P&Q’s Must Reads: Best Undergraduate Business Schools Of 2023

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 highlighting the most important P&Q stories you might have missed. So, let’s get to it. 

No. 1: Best Undergraduate Business Schools Of 2023

There’s a first time for everything. And for the first time in seven years, the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business tops Poets&Quants’ Ranking of Best Undergraduate Business Schools.

The Los Angeles-based school ends a five-year streak of wins by The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and becomes just the third school ever to top our undergraduate B-school ranking. The Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis won in 2016, the inaugural year of this ranking.

Get the full list, an explanation of why Wharton slipped from first to third after such an impressive streak, on our sister site, PoetsAndQuantsForUndergrads.com.

No. 2: GMAT Score Inflation: Now Nearly 20% Of Test Takers Are Scoring 700 Or Higher

Remember when a 700 score on a GMAT test was a true achievement, a sign that you were among the very best MBA candidates in the world? A 700 or plus score opened many of the doors to the most highly selective MBA programs in the world.

But thanks to ever-inflating scores on the test, a 700 score isn’t as distinctive as it once was. In the testing year 2021, 18% of the worldwide candidates who sat for the GMAT scored 700 or above, a significant increase from the 13% who achieved that level only five years earlier in 2017. In the U.S., it was even higher: 22.5% of the completed exams reached scores of 700 and up.

Read how far GMAT inflation has impacted other regions of the world, and how it might affect your hopes for securing a spot in your dream school, in our trending tab.

No. 3: Nominate Your Favorite Under-40 MBA Professor For 2023’s List

Don’t forget to nominate the most impactful, most inspiring MBA professors under the age of 40. 

We’re collecting nominations for the best MBA professors in the business to compile our annual Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors list. Deadline for nominations is March 24, 2023. 

We’re looking for MBA professors under the age of 40 who are masters in the classrooms, who influence business and policy, who are prolific researchers, and who have demonstrated meaningful impact on their fields. We need you to tell us who they are.

You’ll find the rules and nomination form in our news tab.

No. 4: Our Weekly Round Up of  News You Can Use

No matter where you are in your MBA journey, we bring several helpful stories for you this week.

First up: If you’ve been scheduled for an alumn-led interview with your target school, be sure to check out this essential story with seven tips on acing the conversation. You’ll find Preparing For Alumni-Led MBA Interviews on our homepage.

Next: For Indian MBA candidates with stellar credentials, we’ve compiled a list of interviews from our Handicapping Series featuring  real Indian candidates and our expert advice on getting into their dream schools. You can find the package in our students tab.

Finally: How can an MBA Admission Coach help secure an acceptance letter to your target schools? And how do you select the right coach for you? Our partners at Fortuna Admissions answers these and other questions in How To Choose An MBA Admissions Coach, which you can find in our admissions tab.

And, that’s it for this week’s Must Reads recap. 

I also want to alert anyone considering a graduate business master’s degree to CentreCourt’s upcoming Specialized Masters admissions event. In these virtual panels, you’ll get to explore Masters in Management, Finance, Business Analytics and other specialized business degrees to help determine which degree is right for you. Our next event is March 14 and 15, and you can register now for free.

Again, I’m Kristy Bleizeffer, and you can join me next week, right here, for a recap of what’s important in the world of business education. Thanks for listening and, as always, stay informed!