NYU Stern MBA Apps Fall 16% As Acceptance Rate Climbs To 32%

Applications to NYU Stern School of Business’s full-time MBA program fell 16.3% this year, ending a two-year surge that had carried the school to nearly 5,000 applicants. To fill its new class, Stern admitted more candidates than ever and accepted nearly a third of those who applied.

Stern received 4,130 applications for the Class of 2028, down 803 from the 4,933 it reported last year, according to class profile data posted on the school’s website. It admitted 1,309 candidates, topping last year’s record of 1,161, and enrolled 321, down from 336. That’s the smallest Stern class since the 317 students of the Class of 2022.

The decline still leaves Stern ahead of much of its competition. U.S. full-time MBA applications fell 27% this year, according to GMAC’s 2026 Application Trends Survey, and Stern’s 16.3% drop is smaller than those at Duke Fuqua, UCLA Anderson, MIT Sloan and Dartmouth Tuck. The 4,130 applications also make up Stern’s third-largest pool in the six classes tracked below.

The makeup of the class shifted as well. The international share fell to 38% from 43%, reversing the gain that set Stern apart from its peers a year ago. The share of women slipped to 42% from 45%, while underrepresented minorities rose to 23% and military representation climbed to 14%, the highest marks for either category in the past six classes.

NYU STERN MBA CLASSES 2023-2028: BY THE NUMBERS

NYU Stern	Class of 2028	Class of 2027	Class of 2026	Class of 2025	Class of 2024	Class of 2023
Applications Received	4,130	4,933	4,550	3,075	3,553	3,958
Admits	1,309	1,161	1,141	966	962	771
Admission Rate	32%	24%	25%	31%	27%	19%
Enrolled	321	336	352	327	324	360
Yield	24.5%	28.9%	30.9%	33.9%	33.7%	46.7%
GMAT 10th Edition Average	732	737	733	732	733	729
GMAT 10th Edition Range	690-780	660-770	650-780	650-780	640-800	620-770
GMAT Focus Average	676	682	NA	NA	NA	NA
GMAT Focus Range	605-755	595-775	NA	NA	NA	NA
GRE Average	327	327	328	326	325	324
GRE Percentage	26%	27%	23%	22%	21%	18%
GRE Quant Average	164	164	164	163	162	162
GRE Quant Range	152-170	155-170	152-170	155-170	153-170	154-170
GRE Verbal Average	163	163	164	163	162	162
GRE Verbal Range	153-170	154-170	153-170	155-169	150-170	149-170
GPA Average	3.63	3.64	3.64	3.61	3.62	3.59
GPA Range	2.91-4.00	3.18-4.00	3.03-4.00	2.96-4.0	3.03-4.0	3.0-4.0
Women	42%	45%	47%	43%	45%	41%
Underrepresented Minority	23%	18%	22%	17%	21%	17%
International	38%	43%	40%	48%	44%	32%
Countries	39	43	50	46	41	32
LGBTQ+	6%	10%	11%	13%	9%	NA
Military/Active Duty	14%	9%	11%	13%	11%	10%
Average Work Experience	5 years	5 years	5 years	5.2 years	5 years	5.1 years
Average Age	28	28	28	28	NR	28
Age Range	23-37	23-38	22-39	21-37	23-42	23-40

Source: NYU Stern. Yield calculated by P&Q. Class of 2028 GRE average is the sum of the reported quant and verbal averages.

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ACCEPTANCE RATE JUMPS AS YIELD SLIDES

Stern’s 32% acceptance rate is up 8 percentage points in a single year and is the highest in the six classes tracked here, edging past the 31% of the Class of 2025. A year ago, Stern’s rate stood at 24%, its lowest since the Class of 2023.

Stern needed those additional offers. It admitted 148 more candidates than last year and still enrolled 15 fewer. Yield fell to 24.5%, down from 28.9% last year and 33.9% for the Class of 2025. It’s the third straight annual decline and well below the 46.7% peak of the Class of 2023.

Even so, Stern remains more selective than two peers that have reported full admissions data this year. Duke Fuqua’s acceptance rate rose to 33.1% from 21.4%, and Dartmouth Tuck’s climbed to 42.5% from 28.3%. Both, however, converted more of their admits, with yield of about 35.1% at Fuqua and about 29.7% at Tuck.

PRE-MBA INDUSTRY OF NYU STERN MBA CLASSES, 2024-2028

Industry	Class of 2028	Class of 2027	Class of 2026	Class of 2025	Class of 2024
Financial Services	27%	31%	22%	26%	24%
Consulting	15%	15%	19%	12%	12%
Technology	8%	8%	10%	10%	7%
Military/Government	7%	5%	7%	8%	8%
Entertainment/Media	6%	6%	5%	6%	5%
Healthcare/Pharma	6%	4%	5%	6%	4%
Consumer Products/Retail	5%	2%	6%	5%	8%
Real Estate	5%	3%	3%	5%	4%
Law	4%	4%	3%	2%	3%
Nonprofit/Arts/Education	4%	4%	4%	6%	6%
Advertising/PR	4%	3%	5%	3%	4%
Manufacturing/Trade	2%	3%	1%	2%	3%
Energy	2%	–	1%	1%	2%
Engineering	–	2%	2%	2%	1%
Other	5%	10%	7%	6%	9%

Source: NYU Stern

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WAIVERS RISE AS GMAT SLIPS FROM RECORD

Average test scores eased from last year’s highs. The GMAT 10th Edition average fell 5 points to 732 from the school record of 737, with scores ranging from 690 to 780. The GMAT Focus Edition average fell to 676 from 682, in a range of 605 to 755. GRE averages held at 164 quant and 163 verbal.

