Rochester Institute of Technology’s Saunders College of Business has climbed 2-3 places in the rankings for the past three years, landing at No. 53 in the 2023 rankings, No. 55 in 2022, and No. 58 in 2021— all a huge leaps from 2020’s ranking of No. 91.
Saunders’ acceptance rate had hovered in the mid-70s to low 80s for the past few years, but this year, the B-School was more selective with a 70.96% acceptance rate for the Class of 2023. The Class of 2022 held a rate of 75.46%, and the previous year’s rate was 81%. The average SAT score this year landed at 1321 for the Class of 2023 – the highest reported for the school with last year being 1308.
Because of the co-op program, 100% of Saunders students graduate with a business-focused internship each year — an impressive feat that ensures each and every student has an experience to reference when it comes time to interview for future internships or employment. Employment wise, a whopping 92.64% of the Class of 2023 secured a full-time position within three months of graduation – well up 80% for the Class of 2021.
Of the three methodological categories, Saunders score highest in Career Outcomes, at No. 31.
BIZ 1+2 PROGRAM
Saunders undergraduates can choose from the following majors: Accounting, Finance, Hospitality & Tourism Management, International Business, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, and Supply Chain Management.
Students get a business education starting on day one with The Freshman Experience: Biz 1+2 program – a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum that serves as a valuable foundational reference through the rest of students’ four-year education. While many other B-schools don’t require an experiential learning until the senior year capstone, at Saunders, every student gets a hands-on education starting on day one, giving them a head start on internship opportunities, and ultimately, employment.
“Creating a business plan for product/service – exposed me to the process of starting a company and maintaining its success – helped me contribute to my current company’s long-term sustainability and strategy/innovation,” one 2018 alumni told us.
YEAR BY YEAR REAL-WORLD LEARNING
Some 73.08% of surveyed 2019 alumni report engaging in at least one “signature experience,” whether through project work, simulations, global immersion, experiential learning, senior thesis, or capstone project, that was a key part of their business learning.
“Capstone project and many projects throughout the program were designed to work similarly to real-life projects at modern companies,” one 2018 alumni said.
“Working on and seeing the efforts of a complete ad campaign from start to finish showed me what it was like to work on a real project,” said another 2018 alum. “Though it wasn’t successful and we didn’t win the competition, it was a great learning experience that taught me more than I thought it would.”
Rather than just through a distinct capstone project or first-year experience, Saunders weaves experiential learning in each of the four years — an important distinction that equips students with plenty of valuable experience by the time they graduate.
STRONG CO-OP PROGRAM
The co-op program at Rochester Institute of Technology is one of the oldest and largest cooperative education programs in the nation, connecting over 3,600 students with over 1,800 employer partners, in over 7,700 job assignments (in a pandemic year). A full-time paid employment opportunity, the co-op program begins after students have completed their first two years of coursework. Co-op employers have included the likes of KPMG, EY, Tesla, Amazon, Mozilla, BMW, GM, GE, J&J and more.
For many students, the co-op experience gives them the opportunity to explore potential careers and gain valuable experience that they can reference in future internship and job interviews.
“The co-op program at RIT definitely gave me a ‘leg-up’ in terms of experience to talk about with a potential employer during interviews,” a 2018 alumni said. “Doing a day-to-day job for three months also gave me a sense of what I would be expecting in a corporate environment.”
“My co-op experience gave me exposure into the intricacies of business transformation, and led to the opportunity that I’m in right now with KPMG,” another 2018 alumni said.
Alumni say:
“Built on my core business knowledge but also opened my eyes to international business and not just government intervention in international business but also cultural. Also strong focus on product innovation which is so important.”
“Several projects with real clients through undergrad as well as other experiential learning efforts. This was critical to applying skills in real business situations and was the most valuable part of my education at RIT.”
“The co-op programs I participated in gave me a lot of different work experience in different workplace environments. Also we had coding classes/a more technical curriculum which I think helped set me apart from other business students.”
WHERE THE CLASS OF 2020 WENT TO WORK:
- Geico – 3
- Precision Castparts Corp. – 3
- Paychex, Inc. – 3
- RIT – 3
- CGI Communications – 2
- GW Lisk, Inc. – 2
- M&T Bank – 2
- Metropolitan Riveters Hockey – 2
- Premium Mortgage Corp. – 2
- TJX Companies – 2
