Best buiness school 2015

Business school has been called a two-year job interview, and with good reason: For more than $100,000 and two years of study, MBAs hope to gain access to vast alumni networks, top-tier internships, and the very best jobs. Our annual ranking of full-time MBA programs now focuses on what most people hope to get after business school: a satisfying, well-paying job.

This year, we’ve revised the way we rank schools. For the first time, we surveyed MBAs after graduation for more insight into what graduates can expect in their future careers. We detailed some of the standout findings aboutMBA alumni in a separate report—including a broad pay difference between male and female MBAs that starts small, but gets bigger as they continue their careers.

Older elements of our ranking, including a tally of faculty research, have been scrapped because they don’t get at our fundamental question: How well does this business school channel its graduates into good jobs?

You can dig into an exhaustive explanation of our ranking methodology below, which also details how it differs from previous years. Briefly, the Full-Time MBA Rankings are based on five parts:

• Employer Survey (35 percent of total score):  recruiter feedback on the skills they look for in MBAs, and which programs best equip their students with those skills
• Alumni Survey (30 percent):  feedback from the classes of 2007, 2008, and 2009 on how their MBAs have affected their careers, their compensation change over time, and their midcareer job satisfaction
• Student Survey (15 percent):  the class of 2015’s take on academics, career services, campus climate, and more
• Job Placement Rate (10 percent):  the most recent data on how many MBAs seeking full-time jobs get them within three months of graduation
• Starting Salary (10 percent):  most recent data on how much MBAs make in their first jobs after graduation, adjusted for industry and regional variation

With a sharper focus on what people most hope to get after business school, we think we’ve created the most effective ranking yet for helping career-oriented students choose an MBA program.

Full-Time MBA: U.S.

Rank	School	Employer survey rank (35%)	Alumni survey rank (30%)	Student survey rank (15%)	Salary rank (10%)	Job placement rank (10%)	Ranking index score
1	Harvard	4	2	19	2	35	100
2	Chicago (Booth)	1	29	10	6	1	98.47
3	Northwestern (Kellogg)	2	11	6	5	34	98.24
4	MIT (Sloan)	5	15	18	3	16	96.05
5	Pennsylvania (Wharton)	6	14	27	4	7	95.92
6	Columbia	3	19	16	9	25	95.61
7	Stanford	14	1	14	1	21	94.66
8	Duke (Fuqua)	7	7	12	11	51	94.07
9	UC Berkeley (Haas)	11	4	4	7	49	91.83
10	Michigan (Ross)	8	28	5	10	32	91.74
11	Yale	9	9	23	14	37	88.07
12	Virginia (Darden)	10	18	9	13	13	87.8
13	UCLA (Anderson)	19	6	3	16	40	87.28
14	Dartmouth (Tuck)	21	8	17	8	11	85.96
15	Emory (Goizueta)	29	5	13	17	9	82.24
16	Cornell (Johnson)	18	10	35	15	30	82.07
17	North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)	17	22	11	23	36	81.82
18	Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)	13	31	25	12	42	80.48
19	Rice (Jones)	40	3	2	30	46	80.31
20	Washington (Foster)	12	34	41	19	5	79.74

Australian universities climb in Times Higher Education world rankings

Australia's universities have improved their performance in the world rankings, with 22 universities in the top 400 after a year of heated debate about fee deregulation.

But the Turnbull government has been warned Australia will fall behind other nations unless it increases funding for university research to match competitors in Asia, Europe and the United States. 

ANU is at 52. Photo: Rohan Thomson

The University of Melbourne was Australia's top performer in the Times Higher Education world university rankings at number 33 – the same position as last year. The Australian National University in Canberra follows at 52, the University of Sydney at 56 and the University of Queensland at 60.

The University of NSW rose from 109th place last year to 82nd this year, while Monash University rose from 83rd to 73rd.

Australia was the seventh most represented country in the rankings, which this year were expanded to include 800 universities.

The University of Melbourne is ranked 33rd. Photo: Shannon Morris

Phil Baty, editor of the rankings, said the results showed Australia had a strong university sector overall, unlike some countries with a few excellent institutions. 

"It's quite a bumpy year but Australia has held on really well and certainly improved its overall position," he said.

But he said research and development spending in Australia fell to just 2.2 per cent of the federal budget in 2014, its lowest level since 1984.

"We want to do even better," said University of Sydney deputy vice-chancellor Duncan Ivison. Photo: James Alcock

"Australia will have to raise its game to ensure it can compete with the leading western powerhouses of the US and the UK and rising stars in Asia that are heavily investing in research," he said. 

