Success Factors of American Business Schools or “How Business Schools Attract Promising Students”

Zusammenfassung

American students interested in business education have the choice between 1,480 different colleges, whereas almost 850 universities award master’s degrees in business (National Center for Education Statistics 2002, 321). For business schools it is therefore hard to distinguish their programs from the large number of other business programs. Especially during the early 1990s, competition among business schools for the most talented students increased as the effectiveness of MBA programs was questioned and the prestige associated with business degrees suffered badly (Hahs 1999, 197). Potential business students today select the school of their choice more cautiously than in the past, relying on numerous sources of information, including guidebooks and business school rankings. It has therefore never been more important for universities and colleges to understand the decision-making process of prospective students.