Stanford graduate businessStanford University offers the best MBA when it comes to return on investment, according to a new rankings listed released by Forbes magazine.

Stanford gets graduates the highest paychecks five years after graduation, with an annual median total compensation of $221,000, according to Forbes.

Stanford also is the most selective school in the country, according to Forbes, accepting only 7% of all applicants for the Class of 2014. Because of this selectivity, the school’s graduates often have the “pick of the litter on jobs,” according to Forbes.

Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, on its own website, states that the business school is “fueled and surrounded by innovation and collaboration.

”If you have ideas, there is no better place than Stanford GSB to explore them. Here you will learn from and have access to world-class faculty, guest speakers and leaders of industry. You’ll also spend each day collaborating with talented, diverse, engaged classmates who will teach you more than you can imagine.”

Forbes reported that Stanford graduates routinely end up in jobs with consulting firms such as Bain, Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey or working at giant corporations such as Apple and Google.

The survey, which Forbes conducts every two years, looked at return on investment for students in the Class of 2008. There were 17,000 alumni from 100 schools contacted, with 27% responding. They then compared the median salaries to the “opportunity cost” – missing two years of compensation while attending school, plus paying tuition and fees. The resulting number is the “5-Year MBA gain.”

The Top 10 business schools in the list and the average median salary five years after graduation for students are:

  1. Stanford University ($221,000)
  2. University of Chicago ($200,000)
  3. Harvard ($205,000)
  4. University of Pennsylvania ($205,000)
  5. Northwestern University ($176,000)
  6. Dartmouth University ($189,000)
  7. Columbia University ($192,000)
  8. Duke University ($152,000)
  9. Cornell University ($155,000)
  10. University of Michigan ($153,000)

Forbes found that overall MBA degrees still pay off for students, just not as fast as they did in the past. The average number of years to pay back the cost of earning a MBA has lengthened from 2.7 years a decade ago to 3.7 years for the Class of 2008.

Salaries have also gone down for graduates from all schools except two – Stanford University and the University of Michigan.

Forbes notes that some students are having a hard time making an MBAS pay off in the current economic environment, particularly with the cost of school rising to around $100,000 for many students. The average Class of 2008 had a debt of $65,000.

Another interesting aspect of the report: Forbes found that one of the biggest hiring companies of MBA graduates is now Amazon. The online retailer is among the top 5 hiring firms of 22 schools surveyed by Forbes. Forbes reported that Amazon has tripled in size since 2009, with $67 billion in Internet sales.

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