2007 Top Ten Business Schools with the Best Career Prospects

1. Stanford University (Stanford, California) www.stanford.edu/
   The Career Management Center at Stanford doesn’t have to do a whole lot; companies come looking for Stanford MBAs without much prompting. In addition to great career services, students agree that Stanford has a “strong alumni network where you can get help when needed.”

2. University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois) www.uic.edu/
   Overall, Chicago graduates find jobs and are well-placed in their field, and school-facilitated sources account for over 80 percent of all hires. One student points out that Chicago “is one of only a few schools to have been at the top for nearly 100 years, so there is an amazing, deep alumni network of professionals” who are “very excited to help build presence at their firms.”

3. University of California--Berkeley (Berkeley, California) www.berkeley.edu/
   When it’s time to find a job, the students at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business benefit from their program’s high profile and sound reputation. In addition, the Haas Career Center provides a broad range of excellent services including one-on-one advisement and a mentoring program in which second-year students counsel first years in their search for internships.

4. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, Michigan) www.umich.edu/
   Michigan’s Ross School of Business “literally has the largest alumni network of any business school in the world.” The desirability of Ross MBAs can be seen in the geographic diversity of their first-job locations. While one in three remains in the Midwest, others head everywhere from the mid-Atlantic to the Pacific Coast to companies outside of the United States.

5. Columbia University (New York, New York) www.columbia.edu/
   Columbia’s MBA Career Services Office benefits from a propitious location in the financial capital of the world. The office helps students coordinate internship and employment searches and also provides a “range of complementary resources from intimate workshops on interviewing and presentation skills to a five-part course on different aspects of the job.”

6. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) www.upenn.edu/
   Wharton is a brand that pretty much sells itself so it’s no surprise that the school’s career services are highly regarded and widely appreciated by students. Mock interviews, internship placement, one-on-one counseling, and over 25 career paths both in and outside the United States are just some of the reasons students praise Wharton’s “fantastic career opportunities.”

7. New York University (New York, New York) www.nyu.edu/
   Being situated between Wall Street and Midtown definitely has its perks for Stern’s Office of Career Development. As one student says, “There is a huge emphasis on career here.” Stern’s NYC location “is a mecca for several key industries and provides Stern students with a broad range of opportunities that meet their career objectives.”

8. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) www.harvard.edu/
   Harvard Business School hardly needs a Career Development Center any more than Rolls Royce needs salesman to move its cars. The school maintains a robust career services office all the same, providing a full complement of counseling and placement services. Over 800 companies pay recruiting visits to the campus and half of all MBAs remain on the East Coast after graduation.

9. University of California—Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California) www.ucla.edu/
   UCLA students are in the fortunate position of being able to draw upon an alumni network that includes more than 33,000 “corporate executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, film producers, high tech innovators, financiers, and other professionals.” Students say, “The school makes good use of its alumni network and the diverse industries in the Los Angeles area.”

10. Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois): www.northwestern.edu/
    Northwestern students are confident that their school has a “sterling reputation among corporate recruiters.” Marketing, finance, and consulting recruiters from major firms are particularly well-represented, and the networking opportunities are “tremendous.”