The more significant change is how many students entered without one of those scores. Twenty-two percent of the class used a test waiver, up from 16% last year, and another 7% used an NYU test waiver, unchanged. That brings the waiver total to 29%, up from 23%, and puts it ahead of the 26% who submitted the GRE. GMAT submissions fell to 36% from 39%, the Executive Assessment to 5% from 6%, and MCAT, LSAT or DAT submissions to 4% from 5%.

Sixty-seven percent of students entered with a GMAT, GRE, or EA, down from 72% last year.

HOW THE NYU STERN CLASSES OF 2027 & 2028 GOT IN

Test Type	Class of 2028	Class of 2027
GMAT	36%	39%
GRE	26%	27%
Test Waiver	22%	16%
NYU Test Waiver	7%	7%
Executive Assessment	5%	6%
MCAT/LSAT/DAT	4%	5%

Source: NYU Stern

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The average undergraduate GPA dipped to 3.63, one-hundredth of a point below the record 3.64 of the past two classes. The range widened at the bottom, though. The lowest GPA in the class was 2.91, down from 3.18 last year and the lowest floor since the Class of 2021.

UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS OF NYU STERN MBA CLASSES, 2024-2028

Undergraduate Major	Class of 2028	Class of 2027	Class of 2026	Class of 2025	Class of 2024
Business	37%	30%	32%	27%	27%
Engineering, Math, Science	23%	25%	23%	27%	25%
Economics	15%	19%	18%	19%	15%
Social Science	14%	16%	15%	17%	21%
Humanities, Arts, Other	11%	10%	12%	10%	12%

Source: NYU Stern

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INTERNATIONAL SHARE FALLS, MILITARY & URM GAIN

International students make up 38% of the Class of 2028, down from 43% last year and the lowest share since the 32% of the Class of 2023. They represent 39 countries, down from 43. Based on the rounded percentages, that works out to about 122 international students, compared with about 144 last year. Stern’s figure includes foreign nationals, dual citizens and U.S. permanent residents.

Underrepresented minorities rose to 23% from 18%, topping the 22% of the Class of 2026. The number of Black students rose to 20 from 11 under federal reporting guidelines, though the number of students who didn’t specify a race or ethnicity also fell to 14 from 30, which may account for part of the gain in reported categories.

Women make up 42% of the class, the lowest share since the 41% of the Class of 2023 and 5 points below the record 47% of two years ago. Military veterans and active-duty students rose to 14% from 9%, while LGBTQ+ students fell to 6% from 10%, the lowest of the five classes shown above with a reported figure.

FINANCE EASES, BUSINESS MAJORS SURGE

Financial services remains the largest source of Stern MBAs, even after falling to 27% from last year’s 31%. Consulting (15%) and technology (8%) held steady. The gains were spread across smaller categories, including consumer products and retail (5%, up from 2%), military and government (7%, up from 5%), healthcare and pharma (6%, up from 4%) and real estate (5%, up from 3%).

The biggest move in academic backgrounds came among business majors, who rose to 37% from 30%, the highest share in the five classes shown. Economics majors fell to 15% from 19%, and engineering, math and science majors slipped to 23% from 25%.

The professional profile changed little. Students bring an average of 5 years of work experience, 98% have worked before enrolling, and the average age is 28, in a range of 23 to 37.

HOW STERN STACKS UP

School	Class of 2028 Applications	Change From Class of 2027	Acceptance Rate	Enrolled (2027)	International (2027)
NYU Stern	4,130	-16.3%	32%	321 (336)	38% (43%)
UCLA Anderson	2,422	-21.0%	NR	287 (307)	36% (35%)
Duke Fuqua	3,088	-23.4%	33.1%	359 (426)	38% (35%)
MIT Sloan	4,228	-25.2%	NR	450 (450)	45% (42%)
Dartmouth Tuck	2,237	-31.5%	42.5%	282 (304)	39% (34%)
Michigan Ross	NR	NR	NR	357 (379)	31% (40%)

Source: Schools; P&Q reporting. NR = not reported.

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A year ago, Stern’s international gain stood out against declines at Wharton, Duke, Carnegie Mellon Tepper and UCLA. This year the comparison runs the other way. The international share rose at MIT Sloan, Duke Fuqua, Dartmouth Tuck and UCLA Anderson, though a rising share doesn’t always mean more international students. At Fuqua, international enrollment fell, but domestic enrollment fell more. Michigan Ross is the only other school here where the share fell, dropping to 31% from 40%.

The market remains difficult for U.S. programs. GMAC reports that international applications to U.S. full-time, two-year MBAs fell 28% this year, while domestic applications fell 11%. Stern’s 16.3% application decline is the smallest among the peers here that reported a total, and its 4.5% enrollment drop trails only MIT Sloan, which held steady. But it took a record number of offers and the highest acceptance rate in six classes to get there.

DON’T MISS LAST YEAR’S P&Q STORY ABOUT THE NYU STERN MBA CLASS OF 2027 and U.S. B-SCHOOL APPS PLUNGE 25% AS GLOBAL DEMAND SHIFTS TO EUROPE & ASIA

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