P&Q’s Must Reads: Apps Up But Stanford GSB’s Diversity Takes A Hit

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: Apps Up But Stanford GSB’s Diversity Takes A Hit

The Great MBA App Rebound has been a major boon to business schools in the U.S. and globally. But it can’t solve all B-schools’ problems.

Stanford Graduate School of Business is the latest case in point. Stanford’s MBA Class of 2026 saw a nearly 18% jump in apps in 2023-2024 compared to the previous cycle that helped the school enroll a class that had more U.S. minorities and international students, the latter an especially impressive feat in a year when most B-schools are reporting declines in foreign student interest.

Get more incisive data for Stanford’s most recent MBA cohort, part of our Class Of series for all the top business schools, in this story, featured now on our homepage.

No. 2: WashU Olin’s Executive MBA Crowned Best In U.S. By The Financial Times

Washington University’s 18-month Executive MBA program in Shanghai did not make The Financial Times‘s Global EMBA ranking last year.

What a difference a year makes.

This year the partnership between the Olin Business School in St. Louis, Missouri and Fudan University is the No. 1 program offered by a U.S. B-school, and third overall globally, according to the FT‘s 2024 ranking released earlier this week.

See the full ranking, and our analysis of it, now in our news tab.

No. 3:  MBA Students On Why Now Is A Better Time Than Ever To Study In Asia

The ASEAN region is a place of “dream job opportunities” and “higher salaries” for businesses and business students alike. Industries like fintech, green energy, and manufacturing are all key players. And overall economic growth in the region is staggering.

Poets&Quants spoke with three Class of 2024 MBAs who did an exchange with the Sasin School of Management in the heart of Thailand. 

For their insights on studying in on of the highest growth regions in the world, check out this story, which you’ll find 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: How To Get Into HBS?  The HBS essays are a make-or-break opportunity for applicants. Get advice in this article  from the HBS AdCom team at Stacy Blackman Consulting.You can find it on our homepage

Next: 10 Tough MBA Interview Questions & How To Handle Them  In this article, we offer the tips you need for meeting the unexpected with poise and confidence. Find it in our admissions hub.

Finally: Learning From The Taboo Of Failure. This article, up now on our homepage, explains why getting things wrong is a key part of the learning experience for MBAs — and everyone else.

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.