Yield Rates: Schools That Land The MBA Students They Really Want

Harvard Business School Baker Library - Ethan Baron photo

Harvard Business School Baker Library – Ethan Baron photo

HARVARD REPORTS HIGHEST YIELD AS BYU AND WISCONSIN IMPRESS

Based on these factors, you shouldn’t be shocked that Harvard and Stanford rank 1-2 in yield at 90.3% and 83.9% respectively. Boston and Silicon Valley are commercial and intellectual hubs. They’re easy to access and offer a high quality of life. Plus, they’re rife with opportunities to find employment – let alone mentors, advocates, investors, partners and customers. Columbia, Wharton, and MIT Sloan benefit from the same mix. Not surprisingly, they also post yield rates above 64% – an indication that they are often the top choice of candidates who apply there.

That said, you’ll find plenty of schools that don’t fit this profile. Brigham Young (Marriott) is one. Long lauded for low tuition ($23,940 for non-LDS members), Marriott reported an 80.2% yield rate for the 2017 Class. That number is especially intriguing considering its high 48.1% acceptance rate, which is balanced out by its respectable 3.54 average GPA and 674 GMAT.

The University of California-Davis is a 90-minute drive from San Francisco. While overshadowed by Stanford and Berkeley Haas, Davis has forged a 17.8% acceptance rate, making it more selective than Columbia, Wharton, and Kellogg. At the same time, their yield is 70.5%, meaning they are closing the vast majority of students whom they want to be part of their program. At 43 students, however, Davis’ 2017 Class is the second smallest among Top 50 MBA programs (as ranked by U.S. News & World Report).

Traditionally, the University of Wisconsin has scored well in yield – and the Class of 2017 was no different. This year, the school tied for 8th at 61.9%. Like Davis, Wisconsin is supplemented by a stringent 20% acceptance rate. Despite this, Wisconsin has maintained higher average undergrad GPAs than Michigan (Ross), Cornell (Johnson), and Emory (Goizueta) and better GMATs than regional public powers like Indiana (Kelley) and Ohio State (Fisher). Indeed, Wisconsin is an odds-maker’s dream, delivering decent returns of $114,815 in starting pay and an 89.5% employment rate to go along with a minimal average debt of $15,481 (for 52% of graduates).

OLIN AND MCDONOUGH REPORT LOWEST YIELDS

Naturally, some schools struggle with yield. Looking for the lowest rate among the Top 50 schools? That dubious honor belongs to Washington University (Olin), where barely 1-in-4 accepted candidates ultimately enrolled in its 141-member class. Yield is roughly 1-in-3 at Georgetown (McDonough) and North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler), two programs known for their exacting academic rigor.

Among other high status MBA programs, several failed to convert at least half of acceptances into full-time MBA students. They include: Michigan Ross (44.9%), Yale (45.7%), NYU Stern (45.9%), Virginia Darden (46.5%), Dartmouth Tuck (49%) and Cornell Johnson (49.6%). These falloff rates were particularly eye-opening at Stern, Yale, and Tuck, each of which sustained disciplined acceptance rates below 23%. In other words, these schools likely lost candidates they really wanted in their 2017 classes. As a result, they may be more apt to negotiate with top candidates this time around.

To see the acceptance and yield rates for the Top 50 MBA programs, go to the next two pages.

DON’T MISS: BIG CHANGES IN U.S. NEWS RANKING OF MBA PROGRAMS

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