University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business graduates. Notre Dame consistently places toward the top of our alumni survey in the Best Undergraduate B-Schools ranking. Photo courtesy of Mendoza College of Business
What are you looking for in an undergraduate business school? Supportive faculty at the top of their fields? Great industry connections and career-starting internships? Top-notch hands-on projects and/or global experiences?
To get a true feel for the learning experience at any of the 104 schools in our 2025 ranking of the Best Undergraduate Business Programs in the U.S., it’s best to go straight to the source: The alumni.
Each year, Poets&Quants For Undergrads surveys thousands of recent graduates on their experience inside the programs. We ask dozens of questions on everything from cost to career impact, from faculty responsiveness to extracurricular opportunities. Nowhere else can school seekers find so much insider information on so many top business programs all in one place.
For this ranking, we sent alumni surveys to the Class of 2022 graduates. (See the full ranking here.) We think two years after graduation is an ideal time to ask alumni to evaluate their programs because they’ve had ample time to gauge their degrees’ usefulness, but it’s not so long ago that they’ve forgotten the details of their experience. So, we always survey alumni who graduated two years prior.
We sent surveys to 52,197 eligible alumni and 5,952 responded. We used those responses to calculate the Academic Experience portion of our overall ranking, accounting for a third of a school’s final score. We believe student experience matters in any reputable ranking effort. (Read our full ranking methodology here.)
2022 ALUMNI RATE INDIANA KELLEY THE HIGHEST
For this year, Class of 2022 alumni rated Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business higher than any of the other 104 schools in our ranking. Last year, Class of 2021 alumni rated it the second highest out of 91 ranked programs.
Across 15 top-of-mind questions, Kelley alumni rated their school an average of 9.4 out of 10 (10 being the highest.) Alumni from Kelley were also the third most likely to recommend their business school to a friend or family member and rated their satisfaction with their first job after graduation at 9.4.
“As a student coming in with minimal business connections and even fewer connections at the university, I was worried about my future in the business world with what felt like a limited network,” a Kelley 2022 alumni told us in our survey.
“Through my peers, my professors, my counselors, and my mentors at Kelley, they became the exact type of network I needed. They supported me, encouraged me, and have helped me build my career from my college years and beyond. I can confidently say that Kelley set me up for success and with the best network of individuals I could have asked for.”
University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business was rated the second highest by alumni, followed by 2024’s leader in the experience category, University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce.
“Studying and growing at USC is an unparalleled experience that one can hope for from an educational institution. Especially for the business and accounting program, I do believe that what I learned and the people who I met in class, both the professors and classmates, have equipped me with all I need to kickstart my career in the industry,” says a 2022 Marshall alumnus.
“I am proud to say that I have advanced very well in my current job because of the skills I honed at USC. I believe a USC degree opens doors to new opportunities and to meet incredible scholars who have established their careers.”
In the following pages, you can see how 2022 alumni rated each of the 104 ranked undergraduate business schools on each of the questions from our alumni survey.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE SATISFACTION
Perhaps the most important question we ask on the alumni survey is the likelihood they would recommend their undergrad business program to others. At the end of the day – after spending tens of thousands of dollars and several years – it is the ultimate testament to program quality.
Two questions on our survey get to the heart of an alumni’s overall satisfaction with their business program:
- Would you recommend your business program to a close friend, colleague, or family member interested in an undergraduate business degree?
- Evaluate how well the business program prepared you for the world of work.
