MBA applicants can get carried away with rankings. In this series, we profile amazing programs at business schools that are typically ranked outside the top 15.
Corporate connections are a major selling point at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business. Located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, MBA students have access to a large network of corporate representatives and recruiters—from the 20 Fortune 500 companies with headquarters in the area to a 35,000-strong global alumni base. In fact, Dallas is surpassed only by New York City in being home to more top 1,000 public companies and top 1,000 private companies. One highlight of the networking resources offered by Cox is the Associate Board, an executive mentoring program that pairs MBA students with a business leader or entrepreneur from across every major industry.
Cox’s small, collaborative program has been ranked number one by The Economist among business schools in the United States for “potential to network.” In addition, Entrepreneur magazine has ranked business-friendly Dallas second among U.S. cities for entrepreneurs.