overall fit. A lower ranked school may well be the best fit for many students.
Best of luck choosing a business school!
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