The reason many students major in business is simple: They pretty much think that by the time they graduate a fairly decent job will be waiting. That’s generally true, especially compared to many other majors. But some business schools are obviously better at landing jobs for their students than others.
Last year, for example, at least three business schools reported 100% rates of job offers three months after graduation: the University of Texas at Austin, Syracuse University, and Tulane University. The majority of the top-ranked schools, not surprisingly, score well in this category, with Washington University and Emory University reporting job offer rates of 97% three months after commencement.
But there also are some surprises in the other direction. At Providence College, seven out of every ten graduates last year failed to have a single job offer three months after getting their business diplomas. At Boston University’s business school, nearly half the class failed to have an offer, while at Baylor University, more than four in ten grads lacked an offer three months after graduation.
What do these weak stats tell you about these highly ranked business programs? The schools are either under investing in critical support functions, such as career management, or have lackluster alumni networks for graduates to leverage into employment opportunities. Either way, it’s a cause for concern because the 2013 job market was one of the best in recent memory for business undergrads.
Our analysis of placement data at these schools also shows that the big time recruiters of undergraduate talent tend to be the big accounting firms–PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG–the big banks–JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup–and an assortment of big companies that need incoming talent–Amazon.com, General Electric, IBM, General Motors, and Microsoft. These firms often show up on the lists of the top employers at the best undergraduate business programs.
TOP SCHOOLS WITH THE BEST PLACEMENT STATS FOR THE CLASS OF 2013
| School | 2013 Job Offers | Top Employers | Top Industries |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Texas-Austin (McCombs) | 100% | Deloitte, PWC, E&Y, Accenture | Finance, Consulting, Energy |
| Syracuse University (Whitman) | 100% | Macy’s, JP Morgan, E&Y, Ross Stores | Finance, Manufacturing, Media/Entertainment |
| Tulane University (Freeman) | 100% | PWC, Grant Thornton, E&Y, Postlewaite & Netterville | Finance, Media/Entertainment, Consulting, Non-Profit |
| Washington University (Olin) | 97% | Deloitte, Epic Systems, Bloomingdales, Anheuser-Busch | Finance, Consulting, Media/Entertainment |
| Emory University (Goizueta) | 97% | Deloitte, PWC, JP Morgan, E&Y | Finance, Consulting, Media/Entertainment |
| University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) | 97% | Deloitte, E&Y, PwC, Target | Finance, Accounting, Consulting, Consumer Products/Retail |
| New York University (Stern) | 96% | PWC, Goldman Sachs, IBM, JP Morgan | Finance, Consulting, Media/Entertainment |
| University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 94% | Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BCG, JP Morgan | Finance, Consulting, Real Estate |
| Indiana University (Kelley) | 94% | E&Y, PWC, Macy’s, Deloitte | Finance, Consulting, Manufacturing |
| Michigan State (Broad) | 94% | Deloitte, Kohl’s, Amazon.com, Chrysler | Finance, Manufacturing, Consulting |
| University of Denver | 94% | JP Morgan, Enterprise, First Bank, Four Seasons | Finance, Real Estate, Consulting |
| University of Michigan (Ross) | 92% | JP Morgan, E&Y, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs | Consulting, Finance, Manufacturing |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 92% | Deloitte, IBM, Accenture, SunTrust | Consulting, Finance, Manufacturing |
| Wake Forest University | 91% | E&Y, PWC, Deloitte, KPMG | Finance, Consulting, Media/Entertainment |
| Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) | 91% | PWC, General Electric, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs | Finance, Consulting, Manufacturing, Media/Entertainment |
| Miami University-Ohio | 91% | E&Y, PWC, Deloitte, JP Morgan | Finance, Consulting, Manufacturing |
| Texas Christian (Neeley) | 91% | Textron, Lockheed Martin, Deloitte, General Motors | Finance, Media/Entertainment, Consulting |
| Babson College | 90% | PWC, BankofAmerica, EMC, Staples | Finance, Media/Entertainment, Manufacturing |
| University of San Diego | 90% | E&Y, PWC, KPMG | Finance, Real Estate |
| University of Miami | 90% | Citigroup, JP Morgan, University of Miami, Nielsen | Finance, Real Estate, Manufacturing |
Source: Business schools reporting to Bloomberg BusinessWeek
(See the following page for the ranked schools with the worst placement stats)
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