Seven MBA Admissions Trends & B-School Predictions For 2026

As we move into 2026, one thing is clear: the MBA admissions landscape is not just evolving: it’s recalibrating. After recent years of disruption driven by AI, geopolitics, shifting immigration policies, and changing candidate expectations, business schools are entering a new phase of less hype and greater intention, as well as a renewed focus on what can’t be automated.

At Fortuna Admissions, our team of former admissions directors and senior insiders from the world’s leading business schools works at the intersection of candidates and schools. What we’re seeing now is not a single trend but a convergence of forces that will meaningfully shape the year ahead.

Here are our predictions for MBA admissions in 2026.

• AI in Admissions: From Novelty to Tension Point

If the past two years were about whether AI would affect MBA admissions, 2026 will be about how schools draw the line.

Candidates will continue experimenting with AI tools (often clumsily) while admissions teams grow more sophisticated in identifying over-polished, homogenized, or inauthentic applications. The result is something of an arms race: applicants trying to use AI without sounding like it, and schools redesigning assessment methods to surface real thinking and authentic voice. We expect to see:

• More video-based assessments, used deliberately to bypass scripted responses.
• Less tolerance for generic “perfect” essays that lack specificity or personal voice.
• Experimentation with AI-assisted evaluation tools behind the scenes, not to replace admissions readers, but to support pattern recognition at scale.

Paradoxically, the rise of AI is making human differentiation more important, not less.

• The Era of Video

Video components, whether asynchronous interviews or short recorded responses, are now a core part of the admissions toolkit, not a novelty add-on, and are used by a wide range of schools, including Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, INSEAD and LBS. 

For schools, video serves several important purposes. It allows admissions teams to assess communication and presence in real time, reduces the influence of over-edited or AI-assisted responses, and captures spontaneity, personality, and judgment under light pressure, all of which can be difficult to evaluate on paper alone.

For candidates, this raises the bar, but not in the way many assume. Success in these video questions is not about production quality, rehearsed delivery, or influencer-style charisma. Admissions teams are looking for an honest sense of who you are, how you think on your feet, and how you would show up as a classmate, in discussion, collaboration, and everyday interactions within the school community.

What matters for candidates is authenticity and consistency of message and tone across the application. Your essays, resume, short answers, and video responses should tell a coherent story about your motivations, priorities, and way of engaging with the world. When the substance or style shifts noticeably from one component to another, it damages the overall impression.

This trend rewards applicants who prepare holistically and understand video as an extension of their broader narrative, rather than a standalone performance. Those who treat video as an afterthought, or as something to “act,” risk undermining their applications.

• Applications to US MBA Programs: Strong Domestic Demand, Softer International Interest

As we look ahead, the defining feature of the US MBA admissions landscape is a divergence in applicant demand. Domestic applications remain robust, driven by career uncertainty, slower white-collar hiring, and the MBA’s continued appeal as a structured path to reinvention. International applications, by contrast, will remain under pressure, shaped by visa uncertainty, geopolitical tension, and increasingly attractive alternatives outside the US.

This imbalance will be felt across the market. Even top US programs, which continue to attract strong global interest, are likely to see a smaller international applicant pool than in past cycles. That said, their overall competitiveness is unlikely to diminish, as high domestic demand helps offset softer international volumes.

Mid-tier US schools, however, are likely to feel this shift more acutely. With fewer international applicants in the mix, these programs may face greater pressure to adapt recruitment strategies, whether through expanded scholarships or targeted outreach.

For domestic US applicants, this divergence subtly reshapes the competitive field. In certain segments of the market, reduced international competition may create openings that were harder to access in previous cycles. In practical terms, some strong US candidates who might previously have been edged out at the margins may find themselves more competitive for top programs in 2026.

• The ‘Trump Bump’ at International MBA Programs

A key second-order effect of softer international demand for US programs is rising competition at top international MBA programs.

Europe is experiencing what some have described as a Trump bump, with globally mobile candidates redirecting applications toward programs that offer strong outcomes alongside greater geographic and visa flexibility. This is increasing the admissions competition at a broad swathe of international schools including INSEAD, London Business School, ESMT Berlin and ESADE in Spain.  

Candidates who might previously have split applications between the US and Europe are increasingly concentrating their efforts on a smaller set of global programs they view as safer or more flexible long-term bets. 

This redistribution of demand is not limited to Europe. Asian business schools, particularly in India, China, Singapore, and Hong Kong, are also gaining traction among candidates seeking rapid ROI, proximity to high-growth markets, and tight alignment with local employer ecosystems. For candidates planning careers in Asia, these programs are no longer viewed as secondary options, but as strategic choices in their own right.

For applicants, the implication is clear: while international options are expanding, competition is intensifying. Strong academics and professional experience alone are not enough. Clear career intent, well-researched school fit, and a convincing explanation of why this program, in this geography and at this moment, will matter more than ever.

