P&Q’s Must Reads: Wharton Claims Sole Possession Of First In New U.S. News 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:   Wharton Claims Sole Possession Of First In New U.S. News MBA Ranking

After sharing first place with Stanford’s Graduate School of Business last year, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School claimed sole possession of first in the 2025 U.S. News MBA ranking released today (April 8). Stanford slipped into a tie with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, followed by Chicago Booth and MIT Sloan.

Kellogg not only edged up one place in the full-time MBA ranking; it also gained a first place tie in U.S. News part-time MBA ranking with Chicago Booth and Berkeley Haas.

You can find coverage of both these rankings on our home page.

No. 2: How Executives Rank the World’s Best Business Schools In 2025

How do CEOs – perhaps one of the top consumers of MBA talent – rank top business schools? 

Well, they’re not too far off from the more formal rankings on the market. 

In the 2025 Best Business Schools ranking from CEOWORLD, Wharton regained the #1 spot after slipping to 2nd in 2024. Last year’s top performer, the London Business School, returned to the runner-up status while MIT’s Sloan rounded out the Top 3.

To compile the 2025 Best Business Schools ranking, CEOWORLD surveyed 250,000 industry big wigs across 176 countries. 

You can see the full ranking and read about its methodology in our trending tab.

No. 3: The Major Threats Facing Business Education

Business school deans are facing a bewildering array of challenges today. But the number one threat to business education is declining demand due to the coming enrollment cliff, according to more than a third of business school deans in a new survey. 

The survey was conducted by the University of Miami’sHerbert Business School and asked some 75 business school deans from all over the world to identify the threats ahead for business education. You can find the full survey results on our homepage. 

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 Or JD: Which Degree Is Right For You? This article, now up on our homepage, says that understanding the difference between the degrees can clarify your next step.

Next: INSEAD Revamps Its MBA Application Essays. This story outlines the most substantial refresh of the MBA application essays in years. Find it in our admissions hub.

Finally:  Finding Your Best MBA Admissions Consultant: This story, also in our admission hub, offers a guide for applicants looking for the consultant right for them. 

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.