BW Business School Rankings

The latest BusinessWeek b-school rankings are out. As per the new rankings, the top U.S. programs are:

1. Chicago
2. HBS
3. Kellogg
4. Wharton
5. Ross
6. Stanford
7. Columbia
8. Duke
9. MIT
10. Haas

Well...I am surprised that Stanford has been ranked no higher than 6th. But I am delighted that both Ross and Stanford figure in top 7 and Darden isn't far behind (#16). My Ross and Stanford applications are currently under review and the Darden applications should be reviewed soon too. Please please send me the interview invites. I am so looking forward to them :-)


The top Non-U.S. programs are:

1. Queens
2. IE Business School
3. INSEAD
4. Ivey
5. LBS
6. ESADE
7. IMD
8. Rotman
9. IESE
10. Oxford

Here again, I was caught by surprise when I didn't see HEC Paris in the top 10. That is one school that has been consistently ranked high among b-schools in Europe. HEC, Judge and Cranfield figure in the second tier.

For more information, please click here. You may also wanna read about the crisis at the schools.

Its not just the Wall Street...its ALL streets!!

With the stock market (read the benchmark BSE 30-Share Sensex) plummeting to a three-year low and with the recession lurking not so much in the background anymore, the global downturn may be deeper and the recovery longer than expected. No one knows how long and how serious the financial crisis will be. But one thing is for sure - unless acted upon decisively, it is going to have a devastating effect on the lives, working conditions, and hopes of millions around the world.

The International Labour Organization has projected that the world unemployment would increase by 20 million, with the construction, automotive, tourism, finance, services, and real estate being hit hardest. People living on less than a dollar a day could rise by 40 million and those living on two dollars a day could rise by more than 100 million. Scary!

Stemming this rot will require devising economic plans that focus, primarily, on people and enterprise. Productivity must be linked to salaries and growth to employment. As Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO, says "People must have trust that the economy is working for them".

Measures have been and are being taken. Credit flowing is being increased. It, however, should also include credit for small and medium enterprises, unemployment insurance, pension protection et al - in short, its imperative to support the vulnerable. Regulation that rewards hard work and enterprise is also utmost important. Entrepreneurs must be encouraged so that they can invest and innovate, thus producing jobs and products. Sustainable globalization is also a key but that will require relevant international organizations to come together so that they can figure out means to keep economies and societies open.

Its a crisis. Its not for the weak-hearted.

Its time to think bold.

Darden's take on the credit crisis and financial aid for international students....thank you Sara Neher

I have been following Sara's (she is Darden's Director of MBA Admissions) video blog ever since its inception. I really appreciate this initiative because the Admissions Director, in one way or the other, is connecting with her prospective students; providing them with first-hand information that they, otherwise, would have to relentlessly hunt for.

In her latest video blog, she acknowledges the apprehension that international students face due to the cancellation of no-cosigner loans. She admits that the current situation is common across all schools in the US and every school is working tirelessly to come up with other alternatives. They expect to have solutions in place before the deposit deadline (late March for R1). In case of a delay in arriving at a solution, they are willing to extend the deposit deadline!

I have been quietly confident that the schools would take appropriate measures to counter the current crisis. They would not want to miss out on admitting good students, like yours truly ;-D, simply because the students couldn't afford the fees and living expenses. It is for this reason that I stuck to my schedule and boldly went ahead and applied to Darden, Ross, and Stanford - schools that I admire and long to study in.

Here is Sara's video blog...



In other news, I'll be attending Ross's MBA event tomorrow. I look forward to meeting with the adcom members and the alumni. I will post my experience tomorrow evening after the meet.

Also, I am eagerly awaiting the ISB interview invite. The invites are expected to be rolled out before the 25th. Fingers crossed...