P&Q’s Must Reads: Acceptance Rates & Yield At The Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs

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:   Acceptance Rates & Yield At The Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs

After back-to-back cycles of falling demand, applications to U.S. MBA programs are finally trending upward — but the recovery has been anything but uniform.

Poets&Quants’ analysis of U.S. News data for the 2023-2024 cycle finds that 70 of the top-ranked 100 B-schools reported application growth, with especially strong rebounds at Washington Olin, Utah Eccles, Baruch Zicklin, and Buffalo SUNY, all of which more than doubled their application volume year-over-year. Nevertheless, 40 of 100 B-schools — including two dozen that reported application growth — shrank the size of their MBA classes that enrolled last fall.

You can dive into the data in this story, which is on the trending tab.

No. 2: A Star Professor Dings Stanford For Denying A Colleague Tenure

One of the most famous professors at Stanford Graduate School of Business is dissing the school he has made home for nearly 46 years. The reason: Stanford denied tenure to a colleague who is an associate professor.

Jeffrey Pfeffer, who has pioneered the field of power and influence, is upset with a decision to not tenure Michal Kosinski, an associate professor of organizational behavior. He’s so upset, in fact, he published a heavily critical essay on his LinkedIn feed. 

Learn more about Pfeffer’s very public gripe in this story, on on our homepage.

No. 3: Another Top U.S. B-School Adds An AI Track To Its MBA Program

The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business has introduced a new MBA concentration in AI, Data Analytics, and Decision Sciences. The concentration has a menu of 25 courses, of which students must complete six to fulfill the requirement.

Darden’s new concentration follows similar developments at other business schools. In recent years, a number of institutions have introduced analytics- and AI-focused programs, majors, certificates, or specializations as part of their MBA offerings.

Learn more about Darden’s concentration and other schools’ AI additions in this story, from 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 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: The Future Of MBA Careers In An AI-Driven World. This story explains how AI is redefining business and MBA skill sets in a rapidly evolving job market. Find it on our homepage.

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.