MBAs Expect 44% Pay Bump Due To Degree

Applicants to the top business schools expect to increase the MBA to give them a 44% boost in pay once they graduate, according to a new survey of business school candidates published today (May 29). The survey—based on about 804 prospective MBA students responding to an open web poll—was conducted by Huron Education for a trade association representing admission consultants.

Those who filled out the online questionnaire in the U.S.—a sample heavily skewed toward candidates who hire admission consultants to help them apply—said they currently earn annual income of $86,000 for men and $76,000 for women. The men expect a 43% increase in their post-MBA pay to $123,000 a year, while the women expect a similar 44% bump to $109,000 (see below).

Source: Huron Education

Source: Huron Education

The wide-ranging survey of business school candidates sponsored by the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants named the top schools that applicants believe got to know them best, how candidates feel about the increasing use of video in MBA admissions, the most desired industry among MBA wannabes, and the interest the latest applicant pool has in entrepreneurship, among other things.

DARTMOUTH AND DUKE AGAIN LEAD SCHOOLS GETTING HIGH MARKS FROM APPLICANTS FOR MBA ADMISSIONS

Applicants to Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, Duke University’s Fuqua School,, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management said they felt those schools did the best job in getting to know them through the admissions process. Tuck, which repeated its number one standing from last year, scored a 3.0 on a scale of one (not at all) to four (extremely well.) In contrast, Harvard Business School averaged a 2.47 score, coming in 18th after such rivals as Stanford, INSEAD, and Yale School of Management (see chart below).

The admission offices at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business also had impressive scores, ranking them fourth and fifth in the survey of business school candidates. Huron said it adjusted the numbers “to correct for the distortion of prospects giving lower marks to schools that rejected them” so that the acceptance rate at each school was the same.

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