MBA Acceptance Rates Are Up at Top Schools: Report

A decline in master of business administration (MBA) applicants has led to higher acceptance rates at the country’s top business schools, according to a report.

While many MBA programs saw a post-pandemic surge in applications in 2021, those numbers have largely since fallen off, according to a report from the international higher education consulting firm Quacquarelli Symonds, or QS.

That trend extends to the nation’s top schools: MBA applications to the M7 — or magnificent seven — business schools have also fallen in recent years, according to QS.

M7 schools include the Chicago Booth School of Business, Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

M7 business schools have long been bellwethers and standard bearers for global business education but haven’t been immune to a noticeable decline in applications across MBA programs in recent years.

The same MBA application trend played out across the business school landscape in the United States, with a marked rise in 2021 followed by a dip in 2022. Early signs point to a continuing decline, but there isn’t enough data yet for QS to confirm a further drop in applications.

Factors contributing to this trend include economic uncertainties, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and shifting career priorities, the report reads. Prospective MBA candidates may be reconsidering the value proposition of these programmes in light of changing job markets and remote work opportunities.

Concerns about debt may also play a role in declining applications, according to the QS report.

The declining pool of applicants has corresponded to rising acceptance rates at some top schools, according to the report. MIT is the exception to the rule, with Sloan MBA acceptance rates dropping between 2021 and 2022.

The report notes that the trend of increasing acceptance rates at elite schools extended beyond the M7 to other top-ranked schools — but lower-ranked programs saw a decrease in their acceptance rates.

Declining applications aren’t the only cause of increasing acceptance rates at top schools, according to the report. The rising rates could also correspond to a higher quality pool of candidates.

The rise in acceptance rates can also be attributed to a return to pre-pandemic admissions standards, including the reinstatement of entrance exam requirements, which may have impacted the applicant pool’s size and quality, the report reads. Moreover, the shift to digital and other forms of education put pressure on traditional MBA programmes to evolve and potentially become more accommodating in their selection process.

Demand for hybrid learning in graduate business education is on the rise, the Graduate Management Admission Council found in its 2024 Prospective Students Survey, although in-person learning remains the top option for prospective graduate business students. The global percentage of prospective students seeking hybrid program delivery increased from 12% in 2019 to 17% in 2023, the GMAC found.

MBA programs in the U.S. have an increasing number of international students, according to the report. While programs had a 24% international student makeup in 2022, that had risen to 34% by 2024.

The blend of nationalities in these MBA programmes reflects their global appeal and the recognition of the U.S. as a hub for worldclass business education, the report reads.

Other specialized master’s business degree programs in the U.S. didn’t see the same 2021 rise and 2022 fall as MBA applications.

Master’s in management, master’s in business analytics, and master’s in marketing programs all saw an increase in the average number of applicants year-over-year, according to the QS report.

That corresponds with a rising number of master’s in management programs at business schools. Whereas an MBA is typically geared toward professionals with work experience looking to boost their career mobility and job prospects, a master’s in management is aimed at students with less work experience and includes broad management instruction.

M7 schools have joined that trend: Chicago Booth announced a one-year master’s in management program to debut in fall 2024.

We are excited to debut Chicago Booth’s one-year Master in Management, the school’s first new degree program in 88 years, said Madhav Rajan, dean of Chicago Booth and the George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting, in a July 2023 release. We look forward to introducing foundational business skills to a new generation of Booth students, enhancing their impact in that first job and beyond.

Master’s in management programs in the U.S. had an initial peak of 458 average applications in the 2018-2019 academic year, but that figure dropped drastically to 371 in the 2019-2020 academic year. Interest in master’s in management programs has since rebounded, reaching 443 average applications in the 2021-2022 academic year.

Business analytics applications rose consistently — a trend that QS attributes to the increasing importance of data skills.

A growing number of business schools have incorporated STEM and data as key elements of their curriculums in recent years. The Purdue University Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, for instance, has shaped many of its degrees around STEM and data.

That includes launching new degrees in integrated business analytics and information management and business engineering.

Every company is a tech company, Purdue Daniels School Dean James Bullard previously told BestColleges in an interview.

STEM topics like AI are increasingly in demand from business students, BestColleges previously reported. The GMAC 2024 Prospective Students Survey found that candidate demand for AI grew 38% year over year.