P&Q’s Must Reads: MBA Applications Are Way Down This Cycle. Is America Driving Away The World’s Talent?

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: MBA Applications Are Way Down This Cycle. Is America Driving Away The World’s Talent?

U.S. business schools are confronting one of the steepest declines in MBA applications in years, and the primary driver appears not to be the economy, rankings, or tuition – but Washington.   

Across multiple full-time programs, data from rounds 1 and 2 of the current admissions cycle point to declines of 20% to 30%, with the sharpest drop-off concentrated among international applicants, according to admissions officials and industry insiders familiar with the numbers. 

We break down these unprecedented numbers in this story, now in our trending tab. 

No. 2: Oxford Under Scrutiny: How A Mishandled Safety Case Preceded The Ouster Of Saïd’s Dean 

 A UK nonprofit has publicly identified the Oxford professor accused of raping a junior colleague – a case that later intersected with the harassment investigation that ended the tenure of Saïd Business School Dean Soumitra Dutta. 

The allegations as described by the Good Law Project were followed by a separate inquiry into Dutta that upheld multiple complaints of harassment. Together, the two cases have exposed what critics describe as a deeper institutional failure at Oxford: a system that struggled to protect staff, hesitated to confront senior figures, and allowed serious concerns to escalate rather than be contained. 

Read our full story on the allegations and their aftermath now, from our homepage. 

No. 3: Duke Professor Appears Prominently In Newly Released Epstein Emails  

A sweeping release of emails tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has drawn fresh attention to a Duke University professor and one of the most recognizable figures in behavioral economics. The latest DOJ release shows repeated correspondence, including a message in which the professor asked Epstein for help reconnecting with a woman he had previously met. 

The connection was first reported by The Duke Chronicle, which reviewed the newly released archive.  

Read what the emails said now, from 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: Where Jobs Are Growing This Year – And Where They’re Not. The job market awaiting the Class of 2026 isn’t collapsing, but it isn’t exactly roaring back either. This article, up now on our homepage, looks at all the numbers from Universum’s 2026 Talent Outlook report. 

Next: What Is ‘Too Much Information’ In MBA Applications? How To Walk The Fine Line This article, up now in our admissions hub, explains what to share and what not to when telling your personal story. Find this helpful article in our admissions hub. 

Finally, also in our admission hub,: MBA Applications Slump Giving Hope For Round 3. With international applications falling for top U.S. MBAs, this commentary from Matt Symonds and Fortuna Admissions breaks down what that might mean for domestic hopefuls. Find it in our trending tab. 

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. 

 

 

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