"You do need that cash to improve."

The California Institute of Technology was ranked first for the fifth year in a row ahead of Oxford, Stanford and Cambridge. 

The Times rankings are seen as particularly influential in attracting lucrative international students because they are based on 13 performance indicators including industry income, teaching, research influence and international outlook.

University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis was pleased the university had been named Australia's top university again.

"The university wants to provide current and future generations with education and research equal to the best in the world," Professor Davis said. "Results like this one show that we remain on the right path to achieving this goal."

University of Sydney deputy vice-chancellor Duncan Ivison​ said the university was glad to have risen in the rankings, but would like to overtake Melbourne in the future.

"We want to do even better," he said. "The University of Melbourne has a great reputation globally and that's something we aspire to."

Professor Ivison noted the rankings were "fickle" and did not measure everything universities consider important.

UNSW vice-chancellor Ian Jacobs said the results showed the university was on "exactly the right trajectory" to reach its goal of being in the world's top 50 universities by 2025.

"Maintaining a trend in the rankings reflects years of good work, constantly improving performance, particularly in an era 

Universities Australia chief executive Belinda Robinson said: "Our global competitors are looking the future squarely in the eyes with major investments in higher education, research and innovation.

"Australia now needs to step up our own level of public investment or we risk being left behind."

Australia's top universities

• University of Melbourne: 33 (unchanged)
• Australian National University: 52 (down from 45)
• University of Sydney: 56 (up from 60)
• University of Queensland: 60 (up from 65)
• Monash University: 73 (up from 83)
• University of NSW: 82 (up from 109)
• University of Western Australia: 109 (up from 157)
• University of Adelaide: 149 (up from 164)

The world's top universities

• California Institute of Technology (US): 1 (unchanged)
• University of Oxford (UK): 2 (up from 3)
• Stanford University (US): 3 (up from 4)
• University of Cambridge (UK): 4 (up from 5)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US): 5 (up from 6)
• Harvard University (US): 6 (down from 2)
• Princeton University (US): 7 (unchanged)
• Imperial College London (UK): 8 (up from 9)
• Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (SUI): 9 (up from 13)
• University of Chicago (US): 10 (up from 11)

World's Top 10 Insurance Companies

I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli

Insurance helps us to do exactly what this quote suggests. We all face many kinds of risks: risk of meeting with an accident, falling sick, being a victim of a natural disaster or fire, and above all risk of life. All these risks not only come with pain and suffering but also hurt financially. Insurance is one way of being prepared for the worst; it offers the surety that the economic part of the pain will be taken care of. In this article, we take a look at some of the top insurance companies. There are many criteria on the basis of which, such a list can be prepared: premium collections, market capitalization, revenue, profit, geographical area, assets, and more. This list focuses on insurance companies with the largest revenues across the globe (in no particular order). (For more,

1) AXA

With over 102 million customers in 56 countries and an employee base of 157,000, AXA is one of the world's leading insurance groups. Its main businesses are property and casualty insurance, life insurance, saving, and asset management. Its origin goes back to 1817 when several insurance companies merged to create AXA. The company is headquartered in Paris and has a presence across Africa, North America, Central and South America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East.

In 2013, AXA as a move to increase its foothold in Latin America acquired 51% of the insurance operations of Colpatria Seguros in Colombia. During the same year, AXA became the largest international insurer operating in China as a result of its 50% acquisition of Tian Ping (a Chinese property and casualty insurer). In addition, the company acquired the non-life insurance operations of HSBC in Mexico. The AXA Group reported consolidated gross revenue of €91 billion for the year 2013.

2) Zurich Insurance Group

Zurich Insurance Group, a Switzerland-headquartered global insurance company, was founded in 1872. Zurich Group, together with its subsidiaries, operates in more than 170 countries, providing insurance products and services. The core businesses of Zurich include general insurance, global life, and farmers insurance. With its employee strength of over 55,000, Zurich caters to the vast insurance needs of individuals and businesses of all sizes: small, mid-sized and large-sized companies and even multinational corporations.

During 2013, Zurich Insurance Group posted a business operating profit of $4.7 billion (15% higher than 2012). Of this, general insurance contributed 51%, while global life and framers contributed 23% and 27% respectively. Total revenue was reported as $72 billion.

