Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois was singled out by alumni for helping them climb the socioeconomic ladder
CLIMBING THE LADDER
Many students pursue a business degree – or any college degree for that matter – to start building their adult lives. This may include climbing the socioeconomic ladder or landing their dream jobs.
We asked alumni two questions in this vein:
- Do you believe your business degree will assist you in climbing to a new socioeconomic status?
- How instrumental do you believe your business degree will be in reaching your desired career?
Do you believe your business degree will assist you in climbing to your desired socioeconomic status? |
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| 2025 Overall Rank | School | Status |
| 27 | Trinity University (Neidorff) | 9.7 |
| 19 | University of Illinois (Gies) | 9.7 |
| 2 | Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) | 9.6 |
| 4 | Georgetown University (McDonough) | 9.6 |
| 30 | Southern Methodist University (Cox) | 9.6 |
| 28 | Texas Christian University (Neeley) | 9.6 |
| 7 | University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) | 9.6 |
| 4 | University of Virginia (McIntire) | 9.6 |
| 23 | Indiana University (Kelley) | 9.5 |
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 9.5 |
| 3 | University of Southern California (Marshall) | 9.5 |
| 15 | Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) | 9.4 |
| 34 | University of Pittsburgh | 9.4 |
| 18 | Wake Forest University | 9.4 |
| 20 | William & Mary (Mason) | 9.4 |
| 51 | Bryant University | 9.3 |
| 25 | Bucknell University (Freeman) | 9.3 |
| 17 | University of Richmond (Robins) | 9.3 |
| 31 | Binghamton University | 9.2 |
| 61 | Florida Southern College (Barnett) | 9.2 |
| 29 | Fordham University (Gabelli) | 9.2 |
| 73 | Iona University (LaPenta) | 9.2 |
| 5 | New York University (Stern) | 9.2 |
| 11 | University of Michigan (Ross) | 9.2 |
| 9 | University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) | 9.2 |
| 83 | Bowling Green State University (Schmidthorst) | 9.1 |
| 48 | Butler University (Lacy) | 9.1 |
| 37 | Fairfield University (Dolan) | 9.1 |
| 45 | Miami University (Farmer) | 9.1 |
| 50 | Texas A&M University (Mays) | 9.1 |
| 33 | University of Georgia (Terry) | 9.1 |
| 84 | University of Mary Washington | 9.1 |
| 10 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | 9.0 |
| 38 | Elon University (Love) | 9.0 |
| 26 | Lehigh University | 9.0 |
| 49 | University of Dayton | 9.0 |
| 54 | University of Tennessee (Haslam) | 9.0 |
| 22 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 9.0 |
| 12 | Villanova University | 9.0 |
| 47 | Brigham Young University (Marriott) | 8.9 |
| 72 | Hult International Business School | 8.9 |
| 35 | Tulane University (Freeman) | 8.9 |
| 58 | University of New Hampshire (Paul) | 8.9 |
| 6 | Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) | 8.9 |
| 65 | Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) | 8.8 |
| 68 | Michigan State University (Broad) | 8.8 |
| 89 | Texas Tech University (Rawls) | 8.8 |
| 95 | University of Akron | 8.8 |
| 63 | University of Connecticut | 8.8 |
| 24 | University of Minnesota (Carlson) | 8.8 |
| 70 | University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) | 8.8 |
| 36 | Purdue University (Daniels) | 8.7 |
| 92 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) | 8.7 |
| 91 | Saint Joseph’s University (Haub) | 8.7 |
| 40 | University of Houston (Bauer) | 8.7 |
| 87 | University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) | 8.7 |
| 16 | Boston University (Questrom) | 8.6 |
| 8 | Emory University (Goizueta) | 8.6 |
| 13 | Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) | 8.6 |
| 57 | University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) | 8.6 |