Each answer is based on a 10-point scale with 10 being the highest or most likely.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’ Lally School had a perfect 10.0 recommendation score from alumni
Would you recommend your business program to a close friend, colleague, or family member interested in an undergraduate business degree? |
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| 2025 Overall Rank | School | Would Recommend |
| 92 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) | 10.0 |
| 28 | Texas Christian University (Neeley) | 9.9 |
| 19 | University of Illinois (Gies) | 9.9 |
| 23 | Indiana University (Kelley) | 9.8 |
| 34 | University of Pittsburgh | 9.8 |
| 3 | University of Southern California (Marshall) | 9.8 |
| 51 | Bryant University | 9.7 |
| 2 | Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) | 9.7 |
| 38 | Elon University (Love) | 9.7 |
| 15 | Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) | 9.7 |
| 4 | University of Virginia (McIntire) | 9.7 |
| 18 | Wake Forest University | 9.7 |
| 25 | Bucknell University (Freeman) | 9.6 |
| 37 | Fairfield University (Dolan) | 9.6 |
| 29 | Fordham University (Gabelli) | 9.6 |
| 4 | Georgetown University (McDonough) | 9.6 |
| 73 | Iona University (LaPenta) | 9.6 |
| 5 | New York University (Stern) | 9.6 |
| 30 | Southern Methodist University (Cox) | 9.6 |
| 33 | University of Georgia (Terry) | 9.6 |
| 40 | University of Houston (Bauer) | 9.6 |
| 7 | University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) | 9.6 |
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 9.6 |
| 17 | University of Richmond (Robins) | 9.6 |
| 20 | William & Mary (Mason) | 9.6 |
| 83 | Bowling Green State University (Schmidthorst) | 9.5 |
| 48 | Butler University (Lacy) | 9.5 |
| 68 | Michigan State University (Broad) | 9.5 |
| 50 | Texas A&M University (Mays) | 9.5 |
| 84 | University of Mary Washington | 9.5 |
| 54 | University of Tennessee (Haslam) | 9.5 |
| 22 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 9.5 |
| 26 | Lehigh University | 9.4 |
| 27 | Trinity University (Neidorff) | 9.4 |
| 41 | University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) | 9.4 |
| 24 | University of Minnesota (Carlson) | 9.4 |
| 58 | University of New Hampshire (Paul) | 9.4 |
| 57 | University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) | 9.4 |
| 12 | Villanova University | 9.4 |
| 31 | Binghamton University | 9.3 |
| 45 | Miami University (Farmer) | 9.3 |
| 60 | Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) | 9.3 |
| 85 | Sacred Heart University | 9.3 |
| 91 | Saint Joseph’s University (Haub) | 9.3 |
| 63 | University of Connecticut | 9.3 |
| 21 | University of Miami (Herbert) | 9.3 |
| 11 | University of Michigan (Ross) | 9.3 |
| 71 | University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) | 9.3 |
| 9 | University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) | 9.3 |
| 70 | University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) | 9.3 |
| 10 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | 9.2 |
| 61 | Florida Southern College (Barnett) | 9.2 |
| 72 | Hult International Business School | 9.2 |
| 76 | Marian University (Indianapolis) | 9.2 |
| 98 | Northern Illinois University | 9.2 |
| 79 | Ohio University | 9.2 |
| 49 | University of Dayton | 9.2 |
| 52 | University of Delaware (Lerner) | 9.2 |
| 87 | University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) | 9.2 |
| 6 | Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) | 9.2 |
| 16 | Boston University (Questrom) | 9.1 |
| 47 | Brigham Young University (Marriott) | 9.1 |
| 8 | Emory University (Goizueta) | 9.1 |
| 88 | Florida International University | 9.1 |
| 55 | Loyola Marymount University | 9.1 |
