College and Finance

The 10 Best Business Schools You Haven’t Heard of

While it’s certainly true that the business school does not make the student nor the professional, going to a highly ranked institution for business can be beneficial. However, not everyone can get into Penn to get their undergraduate or graduate business degrees. More famous institutions, such as the Ivy leagues, and Notre Dame, have such low acceptance rates because so many people apply to what they think are the only options for good business schools. But having a high rank isn’t the only thing that should distinguish a business school. In fact, there are amazing business schools at less well-known universities, some located outside the continental US. You won’t be likely to hear much about these universities if you haven’t done good research. Unfortunately, research takes a lot of time, so College and Finance put together a list of ten schools (you should have heard of ) that are great for undergraduate and/or business degrees. These ten schools offer fantastic business programs that give degrees that are well respected in the professional world. Without further adieu, let’s start with the first school to make the list.

1. University of Rochester – If you haven’t heard of Rochester, you should improve your school research techniques. With one of the top MBA programs in the country, many companies just might take an extra look at one of their graduates. While not as well known as some of the other institutions, it still will deliver a solid education over 22 months of coursework. Benefiting from small class sizes is another benefit of a Rochester education.

2. Emory – Located in Atlanta, Georgia, and founded in 1836, Emory University’s business programs are among the most highly ranked. You won’t see Emory athletes on ESPN, or hear about the school when Ivy League chatter starts up, but they did have the 5th rated undergraduate business program in the country. One of the benefits to the Goizueta Business School is the presence of many excellent faculty members, including former president Jimmy Carter.

3. Babson College – Massachusetts is home to some of the best universities, and Babson College continues this tradition of excellence. Business students at Babson College benefit from highly rated programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels. In fact, Babson’s Entrepreneurship program is the top rated program of its kind in the country. Students will experience a curriculum that has a liberal arts background as well as a solid foundation in the principals of business that have been tried and true throughout the years. While not as illustrious as some of the universities in its’ same state, Babson still commands much of the same academic from top companies around the country and world.

4. Clark Atlanta University – You can find other fantastic business schools in Atlanta by starting your search with Clark Atlanta University. Founded in 1988, this private, historically black, university has some of the most highly regarded business programs in the country. With just over 4,000 enrolled, students benefit from small class sizes. While not as mainstream as some of the other business schools, Clark Atlanta University still offers a well rounded, highly regarded business degree that will help graduates in obtaining jobs.

5. York University – If you’re looking for a solid business school located outside of the US, then York University is certainly a viable option to consider. Since the 1960s, York University has been awarding students with business degrees, which have helped many reach their professional goals. The program length for a full time student is a mere 16 months. There are also part time options for persons who have other commitments.

6. INSEAD – Even though it is located outside of the United States, INSEAD still has plenty to offer students. The program length is approximately 10 months, and persons who enroll will join around 900 full time MBA students. INSEAD also takes pride in it’s teaching methods which are diverse, utilizing case studies, lectures, peer-to-peer learning, and more in an effort to help students reach their goals.

7. Erasmus University – Also known as Erasmus University Rotterdam, and located in the Netherlands, this may be the first time many people have heard of this university. However, Erasmus has been around for over thirty years, and has been educating students since its founding. The length of business programs at Erasmus University is around 12 months. Students benefit from a rigorous course load and critical thinking challenges designed to help students learn and succeed in the business world.

8. The University of Navarra – Outside of traditional business schools based in Northeastern America, what other places draw ‘excellent business education’ to the mind? You might not think about Spain, and more specifically, The University of Navarra at first, but you should. Since 1952, students have been expanding their horizons with the help of the university of Navarra. In fact the MBA programs offered have had extremely high rankings in the world of business schools. While traditional schools located in the United States might be in the top ten, there are plenty of other schools as far as Spain which can help young professionals reach their goals.

