P&Q’s Must Reads: 10 Biggest Surprises From Financial Times’ 2025 MBA Ranking

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:   10 Biggest Surprises From Financial Times’ 2025 MBA Ranking

Another Financial Times MBA ranking. Another outpouring of outrage.

This time, the controversy may well be bigger than ever. Stanford Graduate School of Business isn’t even on the list after failing to meet the newspaper’s minimum response rate to its alumni surveys. Harvard Business School is ranked 13th in a tie with Cornell Johnson, even though it bested No. 1 Wharton on the majority of the FT‘s ranking metrics.  A record six European MBA programs are in the Top Ten, eclipsing such big global branded business schools as Northwestern Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Dartmouth Tuck, Berkeley Haas, and Virginia Darden.

You’ll find all the jaw-dropping surprises on our homepage, and you can see the full ranking in our trending tab.

No. 2: What European B-School Deans Think Of Trump’s Attacks On ESG & DEI

When it comes to cornerstone business issues like sustainability, ESG, and DEI, the Atlantic Ocean has rarely loomed so large.

On one side of the pond, European businesses – and the business schools that train their future leaders – are doubling down on initiatives that confront the climate crisis, protect diversity and inclusion, and promote sustainable business practices.

On the other side, the United States just re-elected Donald Trump.

Poets&Quants recently polled eight business school leaders from across Europe to discuss how institutions are responding to America’s shifting stance. While European business schools are largely reinforcing their dedication to responsible leadership, global collaboration, and sustainability-driven innovation, some deans are worried that the American backlash could have global repercussions.

Find the full story in our news tab.

No. 3: Nominate An MBA Professor For P&Q’s 40 Under 40 For 2025

Attention business students, faculty, alumni, and administrators: Nominations for Poets&Quants’ annual 40 Under 40 Best MBA Professors are now open!

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.

Nominations are due by March 24. Find the nomination form in our main menu, under our MBA 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: HBS Interviews. In this article, the HBS admission guru admits that the purpose of the interview is to flunk you.You can find it on our homepage. 

Next: 5 Tips For Addressing A Gap In Your MBA Resume. In this story, up now on our admission hub, you’ll learn why silence is not a winning strategy in MBA admissions. 

Finally:  2025 MBA Interview Questions: A School-By-School List. This story provides a list of questions from all the top schools, from Chicago Booth ot Yale SOM. Find it 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.