| 13 | Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) | 9.1 |
| 43 | Providence College | 9.1 |
| 75 | Texas State University (McCoy) | 9.1 |
| 35 | Tulane University (Freeman) | 9.1 |
| 69 | Drexel University (LeBow) | 9.0 |
| 65 | Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) | 9.0 |
| 59 | Hofstra University (Zarb) | 9.0 |
| 36 | Purdue University (Daniels) | 9.0 |
| 44 | Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick | 9.0 |
| 97 | San Jose State University (Lucas) | 9.0 |
| 66 | Seton Hall University (Stillman) | 9.0 |
| 86 | University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) | 9.0 |
| 32 | University of Washington (Foster) | 9.0 |
| 93 | American University (Kogod) | 8.9 |
| 99 | Iowa State University (Ivy) | 8.9 |
| 82 | Ithaca College | 8.9 |
| 80 | Rutgers Business School – Newark | 8.9 |
| 39 | Syracuse University (Whitman) | 8.9 |
| 89 | Texas Tech University (Rawls) | 8.9 |
| 56 | University of San Diego (Knauss) | 8.9 |
| 62 | University of St. Thomas (Opus) | 8.9 |
| 104 | Kennesaw State University (Coles) | 8.8 |
| 67 | Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) | 8.8 |
| 53 | The College of New Jersey | 8.8 |
| 81 | University of Denver (Daniels) | 8.8 |
| 42 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 8.8 |
| 96 | Oregon State University | 8.7 |
| 95 | University of Akron | 8.7 |
| 100 | University of Kansas | 8.7 |
| 94 | University of Kentucky (Gatton) | 8.7 |
| 74 | Towson University | 8.6 |
| 64 | St. John’s University (Tobin) | 8.4 |
| 46 | Lipscomb University | 8.3 |
| 102 | Adelphi University (Willumstad) | 8.1 |
| 78 | Roger Williams University (Gabelli) | 8.1 |
| 90 | University of Michigan-Dearborn | 8.0 |
| 101 | San Diego State University (Fowler) | 7.8 |
| 77 | Seattle University (Albers) | 7.8 |
| 103 | University of Texas at Arlington | 5.4 |
Evaluate how well the business program prepared you for the world of work. |
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| 2025 Overall Rank | School | Prepared For Work |
| 92 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) | 10.0 |
| 28 | Texas Christian University (Neeley) | 9.7 |
| 23 | Indiana University (Kelley) | 9.6 |
| 4 | Georgetown University (McDonough) | 9.5 |
| 30 | Southern Methodist University (Cox) | 9.5 |
| 19 | University of Illinois (Gies) | 9.5 |
| 15 | Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) | 9.4 |
| 4 | University of Virginia (McIntire) | 9.4 |
| 51 | Bryant University | 9.3 |
| 2 | Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) | 9.3 |
| 27 | Trinity University (Neidorff) | 9.3 |
| 34 | University of Pittsburgh | 9.3 |
| 20 | William & Mary (Mason) | 9.3 |
| 29 | Fordham University (Gabelli) | 9.2 |
| 7 | University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) | 9.2 |
| 3 | University of Southern California (Marshall) | 9.2 |
| 18 | Wake Forest University | 9.2 |
| 48 | Butler University (Lacy) | 9.1 |
| 72 | Hult International Business School | 9.1 |
| 73 | Iona University (LaPenta) | 9.1 |
| 45 | Miami University (Farmer) | 9.1 |
| 13 | Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) | 9.1 |
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 9.1 |
| 17 | University of Richmond (Robins) | 9.1 |
| 6 | Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) | 9.1 |
| 31 | Binghamton University | 9.0 |
| 16 | Boston University (Questrom) | 9.0 |
| 25 | Bucknell University (Freeman) | 9.0 |
| 38 | Elon University (Love) | 9.0 |
| 9 | University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) | 9.0 |
| 26 | Lehigh University | 8.9 |
| 5 | New York University (Stern) | 8.9 |
| 50 | Texas A&M University (Mays) | 8.9 |
| 11 | University of Michigan (Ross) | 8.9 |
| 24 | University of Minnesota (Carlson) | 8.9 |
