It’s one thing to get a solid full-time position immediately after graduating from college. It’s another if that job is at one of your desired companies or in your desired industry. Each year as part of our Best Undergraduate Business School rankings, we ask recent alumni if their first jobs after graduation were in a desired industry and if they were at a desired company. What did we learn this year? Recent business graduates are landing their first full-time jobs in their desired industries and at their desired companies at a high clip.
This year, no other school had a higher average for both industry and company questions than Bucknell University. A perfect 100% of Class of 2018 graduates at Bucknell University responding to our alumni survey, which ran from June to November of 2020, reported landing their first jobs in a desired industry. Graduates of George Washington University’s School of Business also reported 100% landing their first jobs in a desired industry. However, Bucknell graduates also had the highest rate of 2018 graduates reporting first jobs at their desired companies at 92.31%. The overall average of industry and company was 96.16% for Bucknell.
The next highest average of graduates reporting first jobs in their desired industries and at their desired companies were graduates from the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Some 95.92% of Scheller graduates reported first jobs in a desired industry and 87.76% reported first jobs at a desired company for an average of 91.84%. Georgia Tech was followed by graduates of Cornell University’s Dyson School, which had an average of 91.67%. Not surprisingly, Dyson graduates reported very similar metrics to Georgia Tech graduates with 95.83% reporting first jobs in a desired industry and 87.50% reporting the same for desired companies.
Overall, five schools all fell within a percentage point of each other in the average. Following Georgia Tech’s 91.84% average and Cornell’s 91.67% average were George Washington University (91.31%), the University of Illinois Gies College of Business (91.11%), and the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business (91.08%).
Of course, not all schools did as well at ensuring alumni landed desired jobs. At the bottom of this year’s survey data are Ithaca College and the University of New Mexico’s Anderson College, where 50.00% of alumni reported landing jobs in desired industries and at desired companies. The next lowest was Hofstra University’s Zarb School, which had a rate of 53.41%. Oregon State University and Florida Southern College each followed with 58.34%. And Florida International University (58.39%) and Marian University of Indianapolis (58.70%) were also close to the others.
Across all 93 ranked schools this year, the rate of students landing jobs in their desired industries was incredibly high, averaging 84.64%. The rate of recent graduates landing first jobs at their desired companies was also impressive as 70.35% of 2018 graduates across all schools landed jobs at coveted companies. The upshot? Attending a top business school will give students solid odds at landing a desirable first job immediately after graduation.
SEE THE NEXT PAGE FOR DATA ON ALL 93 RANKED SCHOOLS
POETS&QUANTS BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS RANKINGS STORIES:
WHARTON TOPS P&Q RANKINGS FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR
THE FULL METHODOLOGY FOR THE 2021 RANKING
THE DATA DUMP: ALL DATA USED FOR THE 2021 RANKING
REPORT CARD: HOW ALUMNI GRADE THEIR B-SCHOOL EXPERIENCE
ACCEPTANCE RATES AT THE TOP UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS
