Are the days of wine and roses for business school application numbers on their way back? At the top ranked business schools, the answer is a cautious yes. Bloomberg Businessweek reported earlier this month that half of the top ten bschools saw an increase in applications this cycle, with three of them seeing double-digit gains.
While this may not represent a big sea change, it does signal that something is afoot. Last fall, as the article explains, the Graduate Management Admission Council, the makers of the GMAT, found that about two-thirds of full-time MBA programs experienced a drop in applications for the 2012 admission cycle, many of many of them top-ranked.
Some the schools that have seen the biggest increase in applications include:
- Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management: 12%
– University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business: 11%
– University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business: 10%
– Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management: 9%
– University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business: 8%
According to the dean at Booth’s program, the larger applicant pool will help her school diversify better by admitting more women and international students. She also says the quality of applicants has improved. The dean at Cornell’s business school echoed those sentiments, in the article. “We’re seeing some really good folks that employers are looking to hire who have some real depth to their résumés.”
What does this mean for the students you advise? Competition to get into America’s top business school will always be competitive. It’s never going to be significantly easier because applications fluctuate a few points downward, though it may get harder when applications actually increase, as admissions officers are reporting. That said, every future applicant should apply when it best meets their personal schedules and career goals. Applying primarily based on changing application numbers is a bit like playing the odds in Vegas – and that doesn’t always turn out well.
