September MBA Changes: Enrollment Drops & Scrapped Requirements

Editor’s note: This summary was provided with the assistance of AI. 

NAVIGATING CHANGES IN BUSINESS SCHOOL ADMISSIONS

Two top U.S. business schools made headlines this week: Duke’s Fuqua School has enrolled its smallest MBA class since the pandemic, while Harvard Business School has discontinued its iconic first-year trip abroad. These developments may seem distinct, yet they share a common thread—international uncertainty.

DUKE’S ENROLLMENT DECLINE

Duke’s incoming class of 2028 has shrunk to 359 students, a significant 16% drop from the previous year. Applications fell by nearly 25%, from over 4,000 to approximately 3,000. Caroline Diarte Edwards from Fortuna Admissions sees this as part of a broader trend, saying, “I don’t think it’s going to be a banner year for the business school world.”

Interestingly, while the number of applications declined, the percentage of international students increased slightly, not due to growth in that pool but because domestic applications fell more sharply. Caroline emphasizes, “The media like to make a big story about it when application volumes go up and down, and I expect we’ll see articles proclaiming the death of the MBA yet again.”

YIELD AND QUALITY CONCERNS

Despite the drop in applicants, Duke’s Admissions Office extended over a thousand offers, resulting in a higher acceptance rate of 33%. However, the yield rate fell to 35%, down from 49% the previous year. Maria Wich-Vila from ApplicantLab notes, “The drop in yield reflects a tremendous amount of uncertainty right now.”

This uncertainty is compounded by the current economic landscape, where candidates are questioning job prospects post-graduation. Maria adds, “Candidates are going to have to be more resourceful in terms of their job hunt; it will just be harder.”

Caroline believes that schools genuinely prioritize quality over quantity, stating, “They would prefer to contract the class size a little bit than admit people who are below par.”

GENDER REPRESENTATION TRENDS

An additional concern is the decline in the percentage of women admitted to Duke, which fell to 44%. Maria suggests that this is not a structural issue but rather a fluctuation in applicant demographics, saying, “It’s not a huge number; we’re talking a handful of people.”

HARVARD’S GLOBAL CAPSTONE CHANGES

In related news, Harvard Business School has ended its field global capstone project, a longstanding requirement for first-year MBA students to travel abroad. This program has been a hallmark of the Harvard experience, offering hands-on consulting opportunities. Maria points out, “These experiences were a chance to actually get more hands-on.”

This shift reflects a significant change in Harvard’s pedagogical approach, moving from traditional case methods to potentially more varied experiences.

As we navigate these changes in the business school landscape, it remains vital to reflect on how international uncertainty is reshaping the MBA experience. For a deeper dive into these topics, listen to the full episode.

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