P&Q’s Must Reads: Best Undergraduate Business Schools Of 2024

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 2024

After slipping two spots last year to No. 3, University of Pennsylvania’s The Wharton School has regained the top spot in Poets&Quants’ Ranking of Best Undergraduate Business Schools.

It’s a familiar spot for the Philadelphia business school. This is Wharton’s sixth time at No. 1, including a five-year streak at the top between 2018 and 2022.

University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business slipped one spot from last year to No. 2 while Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business fell one spot to No. 3.

This is our eighth year ranking the best business schools for undergraduates. You can find the full ranking, and all the analysis that comes with it, at our sister site: Poetsandquantsforundergrads.com.

No. 2: Consulting Pay: What MBAs Earned In 2023

The 2024 Consulting Salaries Report, released this week by Management Consulted, doesn’t mince words. 2023 was a disappointing year for consulting pay and benefits, with the report riddled with terms like decline, fewer, and less. The silver lining? It could’ve been worse.

Management Consulted maintains a community of three million readers. Its annual report features data from over 115 consulting firms, and we break it all down in this story. You’ll find it on our homepage.

No. 3: The U.S. MBA Programs With The Most International Students

International students are coming to America to attend undergraduate and graduate programs in ever-greater numbers. For the last three years, their arrival has been helping top U.S. business schools overcome a parallel decline in domestic enrollment.

The increase has more than one cause. The decline in pandemic-related travel concerns is a big factor, of course. But perhaps more than that are the reverberations from the June 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action in college admissions: Schools looking to diversify their student populations will look to international students as one way to achieve that diversity.

In this story, we look at the schools with the highest percentages of international MBA students for the Class of 2025. You can find it 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: MBA Interview Questions: A School-By-School List For 2024. In this article, we compile the most popular interview admission questions at all the top Business Schools. You can find it in our trending tab. 

Next:  Common GMAT Myths Debunked. In this story, top MBA admission consultants look at the common myths that plague the business school entrance exam, and lay down a healthy dose of reality. You can find it on our homepage.

Finally: How Much Is Too Much Information In Your MBA Application? This story from Fortuna Admissions is available in our admissions hub. 

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

I also want to alert school seekers to our events tab from our main menu. There, you’ll find all the upcoming admissions events for a range of degrees and programs including full-time and online MBAs, specialized masters, entrepreneurship and more. Registration is 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.