Should you’ve ever needed to get your MBA—this can be a nice week to get began on the journey, partially due to the discharge of Fortune’s newest rating of the greatest MBA packages for 2025.
The extremely aggressive rating course of noticed that lots of the high faculties retain their clout—with Harvard Enterprise Faculty, College of Chicago (Sales space), and Northwestern College (Kellogg) touchdown the coveted high three spots, respectively.
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| Faculty | 2021–22 rank | 2022–23 rank | 2023–24 rank | 2025 rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard Enterprise Faculty | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| College of Chicago (Sales space) | 4 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Northwestern College (Kellogg) | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| College of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Columbia Enterprise Faculty | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| The highest 5 MBA packages within the U.S. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard Enterprise Faculty | ||||
| 1 | ||||
| 1 | ||||
| 1 | ||||
| 1 | ||||
| College of Chicago (Sales space) | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 7 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| Northwestern College (Kellogg) | ||||
| 5 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 5 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| College of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| Columbia Enterprise Faculty | ||||
| 6 | ||||
| 6 | ||||
| 6 | ||||
| 5 | ||||
However there’s far more to fulfill the attention than the preliminary information exhibits. Every program is exclusive, and for a lot of college students, any rating is simply a part of the decision-making course of to determine the place is greatest for their very own schooling and profession targets.
Fortune used almost a dozen totally different information factors to gauge 98 MBA packages throughout the nation. For context, these are the averages amongst all of the packages:
| Metric | Common |
|---|---|
| Approximate tuition per 12 months, out-of-state U.S. residents | $52,650 |
| Acceptance price, fall 2023 | 49% |
| Median GMAT rating, fall 2023 entrants | 665 |
| Yield, 2023–24 | 45 |
| Common undergraduate GPA, 2023–24 entrants | 3.45 |
| Commencement price, 2020–23 | 93% |
| Retention price, 2022–23 | 94% |
| Job placement price (3 mo. after commencement) | 84% |
| Median base wage (3 mo. after commencement) | $118,000 |
| Fortune 1000 rating | 8 |
| Common information factors among the many MBA packages ranked by Fortune | |
|---|---|
| Approximate tuition per 12 months, out-of-state U.S. residents | |
| $52,650 | |
| Acceptance price, fall 2023 | |
| 49% | |
| Median GMAT rating, fall 2023 entrants | |
| 665 | |
| Yield, 2023–24 | |
| 45 | |
| Common undergraduate GPA, 2023–24 entrants | |
| 3.45 | |
| Commencement price, 2020–23 | |
| 93% | |
| Retention price, 2022–23 | |
| 94% | |
| Job placement price (3 mo. after commencement) | |
| 84% | |
| Median base wage (3 mo. after commencement) | |
| $118,000 | |
| Fortune 1000 rating | |
| 8 | |
What makes the perfect MBA packages the perfect?
Holistically-speaking, the perfect MBA program prepares college students for the enterprise world of right this moment and tomorrow by way of a contemporary lens. College students develop into the perfect at drawback fixing, crucial pondering, and making data-driven selections. Having an industry-experienced school and a constantly-evolving curriculum are paramount.
Wanting extra quantitatively, the perfect packages are extremely wanted, and thus college students enter with aggressive utility supplies, together with a number of years {of professional} work expertise, respectable undergraduate GPA, and excessive GMAT or GRE scores. Due to the rising prices of upper schooling, Fortune additionally weighs excessive tuition negatively. As soon as in this system, distinctive retention and commencement charges are key. Lastly, after commencement, success is indicated by the power to land jobs with high-paying salaries.
The M7 faculties typically verify all of those containers. Take Northwestern College (Kellogg), for instance. Entrants had median GMAT scores of 740 and common undergraduate GPAs of three.7. Retention and commencement charges are each above 99%. Three months post-grad, about 92% of scholars looking for a job had been in a position to land one—with median salaries of $175,000.
Fortune additionally closely elements distinctive information from our lists of the most important firms within the nation.
This partially has helped some packages soar within the rating. Washington College in St. Louis (Olin) is a evident instance. The college’s MBA program is the alma mater to 19 Fortune 1000 CEOs and CFOs.
“I’m proud of the momentum here at Olin and honestly not surprised that an outsized share of our students make it to the C-Suite. At Olin, we’re a tight-knit, hyper-connected community: We have the unique ability to provide a truly individualized educational experience,” Mike Mazzeo, dean of the Olin Enterprise Faculty, tells Fortune.
The college’s school, alumni community, and regional enterprise neighborhood contribute closely to college students’ success at Olin, he provides.
“College students select Olin as a result of they know our method makes them prepared on day 1 and poised for profession 6,” Mazzeo says.
WashU skilled the most important soar of any faculty this 12 months, rising 18 spots to No. 21.
Sleeper MBA packages with tales to inform
Specialists will remind candidates to not overlook to take a look at packages that usually fall exterior of the highest of the highest within the rankings since they typically have very related statistics when it comes to outcomes, however could also be barely much less aggressive and costly.