• Essays Will Probe For Diverse Voices  

US business schools have already removed explicitly DEI-framed elements from their MBA applications. But that does not signal a retreat from diversity of perspective. If anything, we expect a doubling down on diversity of experience, with schools becoming more deliberate about how they surface it.

Essay prompts are likely to probe areas such as ethical judgment, leadership under ambiguity, moments of perspective shift, or unique experiences that have meaningfully shaped how a candidate sees the world.

This shift is also practical. As international application volumes soften, US programs can no longer rely as heavily on international students to deliver diversity of perspective in the classroom. Instead, schools will be looking more closely at how candidates’ professional paths, life experiences, values, and decision-making frameworks contribute to a genuinely multi-perspective learning environment.

The implication for applicants is clear: what matters is the ability to demonstrate perspective, judgment, and growth, showing how experience has shaped the way you lead, collaborate, and engage with others, and what is unique about the voice that you bring to the classroom. The strongest applicants will communicate how their experiences and perspectives will enrich peer learning. 

• The Human Skills Premium Will Rise

As AI becomes embedded in nearly every aspect of business analysis and execution, there is growing consensus across business education that what differentiates leaders in an AI-saturated world is no longer technical output, but judgment. When answers are abundant, advantage comes from interpretation, prioritization, and decision-making under uncertainty. In 2026, admissions committees will be especially alert to signals of:

• Self-awareness and learning agility: the ability to reflect, adapt, and evolve rather than defend a fixed narrative.
• The ability to frame problems, not just solve them: showing judgment about what matters before jumping into how.
• Comfort with ambiguity and tradeoffs: recognizing that real leadership decisions rarely come with clean answers.
• Communication that feels real, not optimized: thoughtful, human expression rather than overly polished or formulaic responses.

These qualities increasingly shape how schools think about classroom dynamics, participation, and leadership development. Admissions teams are asking not just whether a candidate can succeed academically, but how they will authentically engage with peers, challenge ideas, listen, and contribute to collective learning.

• Post-MBA Recruitment: Selective, Skills-Driven, and More Entrepreneurial

The post-MBA recruitment market in 2026 will likely remain selective and uneven across industries and geographies. Employers are hiring with greater precision, focusing less on volume and more on roles where MBAs can add immediate value in organizations navigating rapid technological and organizational change.

Across sectors, a key differentiator is the ability to harness the power of AI rather than compete with it. Employers are no longer impressed by surface-level familiarity with AI tools; instead, they are looking for MBAs who can integrate AI into decision-making, workflows, and strategy, knowing when to rely on automation, when to challenge outputs, and how to translate insight into action. This capability is ideally paired with strong change management skills, as organizations redesign processes and teams around AI-enabled ways of working. The challenge for many firms is not technological adoption, but helping people adapt, and MBAs who can lead through that transition are in high demand.

Consulting and financial services will continue to be primary recruiters of MBAs; the consulting sector in particular is benefiting from this period of industrial transformation. Technology hiring is stabilizing in a more focused form, with demand concentrated in roles that sit at the intersection of business and technology. Healthcare, sustainability, and energy transition remain longer-term growth areas, particularly for candidates comfortable operating in complex, regulated environments.

We also saw a meaningful increase in 2025 of MBA graduates joining startups or launching their own ventures, a trend we expect to continue in 2026. The AI revolution has lowered barriers to entry, accelerated prototyping, and made it possible to build and scale ventures with smaller teams. For many graduates, entrepreneurship is no longer a fallback in a slow hiring market, but an exciting path enabled by technology and supported by their MBA education and network.

Taken together, these shifts reinforce a clear theme: post-MBA success in 2026 will favor candidates who combine analytical strength with AI fluency, sound judgment, and the ability to lead with authenticity, whether inside large organizations or in ventures of their own.

Final Thoughts

If there is a single throughline across our 2026 predictions, it is this: the pendulum is swinging back toward the human. As AI becomes ubiquitous and global dynamics shift, business schools are doubling down on what happens in the classroom: real discussion, real disagreement, real growth.

Admissions decisions are about who candidates are, not just what they have done. How they think, how they engage, how they learn, and how they show up alongside others. In that environment, the strongest applications will be grounded in lived experience, thoughtful judgment, and a clear sense of purpose.

If you’re applying to business school in the year ahead and would like a candid assessment of how to position yourself strategically for 2026, we’d love to hear from you: schedule a free consultation. 

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 Caroline Diarte Edwards is a Director at Fortuna Admissions and former Director of MBA Admissions at INSEAD. For more free advice from Fortuna Admissions in partnership with Poets&Quants, check out these videos and articles. For a candid assessment of your MBA admissions chances, schedule a free consultation.

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