Duke Fuqua Reports MBA App Decline, Becoming Third Major U.S. B-School To Do So

The Duke Fuqua MBA Class of 2025. Duke photo

MBA apps rise, MBA apps fall. For another leading business school in the United States — and in what increasingly seems like a trend — apps were down again in the 2022-2023 cycle.

Duke University Fuqua School of Business published its MBA Class of 2025 profile this week showing that it remains among leaders in international and women’s enrollment, and in the testing aptitude of its admits.

But for a second year in a row, Duke’s Daytime MBA saw a significant decline in applications, leading to a significant drop in class size. Duke received 3,292 applications to join the MBA Class of 2025 this fall, down about 7% from last year, and down 12.5% from a school-high 3,762 apps for the class that graduated this spring. And that has led to Fuqua’s class size shrinking to 385, down about 14% in two years and lower than it has been since at least 2018.

DUKE AMONG LEADERS IN MINORITY, INTERNATIONAL & WOMEN’S ENROLLMENT

But apps rise and apps fall: Duke Fuqua’s acceptance rate only grew slightly, to just over 22% from 20.5%, and is pretty square with where the school was before the coronavirus pandemic. Duke is joined in experiencing two straight years of application declines by Wharton, which is down 15.6%, and UCLA Anderson School of Management, where apps have declined almost 30% since 2021; but Duke has taken less of a hit.

And as with those schools and others in the Poets&Quants‘ top 25, there’s plenty to be positive about the newly enrolled class at Duke Fuqua. Its MBA Class of 2025 boasts the second-highest Graduate Management Admission Test average in school history (716) and top marks in GPA and GRE averages. And Duke once again boasts top-tier levels of women (45%), international students (47%), U.S. minorities (40%), and underrepresented minorities (27%), though all but the latter category saw slight declines.

In a recent post on LinkedIn, Duke Fuqua Dean William Boulding wrote about the importance of inclusiveness to the success of Fuqua MBA students.

“Academic research,” he writes, “is remarkably consistent in demonstrating that diverse teams outperform groups of people who are more alike. Differing viewpoints push against each other, which inspires new ways of thinking, which yields innovation.

“However, when we look at the diversity in business leadership of Fortune 500 companies — we have a long way to go in establishing leadership that represents the lived experiences of our nation. In addition to C-suite numbers showing low representation of women and racial minorities — the composition of Fortune 500 boards is instructive. A recent report by Deloitte examining boards shows progress in growing representation of women and racial minorities, but also concludes, ‘Even though all groups have seen growth in board representation over the last decade, no Fortune 500 company board fully represents the demographic population in the United States.’”

GETTING EVERYONE IN ‘THE GAME’

Boulding continues that the new class of Duke MBA students is among its most diverse ever, and “perhaps that’s why I am so excited and encouraged.”

“As a business school dean, I have long advocated that business schools are key to getting everyone in the game. I have seen firsthand, how business education can be transformational in individual lives — and how those individuals go on to create opportunity for others. It has been a priority for us at Fuqua to increase access to our programs to improve lives and communities.

“We’ve also tried hard to explain the economic impact of the talent that comes from business schools, from advocating for easier pathways for international talent to work in the U.S. to helping craft best practices to support working families. It behooves the economy as a whole when everyone is in the game.”

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