The M7 By The Numbers: What It Takes To Get In & What It Means For Your Career

Business school rankings have been in a major slump since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Both Bloomberg Businessweek and The Economist were hammered for methodological miscues in 2022, leading to the latter’s declaration that it has left the rankings game altogether; the former might want to consider a similar route, given the lingering dark cloud over its methodology. Forbes hasn’t bothered to do a ranking since 2019, and it’s increasingly unlikely that it ever will again.

THE M7 IN THE RANKINGS

Current Rankings	Harvard	Wharton	Columbia	Booth	Kellogg	Stanford	MIT
Poets&Quants	2 (5)	31 (1)	4 (7)	11 (2)	12 (4)	1 (3)	14 (6)
U.S. News	6 (5)	1T (3)	12T (11)	3T (1)	3T (2)	1T (6T)	5 (4)
Businessweek 2023 (2022)	6 (2T)	8 (7)	5 (8)	2 (2T)	7 (4)	1 (1)	10T (6)
Financial Times	11 (4T)	1 (NR)	3T (1)	10 (11T)	6T (9)	23 (4T)	6T (11T)
Economist 2022	1	2	4	9	3	8	5
Forbes 2019 (2017)	4 (3)	5 (1)	7 (6)	1 (7)	3 (4)	2 (2)	7 (8)

Source: Current rankings

One of the remaining ranking outlets, The Financial Times, is all over the place since the top schools — including the M7 — boycotted their 2020 list; its 2023 list notoriously excluded Wharton, which had been No. 1 the previous year. (Wharton returned to the top of the FT list in 2024.) Then there are the bogus rankings from Fortune, CEOWorld, and QS, which hardly merit mention. Even U.S. News was dinged in 2023 for a messy ranking that had to be delayed to iron out major issues. (The magazine’s response was to make big changes in its 2024 list, resulting in praise from B-school deans.)

U.S. NEWS & FINANCIAL TIMES ASSESSMENT SCORES FOR THE M7

Assessment Scores 2024 (2023)	Harvard	Wharton	Columbia	Booth	Kellogg	Stanford	MIT
U.S. News Recruiter Assessment Score (out of 5)	4.6 (4.6)	4.5 (4.5)	4.2 (4.2)	4.6 (4.6)	4.5 (4.5)	4.7 (4.7)	4.6 (4.5)
U.S. News Peer Assessment Score (out of 5)	4.7 (4.8)	4.6 (4.7)	4.4 (4.4)	4.6 (4.7)	4.5 (4.5)	4.7 (4.8)	4.6 (4.6)
Financial Times’ Aims Achieved	90% (91%)	89% (N/A)	89% (91%)	90% (91%)	90% (90%)	94% (93%)	89% (91%)
Financial Times‘ Research Rank	2 (1)	1 (N/A)	4 (2)	2 (4)	14 (9)	13 (7)	21 (13)
Financial Times’ Salary Increase	112% (117%)	121% (N/A)	127% (132%)	126% (123%)	125% (122%)	117% (131%)	130% (111%)

Source: U.S. News & Financial Times

Looking for a consistent and widely respected ranking? Your best bet is Poets&Quants’ annual aggregate list. Yet even P&Q has its detractors. Our 2024 list reflects the topsy-turvy nature of the rankings game: For the first time this year, one of the M7 — Wharton — fell out of the top 25, and three others — Chicago Booth, Northwestern Kellogg, and MIT Sloan — dropped out of the top 10. It’s a measure of the importance of the M7 that when they don’t do well in a particular ranking, questions are aimed not at the schools themselves but at the rankings and those managing them. After all, if an M7 school is down-voted, there must be something amiss with the vote, not the illustrious school, right?

U.S. NEWS SPECIALIZATION RANKINGS FOR THE M7, 2022-2024

U.S. News Rankings by Specialization 2024 (2023, 2022)	Harvard	Wharton	Columbia	Booth	Kellogg	Stanford	MIT
Accounting	15 (13T, 14T)	2 (2, 2)	22T (29T, 20T)	6 (6, 4)	NR (29T, 26T)	7 (8, 9T)	22T (26T, 18)
Entrepreneurship	5 (4, 6)	8T (6, 6)	26T (NR, 27T)	16T (23T, 27T)	26T (NR, 19T)	2 (2, 2)	3 (3, 3)
Finance	7 (7, 7)	1 (1, 1)	4 (4, 4)	2 (2, 2)	15 (14T, 18)	5 (6, 6)	6 (5, 5)
Management	1 (1, 1)	5T (5, 7)	12 (12, 11)	15 (19, 21)	5T (4, 3T)	3 (2, 2)	13 (16T, 14T)
Information Systems	NR (NR, NR)	NR (9T, 9T)	NR (NR, NR)	NR (NR, NR)	NR (NR, NR)	NR (NR, NR)	1 (2, 1)
Marketing	8 (7, 6)	2 (2, 2)	6 (5, 7)	7 (6, 8)	1 (1, 1)	4T (4, 3T)	NR (31T, NR)
Production & Operations	13T (12T, 11T)	6 (7, 8)	11T (17, 11T)	18T (19T, 23T)	13T (12T, 15)	5 (4, 5)	1 (1, 1)
Nonprofit	2 (2, 2)	NR (NR, NR)	6 (6, 7)	9 (8T, 9T)	8 (NR, 9T)	3 (3, 3)	NR (NR, NR)
Supply Chain Logistics	NR (NR, NR)	14T (15, 17T)	21T (NR, NR)	NR (25T, NR)	13 (13, 17T)	10T (9T, 10)	2 (2, 2)
International Business	3T (2, 2)	3T (6, 7)	5 (5, 6)	NR (NR, NR)	NR (NR, 23T)	NR (NR, NR)	21 (15, 17T)
Business Analytics	12 (11, 10T)	3 (4, 3T)	6 (8, 12)	8T (9, 8)	25T (16T, 17)	NR (NR, NR)	1 (1, 1)
Project Management	NR (NR, NR)	NR (NR, NR)	NR (NR, NR)	NR (NR, NR)	NR (NR, NR)	NR (NR, NR)	1T (1, 1)
Real Estate	NR (NR, NR)	1 (1, 1)	2T (3, 4)	NR (NR, NR)	13 (11T, 12T)	NR (NR, NR)	10 (11T, 12T)