P&Q Must Reads: Admission Rates At The Top 50 MBA Programs

Hello everyone  –- Welcome back to Poets&Quants’ Must Reads, a quick, digestible recap of the top business school news, sponsored by CentreCourt, P&Q’s virtual admission events.

I’m your host, Kristy Bleizeffer, and I’ll be counting up to the most important P&Q stories of the last week (or so) that you might have missed – but shouldn’t.

So, Let’s get to it. 

 

No. 1: ‘The Window’ Closes: Acceptance Rates At The Top 50 U.S. MBA Programs

For those school seekers looking for an MBA program, this story from P&Q editor Marc Ethier certainly has news you can use. That is, the acceptance rates at the top 52 programs in U.S. News & World Reports 2023 rankings.

This big takeaway? While there was a small pandemic window that gave applicants slightly better odds at getting into their reach schools, that window has now closed. In fact, 21 of the top 25 programs admitted fewer applicants and shrank class sizes compared to last year. 

So, if you’ve got a list of MBA programs you’re considering, check out Marc’s full analysis at poetsandquants.com.

 

No. 2: A Q&A with Scott Galloway: How Healthy is the MBA?

Speaking of admission rates, I was able to snag NYU Stern’s rockstar marketing professor, serial entrepreneur, podcast host, and media guru Scott Galloway for his candid assessment of the MBA, business education, and those crazy high tuition prices.  

He’s got some thoughts on which MBA programs will thrive in the new post pandemic normal, and which programs likely won’t. And he doesn’t mince words.

He also tells us what he got wrong about the pandemic and B-Schools’ response.  You can read the full conversation now on our homepage. 

 

No. 3: Application Components More Important Than High GRE And GPA Scores

 

For MBA candidates sweating those less than stellar test scores, this story from P&Q contributor Greg Yang has practical advice on beefing up your applications in other ways. That is through engaging essays, insightful interviews and strong recommendations.

Yang shares other advice from former admission counselors and directors from schools like Wharton and Harvard, as well as leading MBA consultants in the admissions biz. 

A small hint: When it comes to volunteering, it’s better to go deep than to go wide. Find Greg’s full story on our homepage, or find scores of other great advice in our admissions tab.  

 

No. 4: Poets&Quants Top 50 Undergraduate Professors Of 2021

 

For our last must-read story of the week, we’re hopping over to our sister site, Poets&Quants For Undergrads. On Tuesday, we released our annual list of the Top 50 Undergraduate professors of 2021. We received more nominations than ever with 1,195 students, alumni, colleagues, and school deans taking the time to put into words what their outstanding professors meant to them. Nominations came from more than 50 of the best undergraduate business programs, including schools in Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada.

Remember, lest you decide that these undergrad professors mean nothing to you, many of these folks teach MBA classes as well. So, these professor profiles are actually a great research tool for the type of classes you may encounter in your program.

Our annual 40 Under 40 Best MBA Professors is scheduled for May, so keep an eye out for that as well.

That’s it. Our top four, don’t miss stories of the last week (or so.) You can let us know what stories we should have mentioned but didn’t in the comments. 

Before I go, I want to alert all the school seekers out there to CentreCourt’s upcoming MBA Festival events. These events connect prospective students with admission experts, alumni, and career development teams at the top MBA programs around the country – and the world. 

Our next series, MBA Voices, is happening June 7-8, and you can register for free on our events tab at Poets&Quants.com. 

If you’re looking for an online MBA program, don’t miss our next Poets&Quants’ Backstage Online Admission event on April 12. You’ll hear from current students, alumni, and admission experts from top online programs  – and it’s all free. Just register on our events page. 

Thank you for listening. Again, I’m Kristy Bleizeffer with Poets&Quants, and you can join me next week, right here, for a recap of what’s important in the world of business education.