| 32 | University of Washington (Foster) | 8.6 |
| 79 | Ohio University | 8.5 |
| 43 | Providence College | 8.5 |
| 52 | University of Delaware (Lerner) | 8.5 |
| 41 | University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) | 8.5 |
| 21 | University of Miami (Herbert) | 8.5 |
| 88 | Florida International University | 8.4 |
| 98 | Northern Illinois University | 8.4 |
| 80 | Rutgers Business School – Newark | 8.4 |
| 53 | The College of New Jersey | 8.4 |
| 71 | University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) | 8.4 |
| 56 | University of San Diego (Knauss) | 8.4 |
| 55 | Loyola Marymount University | 8.3 |
| 44 | Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick | 8.3 |
| 67 | Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) | 8.3 |
| 42 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 8.3 |
| 69 | Drexel University (LeBow) | 8.2 |
| 59 | Hofstra University (Zarb) | 8.2 |
| 104 | Kennesaw State University (Coles) | 8.2 |
| 76 | Marian University (Indianapolis) | 8.2 |
| 97 | San Jose State University (Lucas) | 8.2 |
| 86 | University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) | 8.2 |
| 93 | American University (Kogod) | 8.1 |
| 85 | Sacred Heart University | 8.1 |
| 39 | Syracuse University (Whitman) | 8.1 |
| 75 | Texas State University (McCoy) | 8.1 |
| 81 | University of Denver (Daniels) | 8.1 |
| 62 | University of St. Thomas (Opus) | 8.1 |
| 82 | Ithaca College | 8.0 |
| 64 | St. John’s University (Tobin) | 8.0 |
| 60 | Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) | 7.9 |
| 94 | University of Kentucky (Gatton) | 7.9 |
| 99 | Iowa State University (Ivy) | 7.8 |
| 96 | Oregon State University | 7.8 |
| 100 | University of Kansas | 7.8 |
| 46 | Lipscomb University | 7.6 |
| 78 | Roger Williams University (Gabelli) | 7.6 |
| 77 | Seattle University (Albers) | 7.3 |
| 74 | Towson University | 7.3 |
| 90 | University of Michigan-Dearborn | 7.3 |
| 101 | San Diego State University (Fowler) | 7.2 |
| 66 | Seton Hall University (Stillman) | 7.2 |
| 102 | Adelphi University (Willumstad) | 6.5 |
| 103 | University of Texas at Arlington | 5.7 |
How instrumental do you believe your business degree will be in reaching your desired career? |
||
| 2025 Overall Rank | School | Desired Career |
| 27 | Trinity University (Neidorff) | 9.7 |
| 19 | University of Illinois (Gies) | 9.7 |
| 2 | Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) | 9.4 |
| 4 | University of Virginia (McIntire) | 9.4 |
| 23 | Indiana University (Kelley) | 9.3 |
| 30 | Southern Methodist University (Cox) | 9.3 |
| 17 | University of Richmond (Robins) | 9.3 |
| 51 | Bryant University | 9.2 |
| 25 | Bucknell University (Freeman) | 9.1 |
| 65 | Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) | 9.1 |
| 37 | Fairfield University (Dolan) | 9.1 |
| 4 | Georgetown University (McDonough) | 9.1 |
| 5 | New York University (Stern) | 9.1 |
| 28 | Texas Christian University (Neeley) | 9.1 |
| 84 | University of Mary Washington | 9.1 |
| 20 | William & Mary (Mason) | 9.1 |
| 73 | Iona University (LaPenta) | 9.0 |
| 50 | Texas A&M University (Mays) | 9.0 |
| 3 | University of Southern California (Marshall) | 9.0 |
| 31 | Binghamton University | 8.9 |
| 83 | Bowling Green State University (Schmidthorst) | 8.9 |
| 48 | Butler University (Lacy) | 8.9 |
| 29 | Fordham University (Gabelli) | 8.9 |
| 15 | Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) | 8.9 |
| 26 | Lehigh University | 8.9 |
| 45 | Miami University (Farmer) | 8.9 |
| 11 | University of Michigan (Ross) | 8.9 |
| 9 | University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) | 8.9 |
| 7 | University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) | 8.9 |
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 8.9 |
