What is a Second Tier Business School?

Second tier business schools fall below first tier business schools and above third tier business schools. The "tier" concept comes from designations established by U.S. News, which ranks colleges and universities on an annual basis.

At one time, the top 50 schools in the U.S. News rankings were considered top tier or first tier schools. Other schools were categorized in second, third and fourth tiers based on their overall score.

U.S. News has since changed the way they label their lists--there are now 100 schools or more before the third and fourth tier categories are used. The term second tier has been eliminated altogether. But, that doesn't stop people from using it. In fact, most people still label business schools that are below the top 50 but above the third tier as "second tier business schools."