| 22 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 8.9 |
| 12 | Villanova University | 8.9 |
| 65 | Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) | 8.8 |
| 49 | University of Dayton | 8.8 |
| 33 | University of Georgia (Terry) | 8.8 |
| 40 | University of Houston (Bauer) | 8.8 |
| 84 | University of Mary Washington | 8.8 |
| 54 | University of Tennessee (Haslam) | 8.8 |
| 70 | University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) | 8.8 |
| 8 | Emory University (Goizueta) | 8.7 |
| 59 | Hofstra University (Zarb) | 8.7 |
| 76 | Marian University (Indianapolis) | 8.7 |
| 36 | Purdue University (Daniels) | 8.7 |
| 35 | Tulane University (Freeman) | 8.7 |
| 95 | University of Akron | 8.7 |
| 52 | University of Delaware (Lerner) | 8.7 |
| 58 | University of New Hampshire (Paul) | 8.7 |
| 47 | Brigham Young University (Marriott) | 8.6 |
| 69 | Drexel University (LeBow) | 8.6 |
| 37 | Fairfield University (Dolan) | 8.6 |
| 88 | Florida International University | 8.6 |
| 82 | Ithaca College | 8.6 |
| 68 | Michigan State University (Broad) | 8.6 |
| 79 | Ohio University | 8.6 |
| 91 | Saint Joseph’s University (Haub) | 8.6 |
| 63 | University of Connecticut | 8.6 |
| 42 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 8.6 |
| 93 | American University (Kogod) | 8.5 |
| 83 | Bowling Green State University (Schmidthorst) | 8.5 |
| 10 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | 8.5 |
| 75 | Texas State University (McCoy) | 8.5 |
| 89 | Texas Tech University (Rawls) | 8.5 |
| 41 | University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) | 8.5 |
| 21 | University of Miami (Herbert) | 8.5 |
| 56 | University of San Diego (Knauss) | 8.5 |
| 61 | Florida Southern College (Barnett) | 8.4 |
| 55 | Loyola Marymount University | 8.4 |
| 98 | Northern Illinois University | 8.4 |
| 96 | Oregon State University | 8.4 |
| 43 | Providence College | 8.4 |
| 53 | The College of New Jersey | 8.4 |
| 87 | University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) | 8.4 |
| 86 | University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) | 8.4 |
| 78 | Roger Williams University (Gabelli) | 8.3 |
| 44 | Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick | 8.3 |
| 85 | Sacred Heart University | 8.3 |
| 81 | University of Denver (Daniels) | 8.3 |
| 71 | University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) | 8.3 |
| 57 | University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) | 8.3 |
| 66 | Seton Hall University (Stillman) | 8.2 |
| 39 | Syracuse University (Whitman) | 8.2 |
| 104 | Kennesaw State University (Coles) | 8.1 |
| 60 | Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) | 8.1 |
| 80 | Rutgers Business School – Newark | 8.1 |
| 97 | San Jose State University (Lucas) | 8.0 |
| 64 | St. John’s University (Tobin) | 8.0 |
| 74 | Towson University | 8.0 |
| 62 | University of St. Thomas (Opus) | 8.0 |
| 99 | Iowa State University (Ivy) | 7.9 |
| 46 | Lipscomb University | 7.9 |
| 67 | Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) | 7.9 |
| 100 | University of Kansas | 7.9 |
| 94 | University of Kentucky (Gatton) | 7.8 |
| 32 | University of Washington (Foster) | 7.8 |
| 90 | University of Michigan-Dearborn | 7.5 |
| 102 | Adelphi University (Willumstad) | 7.4 |
| 101 | San Diego State University (Fowler) | 7.3 |
| 77 | Seattle University (Albers) | 7.3 |
| 103 | University of Texas at Arlington | 4.6 |
OVERALL EXPERIENCE SATISFACTION? (Page 1)
WAS THE DEGREE WORTH THE TIME AND COST? (Page 2)
FACULTY QUALITY & ACCESSIBILITY (Page 3)
ADVISING QUALITY (Page 4)
BUILDING A PROFESSIONAL NETWORK (Page 5)
CLIMBING THE LADDER (Page 6)
CAREER OUTCOMES (Page 7)
SKILL DEVELOPMENT (Page 8)
SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE (Page 9)