3) China Life Insurance

China Life Insurance (Group) Company (LFC) is one of Mainland China’s largest state-owned insurance and financial services companies, as well as a key player in the Chinese capital market as an institutional investor. The origin of the company goes back to 1949 when the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) was formed. Its offshoot PICC (Life) Co. Ltd was created after parting ways with PICC in 1996. PICC (Life) Co Ltd was renamed as China Life Insurance Company in 1999. The China Life Insurance Company was restructured in 2003 as China Life Insurance (Group) Company, which has seven subsidiaries. The businesses are spread across life insurance, pension plans, asset management, property and casualty, investment holdings, and overseas operations.

The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and is the biggest public life insurance company in terms of market capitalization in the world.

4) Berkshire Hathaway

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) was founded in 1889 and is associated with Warren Buffet, who has transformed a mediocre entity into one of the largest companies in the world. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is now a leading investment manager conglomerate, engaging in insurance, among other sectors such as rail transportation, finance, utilities and energy, manufacturing, services, and retailing through its subsidiaries.

It provides primary insurance, as well as reinsurance of property and casualty risks. Companies like Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, GEICO, Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group, and General Re, National Indemnity Company, Medical Protective Company, Applied Underwriters, U.S. Liability Insurance Company, Central States Indemnity Company, the Guard Insurance Group are subsidiaries of the group.

5) Prudential plc

Prudential plc (PUK) is an insurance and financial services brand with operations catering to 23 million customers across Asia, the US, and the UK. Prudential plc was founded in United Kingdom in 1848. Prudential Corporation Asia, Prudential UK, Jackson National Life Insurance Company, and M&G Investments are the main businesses within the group. Jackson is a prominent insurance company in the United States, while Prudential UK is one of the leading providers of pension and life.

Prudential plc is listed on the stock exchanges of London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and New York. It has approximately 22,308 employees worldwide, with assets under management worth £443 billion.

6) United Heath Group

The UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) tops the list of diversified health care businesses in the United States. Its two business platforms--UnitedHealthcare for health benefits and Optum for health services--work together, serving more than 85 million people in every US state and 125 countries. The UnitedHealth Group uses its experience and resources in clinical care to improve the performance of the health care services sector.

The company reported revenue of $122 billion in 2013, nearly $12 billion more than in 2012. Fortune has featured UnitedHealth Group as the "World’s Most Admired Company" in the insurance and managed care sector four years in a row: 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

7) Munich Re Group

Founded in 1880, Munich Re Group operates in all lines of insurance and has a presence in 30 countries, with focus on Asia and Europe. The company’s primary insurance operations are carried out by its subsidiary, ERGO Insurance Group, which offers a comprehensive range of insurance, services, and provision. Munich Re Group's home market is Germany, where ERGO is a leader in all areas of insurance. The Group has a new arm, Munich Health, which parlays the group’s risk-management and insurance expertise into the health care field.

The group has around 45,000 employees worldwide, working in all businesses of insurance: life reinsurance, health reinsurance, accident reinsurance, liability business, motor reinsurance, property-casualty business, marine reinsurance, aviation reinsurance, and fire reinsurance. The Munich Re Group reported a profit of €3.3 billion on premium income of €51.5 billion in 2013.

8) Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.

Assicurazioni Generali, founded in 1831, is the Assicurazioni Generali Group’s parent company. The Generali Group is not only a market leader in Italy, but is also counted as a prominent player in the field of global insurance and financial products. The Group, with a presence in more than 60 countries, is an international brand with dominance in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. The Generali Group’s prime focus has been life insurance, offering diverse products from family protection and savings polices to unit-linked insurance plans. It offers an equally diverse range of products in the non-life segment as well, such as coverage of car, home, accident, and health, along with coverage of commercial and industrial risk.

The group has 77,000 employees and a client base of 65 million people worldwide. The group wrote premiums worth €66 billion: 32% property and casualty premium and 68% life premiums. The group reported operating income of €4.3 billion in 2013.

9) Japan Post Holding Co., Ltd.

The Japan Post Holding Co., Ltd. is a major state-owned conglomerate in Japan. The company has four primary divisions: Japan Post Service (for mail delivery), Japan Post Network (runs the post offices), Japan Post Bank (deals with banking functions), and Japan Post Insurance (provides life insurance). Japan Post Insurance operates within Japan Post Holding to provide insurance to its clients. The insurance arm makes use of the post offices nationwide network, in addition to its own sales offices, to reach out and provide services to the clients.

Japan Post Holding has a strong balance sheet with a profit of $4.891 billion and 2013 revenues of nearly $204 billion. The group, which runs the largest insurer in Japan (Japan Post Insurance), has a goal to go public in the US sometime in 2015.

