The full-time MBA program landscape in the U.S. is filled with surprises, with Stanford and Wharton surpassing last year’s winner, Chicago Booth, to claim the top spots. Unexpectedly, Columbia Business School, Duke Fuqua, and Michigan Ross did not secure positions in the Top Ten rankings.
Throughout the rankings, approximately one in four schools experienced significant shifts, showcasing a plethora of surprises. These surprises extend beyond the mere numerical rankings assigned by U.S. News and delve into the extensive data accompanying the list, including crucial metrics like current salary-and-bonus figures and placement rates that influence a school’s position in the hierarchy.
Delving into the primary takeaways, here are the top ten surprises from this year’s U.S. News MBA ranking:
Harvard Business School
#5… seriously?
Last year’s U.S. News ranking prompted a raised eyebrow from Poet&Quants. The perennial battle for supremacy among Stanford, Wharton, and Harvard seemed disrupted, with unexpected shifts in the rankings. While Chicago Booth and Northwestern Kellogg are esteemed institutions, the dominance of the ‘Big Three’ historically prevailed, symbolizing prestige and influence in grooming future business leaders.
However, the previous year’s rankings painted a different picture. Stanford GSB landed in 6th place, domestically, while the Wharton School slipped to 3rd. To add to the astonishment, Harvard Business School was not even crowned the top graduate business program in the Boston metropolitan area. In response, U.S. News altered its methodology to yield a more credible outcome. By amplifying the significance of salaries, U.S. News aimed to elevate GSB’s standing, given its track record of producing highly compensated MBA graduates. Simultaneously, by diminishing the weightage of placement rates, the publication sought to rectify any bias against Stanford and Harvard MBA alumni, known for their discerning choices.
Consequently, U.S. News inadvertently created a scenario akin to a cartoon face-off between Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. Fueled by salary data, Stanford GSB catapulted to the pinnacle of the 2024-2025 rankings, while Harvard faced a setback, sliding to 6th place.
The narrative surrounding Harvard reflects a blend of accolades and challenges. Despite lagging in rankings, the institution remains a financial powerhouse, surpassing $1 billion in total revenues for the first time in its history, attributed to program expansions and increased MBA enrollments.
While over half of Harvard’s students receive scholarships averaging \(46,000 annually, the school faces hurdles in securing employer sponsorships. This year, HBS graduates reported an average starting pay and bonus of \)193,201, trailing behind 11 peer institutions. Moreover, this figure marked a decline from the previous year’s $198,180 earnings. Paradoxically, HBS excelled in the recruiter survey, indicating strong employer confidence in its graduates.
Salary reporting poses a challenge for Harvard, with a low participation rate in salary and sign-on bonus disclosures compared to peer schools. This disparity raises questions about the accuracy of reported earnings and its impact on rankings. Despite ranking 12th in Average Pay and Bonus, Harvard clinched the 3rd spot in the new Salary by Profession metric, constituting 10% of the ranking—a discrepancy warranting scrutiny.
While graduation and placement metrics’ weights were reduced, they still influence 20% of the ranking. Harvard ranks unfavorably in placement metrics among the top 25 MBA programs, underscoring the need to enhance salary data reporting to align with its stellar performance in other areas. Despite methodological challenges, Harvard Business School must address these discrepancies to bolster its standing in the rankings.