Among MBA students, McKinsey & Company is still king. But the esteemed firm, which has had a 12-year-reign as the most popular place to work for MBA students, has a new competitor nipping at its heels for the crown: Google. The online search engine shot up to second place from 129th on the MBA Ideal Employer Ranking Survey conducted by Universum Communications, an employer branding service. Goldman Sachs is a very close third - only 0.01 percent behind Google.

Google's ascent to the upper echelons of MBA admiration represents a renaissance for dotcom-like employers among MBA students, according to Universum, which surveyed about 5,000 MBA students at 43 top programs. Apple (7) joins Google in the top 10, while Yahoo! moves up to 26th place.

These companies offer the stability and longevity that the old dotcom companies could not. Further, MBA career movers view them as viable alternatives to traditional careers in corporate America. Having learned the lesson of the dotcom bust, MBAs now base their career decisions on strength, stability, and endurance, Universum reports.

But there is good news for management consulting on the whole. The profession grabbed first place again after spending one year as the runner-up. Financial services dropped to second place. Other consultancies in the top 20 are: Bain & Co. (4), The Boston Consulting Group (5), Booz Allen Hamilton (15), and Deloitte (17).

Other findings from the survey include:

• For the first time, work/life balance is the top career goal among male MBAs (48 percent). Moving up from fourth place, it passed building a sound financial base (37 percent), influencing corporate strategies (31 percent), and reaching managerial level (27 percent).

• MBAs want $88,000 in annual salary at their first job after graduation -a $6,000 jump compared to last year. The expected annual salary five years after graduation rose to $167,000 - a $10,000 increase from last year.

• Venture capital is back in the top spot as the industry with the highest salary expectations ($103,200). Investment management finished second ($98,100), followed by management consulting ($97,600).