10) Allianz SE

Founded in 1890, Allianz SE is a leading financial services company, providing products and services from insurance to asset management. Allianz caters to customers in more than 70 countries with €1.77 billion worth of assets under management. Insurance products range from property and casualty products to health and life insurance products for corporate and individual customers.

In 2013, the Allianz Group reported total revenues of €110.8 billion and an operating profit of €10.1 billion. In terms of revenue, segment contributions were as follows: property and casualty (42%), life and health (51%), asset management (7%) and corporate, other (1%). In terms of operating profit, the contributions by property and casualty, life and health, and asset management were 47%, 24% and 28% respectively. The company is headquartered in Germany.

Bottom Line

Some of the other reputable names in the insurance business are ING Group (ING), Prudential Insurance Company of America (a subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc., PRU), AIA Group Ltd., Ping An Insurance Company of China, Ltd., American International Group, Inc. (AIG), Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC), and MetLife, Inc. (MET). Picking the right insurance company to invest in is important and should not based on a company's revenue collections alone. A few things on your check list should be the company's rating, its financial strength, if the company specializes in any particular type of insurance, refusal of claims in the past, proximity of office, premium rates, and discounts offered on multiple policies. (For more, see: Top 10 Insurance Companies By The Metrics.)

How to study in Europe for free (or at next to nothing costs!)

Lots of people have asked me about living in Europe. For North Americans, we can go to Europe for 90 days without a visa, but for those wishing to stay past the 90 days, it can get complicated. There are a few other options like getting a Holiday Working Visa (although not available for Americans) which lets you live and work in certain European countries for up to a year, but what I think is the best option for anyone looking to really experience living in Europe for a few years is to study there. And it’s a lot cheaper than you think!

For one thing, tuition for public universities in most European countries costs anywhere from 0 to 500 euros a semester, even as an international student from a non EU-country! And if free tuition isn’t the best part, alcohol tends to be significantly cheaper in Europe, travelling around the continent is super easy and cheap (international partying has never been easier), and despite being free (or at really low tuition costs), Europe boosts some of the best universities in the world, like the University of Munich, the University of Vienna, and Paris-Sorbonne University.

Since none of the these universities are in English-speaking countries, the only downfall would be being able to speak in the language of the country. However there’s also lots of Masters programs taught completely in English! Plus the added bonus of studying in a non-English speaking country means that you can quickly pick up a new language during your time there, and make your resume look even more international.

For a quick look at the prices of tuition in Europe, I’ve made this handy list below!

Austria

In Austria, the tuition fee is free for EU citizens, or € 363.36 per semester for international students, which isn’t free but incredibly cheap. There’s also a students‘ union fee of € 18 per semester. For some non-EU countries, they are exempt from tuition fees, so if you’re thinking of studying in Austria, check out that list since all you would be paying is € 18 a semester!

Finland

In Finland, tuition is free for Bachelors and Phd programs, but some Masters programs require tuition for non-EU citizens. The cost of some Masters programs can range between  € 2,500 to € 12,000, so do some research on the programs you’re interested in!

France

Tuition ranges from € 150 to 700 per semester at most universities and public engineering schools. All business schools are private or partly private and charge significantly more.

Germany

In most of Germany, no tuition is charged at state universities (the vast majority of universities). Only the state of Niedersachsen still charges about 500 € per semester after Bavaria removed them starting in October 2013. Semester contributions (which includes a transit pass, which in some universities can be used for travel in your entire state!) are usually somewhere between € 150 and € 250 a semester and vary from university to university.

Norway

Studying at Norwegian state-run universities and colleges is free. There is a semester fee of NOK 300-600 a semester ($50-100 USD), but that includes a gym membership and reduced fares on transit.

Spain

In Spain tuition is charged by credit point, with prices ranging from 9.50 to 30 €. This comes out to at the most, 900 € per semester, which is still a really good price, especially considering how you’ll be studying in sunny Spain!

*****

Have any of you considered studying in Europe? When I tell friends that even as an international student, I can get a Masters degree in Germany for free, they were pretty blown away. It’s pretty amazing and I think if you have the opportunity to study abroad, you should go for it!

Earlier this year, I’ve applied to a bunch of grad schools in Germany, and have started to get my offer letters right now! I’m waiting until I hear back from every university before making my final decision, but I will definitely let you guys know in a week or so where I’ll be heading! And if you have any questions about the process, feel free to comment or send me an e-mail!