“How does it feel to attend one of the best business schools in the country? Just ask a University of Akron business student. The University of Akron received the Princeton Review’s highest honor this year – a place in the 2008 edition of the Princeton Review’s Best 290 Business Schools.”
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How does it feel to attend one of the best business schools in the country?

Just ask a University of Akron business student.

The University of Akron received the Princeton Review’s highest honor this year – a place in the 2008 edition of the Princeton Review’s Best 290 Business Schools.

This is the fourth consecutive year we’ve been ranked, said James Emore, the associate dean of the College of Business. What’s unique is that this is based upon the student’s perceptions – it is a survey of what they think of the academics.

It being the case that students help rank the school, it is no surprise that business student Abdullah Alelew agrees with the ranking.

I’m impressed that it’s ranked so high, he said. I would say that the business school deserves it.

Students believe that the school was ranked highly for numerous reasons.

Finance student Sunshiela Rao said, I would say most of the business professors are really good.

University of Akron business student Dan Soletro agreed with her.

Some professors are focused on what you need to learn, and some are focused on their preference, he said. The education is excellent, either way.

Another factor is the school’s international population, which, according to the book, gives the diverse range of students more opportunities to meet and share knowledge.

According to Emore, there are currently between eight and 10 Fulbright Scholars at UA, a prestigious program for international students sponsored by the U.S. government.

We think it is very valuable to recruit high quality international students, he said. There is certainly no other business school in the state of Ohio, and probably not in the United States, with as many Fulbright Scholars as we have. In addition, we have many other brilliant international students in both graduate and undergraduate studies.

According to the Princeton Review, another reason for choosing UA’s School of Business is it’s convenient evening program.

We’re targeted by mostly part-time students because they are highly experienced students. They’ve been in the work world, and they’ve had a lot of business and professional experience that they can share with each other, Emore said. The nice thing about international students is that they don’t have as much experience, but they are coming directly from the academic world. They can share their cultural experiences while gaining knowledge about professional experiences.

Emore mentioned that the University of Akron is not as selective as it could be – some of the schools it is ranked with are much more selective.

Their rankings are based upon their selectivity, how many students they prevent from enrolling, he said. We recruit students, and we target the population that we want.

The ranking is nice to hear, but I don’t think it affects very much, Kenny Fenell, a junior, said. It doesn’t matter what school you go to, but what you put into the school.

Emore said the School of Business is very proud to be part of the Princeton Review.

We feel a great deal of pride that our students think well enough of us to qualify us for the Princeton Review, he said. None is more important than the satisfaction of our students.

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