9. University of Western Ontario – Canada has a number of less well known, yet still outstanding, business schools. The University of Western Ontario is one of these schools. Located in London, Ontario, it is one of the oldest universities in Canada, having been founded in 1863. With almost 30,000 students, The University of Western Ontario is privy to all the resources available to large universities. The average business program length is approximately 12 months. For some people who may not know what to do if they aren’t accepted at more renowned universities, Western Ontario could be a fantastic option.

10. International Institute for Management Development – This non-profit business school is located in Lausanne, Switzerland. In addition to receiving a top-notch business education, IMD students can benefit from the rich and diverse cultural background of Switzerland. While relatively new, having only been founded in 1990, many persons have enhanced their career prospects through education at the International Institute for Management Development. It’s not a household name, but it is well on it’s way to becoming one as the International Institute for Management Development has achieved high rankings in a variety of lists for excellent business schools.

So there you have a list of 10 great business schools that may not be dominating everyone’s application lists, but will certainly help you on your way to becoming a successful professional, or furthering your career.

July 16 2009 | Admissions and College Advice and Pre-College Decisions | No Comments »

The 8th Carnival of College and Finance

June 27 2009 | Carnival | 5 Comments »

WTF Is Twitter and Does it Suck Poll

The other day I was watching ESPN, enjoying a relaxing Yuengling Lager (by far the best American beer), and at the end of Sportscenter I observed a little message from the network. “Follow us on Twitter! Twitter.com/sportscenter .” Naturally, I was intrigued. I’ve heard a few people mention Twitter, and after ESPN, I noticed almost every news station and TV show had some sort of, “Follow us on Twitter!!!111oneone” message. Since I believe college students should always be on the cutting edge of awesome internet movements, I was clearly concerned that I myself didn’t have any knowledge of twitter. I had one big question:

So, WTF is Twitter?

The answer, from my painstaking online research is as follows:

“Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”

Source: Twitter.com

I confess, I am not very impressed as Twitter strikes me to be nothing more than a glorified Facebook status update. Also, I am not totally convinced that people particularly care about what I am doing every minute of every day. But before I completely discount twitter, tweeting, and tweets of all kinds, I wanted to find out if I will be severely uncool for not having an account. Case and point, this attractive woman in the picture to the right loves twitter; is she spot on? That’s where you, my faithful readers, come in.

Does Twitter Suck?

Essentially, I would like all my readers (and anyone else) to participate in a “Does Twitter Suck” poll! I plan on finally determining if twitter is for real, or nothing more than a Jon and Kate Plus 8 Relationship. In order to participate you need only send an e-mail to wtftwitter@yahoo.com with answers to these three questions:

1. Do you have a Twitter account?
2. Does Twitter Suck? Why or Why Not? (most amusing answer wins $100!)
3. Are you a student or a working professional?

Since college students are perpetually broke and the economy is a train wreck, the person who submits the most creative/clever answer for why twitter does or does not suck will have their response immortalized in the “Does Twitter Suck” poll results, in addition to receiving $100 USD for being witty and clever! I will be accepting submissions from now until July 31st. On August 1st, I plan on making a post with the definitive results. Do college students use twitter? Do they think it sucks? Do working professionals use twitter? Do they find it to be useful, or at least find it to not suck? Should I be using twitter? Am I cool enough to use twitter? Is twitter cool because slightly famous people use it, or are slightly famous people cool because they use Twitter?

These and many other pressing twitter-related questions should be answered in a mere month’s time. Depending on the results, I will or will not be creating and using a twitter account. If twitter does turn out to suck, I cannot in good conscience be a part of the community, since I made a resolution to avoid all things that suck whenever possible. Until that time, however, please feel free to e-mail away! Remember, the more responses I receive, the more accurate the results will be. Of course, only one ballot per e-mail address will be counted; I certainly wouldn’t want to be known as a guy who messed up the polling process.

Again, send answers to wtftwitter@yahoo.com!

June 19 2009 | College Advice and College Fun | No Comments »