MIT Sloan | Ms. Engineering + Extracurriculars
GMAT 695, GPA 3.45
Harvard | Ms. Impact Consultant
GRE 304 ( diagnostic test from ets) , GPA 7.41/10
Kellogg SOM | Mr. Fertilizer Financier
GMAT 735 GMAT Focus, GPA 3.85
Harvard | Ms. Indian Engineer
GMAT 760, GPA 3.5
Wharton | Mr. Private Equity
GMAT 730, GPA 3.2
HEC Paris | Ms. M&A Lawyer
GMAT 700, GPA 3.5
Stanford GSB | Ms. UK In the USA
GMAT 720, GPA 1st class (UK scoring)
Kenan-Flagler | Mr. Do I Have A Shot?
GMAT EA: 151, GPA 3.1
Chicago Booth | Ms. Tech4Good
GMAT 760, GPA 3.76
Columbia | Mr. Underdog
GMAT 695 GMAT Focus (750 Legacy GMAT equivalent), GPA 2.85
McCombs School of Business | Mr. Big Pharma
GRE N/A, GPA 3.1
Kenan-Flagler | Mr. Non-Traditional Undergrad
GMAT 660, GPA 2.9
Kellogg SOM | Ms. Talent Acquisition
GRE 316, GPA 3.6
Ross | Mr. Tax Accountant
GMAT N/A, GPA 3.3
Tuck | Mr. Nothing Is Perma
GMAT 760, GPA 7/10

The Best Online MBA Programs Of 2021

by: Nathan Allen on November 09, 2020 | 113,722 Views


Kelley School of Business Kelley Business School at Indiana University/Photo by Josh Anderson

The online MBA market is fast-moving and dynamic. A record 47 Online MBA programs are included in this year’s ranking.

POETS&QUANTS’ BEST ONLINE MBA PROGRAMS OF 2021

  1. Indiana University (Kelley), $74,520
  2. Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper), $141,320
  3. University of Southern California (Marshall), $111,663
  4. George Washington University, $100,883
  5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler), $125,589
  6. Lehigh University, $41,595
  7. Villanova University, $66,000
  8. Auburn University (Harbert), $35,375
  9. University of Washington (Foster), $78,000
  10. Santa Clara University (Leavey), $83,510

THIS YEAR’S TOP TEN INCLUDES NEWCOMERS AND SURPRISES

Kelley has been knocking at the first-place door in each of the three previous annual rankings, finishing second twice and third once behind Carnegie Mellon and USC Marshall. It is also the most affordably priced of the winners at $74,520, some $37,000 less than the online MBA at USC, and about $67,000 under the hybrid online MBA at Carnegie Mellon.

Following third-place USC Marshall is George Washington University’s Online MBA, which surged 20 spots from 24th last year to fourth this year. George Washington’s meteoric surge was buoyed by a second-place finish in our admissions methodological category. The University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School’s online MBA program gained two spots, moving from seventh last year to fifth. Villanova’s School of Business also catapulted 21 spots from 28th last year to seventh this year, thanks to a second-place finish in the academic experience portion of the methodology. Newcomers University of Washington’s Foster School of Business and Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business debuted in the rankings at ninth and 10th, respectively.

Update: Since the publication of our new ranking, U.S. News and the Financial Times have come out with new lists of the best online MBA programs. The biggest takeaway from these assessments? A small group of schools tend to dominate, showing up in the Top Ten across all the most significant lists. They include Indiana Kelley, UNC Kenan-Flagler,, and the University of Florida. Kelley Direct was named the MBA Program of the Year for 2020 by Poets&Quants.

THE ONLINE MBA MARKET IS FAST-MOVING AND DYNAMIC

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