Monday's Headlines: Making the Best of B-School Rankings

MBA applicants stand to shoot themselves in the foot if they rely too heavily on business school rankings, according to an article from Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which has its own rankings, along with U.S. News and World Report and Financial Times.

"Consumers of the rankings must realize that small, often insignificant, differences separate the top schools, and they are better off looking at the tier the school falls in-among the top 20, say-instead of the school's numerical placement on the list," the article says. " The ranking doesn't tell you the full story of what life is like on that campus or what a school is actually doing to place students in a particular industry." Some of the advice includes:

- Compare rankings across publications and in past years to measure a school's consistency.

- Focus on specialty rankings to see how programs match up with your career goals.

- Don't underestimate the value of campus visits to determine which school is best for you.

Other news:

Goldman's chief executive, Lloyd C. Blankfein, received $19 million for 2010 - double the prior year. [Dealbook]

Four top nuns are challenging Goldman's payouts for top executives. [The Telegraph]

BofA and MetLife are likely on the Obama administration's "too big to fail" list. [Financial Times]

At least three private equity groups have made bids of about $2 billion for Citi's consumer finance business. [Reuters]

The future of Goldman Sachs's secretive-and lucrative-Special Situations Group may be put out of work by Dodd-Frank. [BusinessWeek]

Global private equity is at lowest levels since 2003, but is poised to grow as the sector reinvents itself. [CPI Financial]