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American MBA schools are a real magnet for those who already entered the business elite, or at least are aiming to. Just like the graduates of prestigious boarding schools formed closed clubs uniting all the students irregardless of their age, today graduating from a high-rank business school takes you straight to the circle of top level managers.

Despite the fact that top 20 of MBA schools, as rated by Financial Times, contains European and Canadian business schools, the domination of US-based business schools is obvious. From the 20 best schools noted by the paper in 2004 only six of the schools are based in Europe and Canada. INSEAD in France and London Business School shared the 4th position, IMD in Switzerland took the 12th place, and IESE and Instituto de Empresa, both located in Spain, are 13th and 15th in the rankings respectively. University of Toronto, Rotman, the top Canadian school according to the paper experts, ranked 21st.

Why are American business schools so attractive for successful managers? Remember, the training takes twice as much time, and the costs of education could be twice as high.

There are several reasons behind this. The quality of education is higher, and the starting salary of the graduates is, too – which means the MBA loans are repaid faster. The schools also are guarantees for the loans, and they offer extensive associations for graduates.

Moreover, we should not forget the unofficial specialization of American business schools which allows you to foresee your future position in a company. Ambitious managers get enough pros to choose American business schools from the lengthy worldwide lists.

According to the 2004 rating by US News and World Report which evaluates only American MBA schools, the top 10 looks as follows:

Harvard Business School, Stanford University GSB, University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan), Northwestern University (Kellogg), Columbia University GSB, University of Chicago GSB, University of California-Berkeley (Haas), Dartmouth College (Tuck) and University of Michigan–Ann Arbor.

The first three, Harvard, Stanford and Wharton, have a long history of being at the top, sometimes switching positions.

Harvard Business School
This school was founded in 1908 by Harvard University, the symbol of American education, just like Oxford and Cambridge in Britain. It was here that the business case system was introduced, now implemented in all MBA schools. This is the richest and the biggest business school of the world. 1,800 Masters of Business Administration graduate from Harvard every year, its graduate association comprising over 65,000 members. This school is particularly strong in General Management.

Stanford University GSB
This school was founded in 1925 by Herbert Hoover, a Stanford University graduate who later became the 31st president of the USA. This is a middle-sized school enrolling only 740 candidates annually. Stanford is well-known for its focus on entrepreneurship; this is why its MBA graduates are especially successful in launching their own businesses.

University of Pennsylvania, Wharton.
Though according to US News and World Report Wharton is third in the rankings, the same magazine ranks it number 1 in accounting and finances. The MBA School of University of Pennsylvania also ranks #2-3 in marketing and entrepreneurship. It is accepted that its was founded in 1881, when an entrepreneur known as Joseph Wharton contacted the university with a request to establish a school to provide education in the field of complex economic control. 1130 students dive into business administration at Wharton.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan
Mens et Manus is the motto of this business school named after Sloan, which means ‘with mind and hand.’ The education programs are concentrated around production management and information technologies, which pretty much corresponds to the motto. It is considered that this school was founded in 1952. This year 297 Masters graduated from Sloan. This school enrolls a limited number of candidates; this is why all the students know each other personally. Sloan is also famous for its post-graduate support.

Northwestern University, Kellogg
Kellog is number 1 in marketing disciplines. Philip Kotler, the world famous marketing guru, lectures here. Thousands of students worldwide study marketing using his books. In 2003 469 students entered the 2-year MBA program, started in 1966.

Columbia University GSB
Reputation, location, global focus – these are the words describing this business school founded by Columbia University. The university, situated in New York, the country’s financial centre, is a member of the prestigious Ivy League. As many as 64 Nobel Prize winners worked or studied at Columbia University, including Joseph Stiglitz, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics. Apart from a program of general management, one can take over 200 additional courses. This year 494 students started their MBA studies in Graduate School of Business, Columbia University.

University of Chicago GSB
In 1998 Graduate School of Business at University of Chicago celebrated its 100th anniversary. Among its teachers and students there are 6 Nobel Prize winners. This school ranks #1 in finance. In 2003 1112 people were enrolled at this business school.

University of California - Berkeley, Haas
Haas is famous for its focus on latest technology, entrepreneurship, and finance. This is the school where plenty of study time is dedicated to innovation studies. This is why it is popular among those who aim at working with venture capital – though this school ranks only #8 in the US News and World Report. Last year 241 students entered this school.

Dartmouth College, Tuck
Though many American business schools are said to be founded in the end of the 19th century, which is naturally good for their reputation, sometimes it is not quite true. Even if a school or a department of commerce was founded, it does not mean they taught MBA there. The School of Tuck Dartmouth College is considered to be a foundation for the entire MBA education system, where Amos Tuck School of Administration and Finance was founded in 1900. Traditionally the school offers only General Management programs. 241 students started their studies here in 2003.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
The business school at this university was founded in 1924. According to its leaflets, this school specializes in General Management. 432 students were enrolled in the MBA program in 2003.

This is a brief review of top 10 American business schools rated in 2004 by US News and World Report. Though, the gap in ranks of schools 1 to 10 and 11 to 20 is not particularly big.

Original article: http://blogohost.com/articles/american-mba-schools.html by Arnold Kligermann. Keep this link when copying the article.