If you’ve ever wanted to get your MBA—this is a great week to get started on the journey, in part thanks to the release of Fortune’s latest ranking of the best MBA programs for 2025.
The highly competitive ranking process saw that many of the top schools retain their clout—with Harvard Business School, University of Chicago (Booth), and Northwestern University (Kellogg) landing the coveted top three spots, respectively.
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| School | 2021–22 rank | 2022–23 rank | 2023–24 rank | 2025 rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard Business School | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| University of Chicago (Booth) | 4 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Northwestern University (Kellogg) | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Columbia Business School | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| The top 5 MBA programs in the U.S. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard Business School | ||||
| 1 | ||||
| 1 | ||||
| 1 | ||||
| 1 | ||||
| University of Chicago (Booth) | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 7 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| Northwestern University (Kellogg) | ||||
| 5 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 5 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| Columbia Business School | ||||
| 6 | ||||
| 6 | ||||
| 6 | ||||
| 5 | ||||
But there’s much more to meet the eye than the initial data shows. Each program is unique, and for many students, any ranking is just part of the decision-making process to figure out where is best for their own education and career goals.
Fortune used nearly a dozen different data points to gauge 98 MBA programs across the country. For context, these are the averages among all the programs:
| Metric | Average |
|---|---|
| Approximate tuition per year, out-of-state U.S. residents | $52,650 |
| Acceptance rate, fall 2023 | 49% |
| Median GMAT score, fall 2023 entrants | 665 |
| Yield, 2023–24 | 45 |
| Average undergraduate GPA, 2023–24 entrants | 3.45 |
| Graduation rate, 2020–23 | 93% |
| Retention rate, 2022–23 | 94% |
| Job placement rate (3 mo. after graduation) | 84% |
| Median base salary (3 mo. after graduation) | $118,000 |
| Fortune 1000 score | 8 |