| 34 | University of Pittsburgh | 8.9 |
| 54 | University of Tennessee (Haslam) | 8.9 |
| 22 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 8.9 |
| 68 | Michigan State University (Broad) | 8.8 |
| 95 | University of Akron | 8.8 |
| 33 | University of Georgia (Terry) | 8.8 |
| 40 | University of Houston (Bauer) | 8.8 |
| 18 | Wake Forest University | 8.8 |
| 47 | Brigham Young University (Marriott) | 8.7 |
| 38 | Elon University (Love) | 8.7 |
| 72 | Hult International Business School | 8.7 |
| 92 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) | 8.7 |
| 89 | Texas Tech University (Rawls) | 8.7 |
| 63 | University of Connecticut | 8.7 |
| 58 | University of New Hampshire (Paul) | 8.7 |
| 70 | University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) | 8.7 |
| 12 | Villanova University | 8.7 |
| 10 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | 8.6 |
| 61 | Florida Southern College (Barnett) | 8.6 |
| 43 | Providence College | 8.6 |
| 36 | Purdue University (Daniels) | 8.6 |
| 24 | University of Minnesota (Carlson) | 8.6 |
| 87 | University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) | 8.6 |
| 16 | Boston University (Questrom) | 8.5 |
| 88 | Florida International University | 8.5 |
| 85 | Sacred Heart University | 8.5 |
| 49 | University of Dayton | 8.5 |
| 52 | University of Delaware (Lerner) | 8.5 |
| 57 | University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) | 8.5 |
| 42 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 8.5 |
| 13 | Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) | 8.4 |
| 35 | Tulane University (Freeman) | 8.4 |
| 81 | University of Denver (Daniels) | 8.4 |
| 21 | University of Miami (Herbert) | 8.4 |
| 6 | Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) | 8.4 |
| 59 | Hofstra University (Zarb) | 8.3 |
| 79 | Ohio University | 8.3 |
| 96 | Oregon State University | 8.3 |
| 44 | Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick | 8.3 |
| 80 | Rutgers Business School – Newark | 8.3 |
| 91 | Saint Joseph’s University (Haub) | 8.3 |
| 53 | The College of New Jersey | 8.3 |
| 41 | University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) | 8.3 |
| 32 | University of Washington (Foster) | 8.3 |
| 8 | Emory University (Goizueta) | 8.2 |
| 82 | Ithaca College | 8.2 |
| 55 | Loyola Marymount University | 8.2 |
| 98 | Northern Illinois University | 8.2 |
| 60 | Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) | 8.2 |
| 71 | University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) | 8.2 |
| 56 | University of San Diego (Knauss) | 8.2 |
| 62 | University of St. Thomas (Opus) | 8.2 |
| 104 | Kennesaw State University (Coles) | 8.1 |
| 97 | San Jose State University (Lucas) | 8.1 |
| 64 | St. John’s University (Tobin) | 8.1 |
| 39 | Syracuse University (Whitman) | 8.1 |
| 75 | Texas State University (McCoy) | 8.1 |
| 69 | Drexel University (LeBow) | 8.0 |
| 46 | Lipscomb University | 8.0 |
| 76 | Marian University (Indianapolis) | 8.0 |
| 93 | American University (Kogod) | 7.9 |
| 67 | Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) | 7.9 |
| 86 | University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) | 7.9 |
| 94 | University of Kentucky (Gatton) | 7.8 |
| 100 | University of Kansas | 7.7 |
| 90 | University of Michigan-Dearborn | 7.6 |
| 102 | Adelphi University (Willumstad) | 7.4 |
| 99 | Iowa State University (Ivy) | 7.4 |
| 74 | Towson University | 7.4 |
| 78 | Roger Williams University (Gabelli) | 7.3 |
| 77 | Seattle University (Albers) | 7.3 |
| 101 | San Diego State University (Fowler) | 7.2 |
| 66 | Seton Hall University (Stillman) | 7.2 |
| 103 | University of Texas at Arlington | 5.6 |
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)
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