Columbia Completes The M7 Picture: Multiple School Records Set In New MBA Class

The seven elite business schools that make up the M7 have now all released their MBA class profiles, completing the annual picture of demand and enrollment at the top of the market.

At Columbia Business School, where last year’s cycle saw a meaningful rise in interest, this year’s application total dipped by exactly 10, from 7,487 to 7,477. The school will enroll exactly 10 more students: 982 across the August 2025 and January 2026 cohorts, up from 972 a year ago. The August entry class includes 758 students, while another 224 will arrive in January.

But where it remained steady in apps, Columbia’s new MBA class set new records in multiple other key metrics.

COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA COHORTS 2019-2025: BY THE NUMBERS

Columbia Business School	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Applications	7,477	7,487	5,895	6,177	6,535	6,971	5,876
Admits	1,450*	1,490	1,215	1,363	1,215	1,130	1,122
Acceptance Rate	19.5%*	20.9%	22.4%	22.1%	18.6%	16.2%	19.1%
Class Size (2 intakes)	982	972	900	844	847	782	754
GMAT Average (10th Edition)	734	732	730	729	729	726	727
Range	610-780	–	–	–	–	–	–
GMAT Average (Focus)	690	–	–	–	–	–	–
Range	615-805	–	–	–	–	–	–
GRE	326	–	–	–	–	–	–
GRE Verbal Range	150-170	–	–	–	–	–	–
GRE Quant Range	150-170	–	–	–	–	–	–
GPA Average	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.60	3.50	3.60	3.60
Women	46%	44%	44%	44%	41%	40%	38%
International	41%	46%	47%	51%	48%	44%	47%
U.S. Minorities	48%	44%	43%	42%	40%	33%	NA

*Estimate; source: CBS

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CLASS COMPOSITION: SMALL SHIFTS IN INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC MIX

Columbia reports 46% women, an increase from 44% last year and a new school record. Representation of U.S. minorities rose from 44% to 48%, another record for CBS, while international enrollment declined from 46% to 41%, lowest in many years, going back to before the coronavirus pandemic. The latter figure – coming from a New York school that historically has enrolled robust international classes – is the strongest reflection yet of the reality of a major decline in international interest in studying in the U.S. in the Trump years. 

Academic metrics at Columbia, however, remain consistent: The average Graduate Management Admission Test score (10th Edition) rose to 734, another school record, while the average GPA holds at 3.6, matching last year’s school-record mark. Admits who submitted GMAT Focus edition scores had an average score of 690, but interestingly, the range of Focus scores extends all the way to 805 – a perfect score – while the 10th Edition range stops at 780. Graduate Record Exam scores averaged a combined 326.

Columbia has also updated the profile for its MBAxMS cohort. The incoming class includes 46 students with an average GPA of 3.54 and an average of five years of work experience. The group represents 17 countries, with 52% international students, 64% U.S. minorities, and 28% women. The mean GMAT score is 734, while GRE scores average 161 Verbal and 164 Quant.

HOW COLUMBIA STACKS UP IN THE FULL M7 CYCLE

With Columbia’s profile out, the full M7 picture can be compared across scale, demand, and enrollment. Harvard Business School reported 9,409 applications for the Class of 2027 and enrolled 943 students, while Penn’s Wharton School recorded 7,613 applications and seated a class of 888. Chicago Booth School of Business reported 5,876 applications and enrolled 635 students, reflecting a smaller applicant pool but a consistent class size.

MIT Sloan School of Management enrolled a class of about 450 students but does not publish annual application totals. Northwestern Kellogg School of Management reported a cohort of just over 520 students, and Stanford Graduate School of Business enrolled about 420 students, consistent with its long-standing targets. Stanford and MIT do not release application numbers in their official profiles.

Within that landscape, Columbia’s 7,477 applications place it close to Wharton and well ahead of Booth, while its 982-student cohort is the largest in the M7 because of its two-entry structure. Columbia is the only M7 school with a split cohort, enrolling students in both August and January, a model that continues to differentiate the school’s scale and enrollment patterns.

UNDERGRAD ACADEMIC BACKGROUNDS & PRE-MBA INDUSTRIES

Columbia’s incoming class remains broadly rooted in quantitative and business-related majors. Thirty percent of students hold undergraduate degrees in business, about 19% studied economics and engineering, and 13% majored in social sciences. Smaller proportions come from the humanities, natural sciences, and other fields.

The newest cohort arrives with a median of five years of professional experience. The most frequently represented industries include financial services, which accounts for 30% of students, consulting at 23%, and technology at 12%. Marketing and media types account for 10% of the class. Other sectors such as healthcare and nonprofit contribute smaller but steady shares of the class.

DON’T MISS COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL COMPLETES THE M7 PICTURE: APPS WAY UP AT ALL 7 ELITE B-SCHOOLS (2024) and IN ITS LATEST MBA CLASS PROFILE, CLUES TO WHAT IT TAKES TO GET INTO HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

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