Next time you rank MBA programmes, why not judge them on social impact?

Last week, Business Insider published its rankings for the world’s best business schools. Said Business School came in at 26th.

I don’t care much for rankings, but a few of my classmates correctly observed that the average starting salary of Oxford MBA alumni was listed by Business Insider to be $87,700.

This is substantially lower than other schools, such as Vanderbilt University at $108,300 (Ranked #28), London Business School at $119,200 (Ranked #12), and my undergraduate alma mater’s business school, Wharton, at the University of Pennsylvania with $127,300 (Ranked #1).

But there is a reason for Said’s ranking being penalised in this and other rankings, and it is one of the reasons why I am extremely proud to attend Said Business School. Dozens, if not hundreds of my classmates will enter the social enterprise, social impact, non-profit, and public sector worlds upon graduation.

Ostensibly, their desire to “do good” for the world will not bring them immediate financial gains. Many will work on entrepreneurial projects that may not earn them substantial amounts of income for years. Others will work for pennies. But they will be helping to make the world a better place.

As I look back on the friends I made during the Michaelmas (autumn) term, I am not surprised at all when I learned that more than 200 of my 340 classmates are members of the Social Impact Oxford Business Network.

As I recently wrote, the idea of doing good during one’s life, rather than waiting until the end of it, has captured my Millennial generation.

So, the next time that Business Insider, US News and World Reports, the Economist or even the FT ranks business schools, why not rank them on something that matters quite a bit more than money, such as social impact? If this were one of the criteria used, I guarantee that the rankings would be rejiggered and Said Business School would rise into the top three.

With so many resources at the Skoll Centre, Dean Peter Tufano’s requirement that every student works on a Global Opportunities and Threats (GoTo) Project (one of the highlights of Michaelmas term), and courses such as Mark Ventresca and Alex Nicholls’ “Rethinking Business” as key parts of the curriculum and culture at SBS, we may not win the rankings but we will win the world. At the end of the day – and even at the start of it- that’s okay by me.