The Best B-Schools of 2006
For the Class of 2006, things couldn't be better. Among the top 30 B-schools, job offers were up 20% over 2004, to an average of 2.3. And the average salary is up more than $8,000 or 9.7%, to $95,000, with grads from nearly a third of the schools now raking in six-figure paychecks. After three years in the doldrums, even applications are up, with nearly two-thirds of all full-time programs seeing a boost, compared to 21% in 2005.
Tuition and fees were up 15% across the board, with the typical two-year cost for a top-30 program up more than $10,000 since 2004. Enrollment of women and minorities continued to advance, but just barely. They now account for 29.2% and 9.8% of students in the top 30, respectively, up from 28.5% and 9.6%.
The letter grades are based on survey responses from grads at 73 U.S. schools and MBA recruiters at 223 companies. The top 20% in each category earned A+s. The next 25% got As, the next 35% got Bs, and the bottom 20% received Cs.
