Advice Column: Predictions For The 2025/2026 MBA Application Cycle

Hello P&Q readers, and welcome to my advice column! My name is Karen Marks, and I am the Founder and President of North Star Admissions Consulting. I have been helping people get into their dream schools since 2012, and prior to that I was the Associate Director of Admissions at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Today, my goal is to give applicants the accurate, insider information that they need in order to succeed and make good decisions. Want your question answered in a future column? Ask away, no topic is off limits!

This is an exciting time in the admissions world, as business schools unveil their new applications. Here are my predictions for the 2025/2026 MBA application cycle. 

• Increased Application Volume (or not!)

You might have noticed that the global economy isn’t super robust right now. Typically, more people apply to business school during economic slumps – and the last 2 years have indeed seen an increase in applications. However, some people are predicting that applications will be down in the upcoming cycle. Personally, I think that this cycle will continue to be competitive. I also think that applicants need to put their best foot forward no matter what the landscape, and it’s always important to optimize your materials.  If applying now makes sense for you, go for it.

• More Applications Per Candidate

In part to maximize potential scholarships, I am seeing applicants decide to apply to more schools. I very much support this strategy, especially when it means that applicants are looking beyond the rankings to identify programs that will serve them well, including European and Asian options. In fact, in part to encourage people to cast a wider net, I am offering clients a free school if they decide by July 15th to work with me on 2+ applications.

• More Varied Work Experience

The MBA degree is evolving, as reflected in the proliferation of alternate format degrees. (Online, one-year, early career, etc.) That being said, I predict that we will see a wider variety of professional and personal profiles reflected in the incoming 2 year, full-time, MBA cohorts. If you are someone with a non-traditional background who really wants the classic business school experience, this might be a great time to apply.

• Fewer International Applicants

Given tense geopolitical dynamics, and uncertain visa and entry laws, it’s not a stretch to predict that there will be fewer international applicants to US business schools. This might mean that it’s an advantageous time for international candidates who are willing to deal with this uncertainty to apply. It might also mean that it’s an advantageous time for domestic candidates, if the class composition alters so that a greater percentage of students at US schools are American. 

Karen has more than 15 years of experience evaluating candidates for admission to Dartmouth College and to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. In addition, since founding North Star Admissions Consulting in 2012, she has helped applicants gain admission to the nation’s top schools, including Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Wharton, MIT, Tuck, Columbia, Kellogg, Booth, Haas, Duke, Johnson, Ross, NYU, UNC, UCLA, Georgetown and more. Clients have been awarded more than $85 million dollars in scholarships, and more than 98% have gotten into one of their top-choice schools.