Take, for instance, the College of Texas–Austin (McCombs). Fortune deemed them to be the No. 12 greatest MBA program (a rise of 5 positions from final 12 months). The price of tuition per 12 months is about $60,000—which is sort of $20,000 cheaper than lots of the high 20 packages. And guess what, their college students have nearly an identical job land price and wage outcomes because the M7.
Georgia Tech (Scheller), the No. 19 greatest MBA program, has the same story to inform. Graduates usually see median annual salaries of $165,000, and the tutoring is simply $42,790 per 12 months. Plus, the college doesn’t require college students to submit GMAT/GRE scores to use.
One of many universities that could be a good larger bang-for-your buck—so long as you might be prepared to reside in Utah—is Brigham Younger College. The college was ranked No. 37 for 2025, however the tuition per 12 months for college kids is simply about $15,500. That’s vital particularly contemplating graduates go away this system with about $120,000 in median base wage.
The 5 least expensive MBA packages
| Faculty | 2025 rank | Approximate tuition per 12 months, out of state U.S. residents |
|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Tech College | 85 | $9,537 |
| Missouri State College | 97 | $13,608 |
| Brigham Younger College (Marriott) | 37 | $15,528 |
| Indiana State College (Scott) | 60 | $16,362 |
| Troy College (Sorrell) | 65 | $17,100 |
| The 5 least expensive MBA packages | ||
|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Tech College | ||
| 85 | ||
| $9,537 | ||
| Missouri State College | ||
| 97 | ||
| $13,608 | ||
| Brigham Younger College (Marriott) | ||
| 37 | ||
| $15,528 | ||
| Indiana State College (Scott) | ||
| 60 | ||
| $16,362 | ||
| Troy College (Sorrell) | ||
| 65 | ||
| $17,100 | ||
The 5 best high MBA packages to get into
Should you’re trying to go to a high MBA program, however are apprehensive about getting accepted, then the proportion of candidates receiving a suggestion is probably going high of your thoughts. Among the many high 25 packages, the College of Washington (Foster) has the best acceptance price.
| Faculty | 2025 rank | Acceptance price |
|---|---|---|
| College of Washington (Foster) | 25 | 41.60% |
| UCLA (Anderson) | 23 | 40.42% |
| Vanderbilt College (Owen) | 20 | 40.00% |
| Dartmouth Faculty (Tuck) | 13 | 40.00% |
| College of Virginia (Darden) | 11 | 39.40% |
| The 5 best high MBA packages to get into | ||
|---|---|---|
| College of Washington (Foster) | ||
| 25 | ||
| 41.60% | ||
| UCLA (Anderson) | ||
| 23 | ||
| 40.42% | ||
| Vanderbilt College (Owen) | ||
| 20 | ||
| 40.00% | ||
| Dartmouth Faculty (Tuck) | ||
| 13 | ||
| 40.00% | ||
| College of Virginia (Darden) | ||
| 11 | ||
| 39.40% | ||
How does the rating really work?
We would be the first to say that the rankings world just isn’t good. Annually, faculties will likely be completely satisfied in the event that they rose, and pissed off in the event that they declined. Nonetheless, we hope to only present candidates a glimpse into how faculties evaluate to one another with metrics we really feel greatest measure success.
Fortune’s rating is predicated on an opt-in course of, which means solely faculties that reply to Fortune’s invitation and submit a response to our information questionnaire have the power to be included. That is performed with the intention to decide packages with probably the most constant, constant, and across-the-board information metrics. Whereas many colleges launch information about their candidates and graduates, specifics typically differ from faculty to highschool.
Fortune reached out to greater than 200 faculties this 12 months, and near 100 selected to take part. Some faculties that usually seem on Fortune’s rankings, reminiscent of Georgetown College, Babson Faculty, and Marquette College, determined to not take part this time. We hope to see them again subsequent 12 months.
There have been additionally a number of new-comers to our record this 12 months, together with College of Georgia (Terry), San Jose College State College (Lucas), and Troy College (Sorrell).
With a revised methodology in addition to totally different faculties, there may be certain for rating change. The largest rating risers had been:
- Washington College in St. Louis (Olin): No. 21 (+18)
- College of Tennessee-Knoxville (Haslam): No. 36 (+16)
- Southern Methodist College (Cox): No. 30 (+13)
- College of Massachusetts–Amherst (Isenberg): No. 41 (+13)
The largest decreases had been:
- Indiana State College (Scott): No. 60 (-35)
- College of San Diego (Knauss): No. 87 (-29)
- CUNY Bernard M. Baruch Faculty (Zicklin): No. 76 (-29)
- College of Denver (Daniels): No. 83 (-28)
Nonetheless, in the end, whereas rating might be necessary, it isn’t an end-all-be-all evaluation of 1 faculty. It ought to merely current potential candidates a common thought of the extent of status one faculty could also be on par with—and the place they could take their profession.
Harvard Enterprise Faculty declined to remark for this piece.
Try all of Fortune’s rankings of diploma packages, and study extra about particular profession paths.
