MBA Acceptance Rates 2026
Selectivity, GMAT median, class size, and rank for 150 MBA programs. Sort, filter, compare.
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| School | Accept % | GMAT | GPA | Class Size | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford GSB Stanford, CA |
6.9% | 738 | 3.75 | 436 | #1 |
| Harvard Business School Boston, MA |
11% | 740 | 3.73 | 938 | #2 |
| MIT Sloan Cambridge, MA |
12% | 730 | 3.58 | 480 | #7 |
| Berkeley Haas Berkeley, CA |
12% | 726 | 3.65 | 300 | #8 |
| Columbia Business School New York, NY |
15% | 729 | 3.6 | 850 | #6 |
| Yale SOM New Haven, CT |
17% | 720 | 3.7 | 350 | #9 |
| Wharton Philadelphia, PA |
18% | 733 | 3.6 | 915 | #3 |
| Kellogg Evanston, IL |
20% | 727 | 3.6 | 500 | #5 |
| Booth Chicago, IL |
21% | 730 | 3.6 | 600 | #4 |
| Duke Fuqua Durham, NC |
22% | 720 | 3.55 | 450 | #11 |
| Dartmouth Tuck Hanover, NH |
22% | 722 | 3.55 | 290 | #13 |
| NYU Stern New York, NY |
23% | 723 | 3.55 | 400 | #10 |
| Michigan Ross Ann Arbor, MI |
24% | 720 | 3.5 | 450 | #12 |
| Virginia Darden Charlottesville, VA |
24% | 718 | 3.5 | 350 | #14 |
| UCLA Anderson Los Angeles, CA |
25% | 714 | 3.5 | 360 | #16 |
| Cornell Johnson Ithaca, NY |
27% | 710 | 3.45 | 300 | #15 |
| USC Marshall Los Angeles, CA |
27% | 710 | 3.45 | 240 | #17 |
| Carnegie Mellon Tepper Pittsburgh, PA |
28% | 710 | 3.45 | 200 | #18 |
| Emory Goizueta Atlanta, GA |
28% | 705 | 3.4 | 180 | #21 |
| Washington Foster Seattle, WA |
28% | 710 | 3.45 | 140 | #23 |
| Georgia Tech Scheller Atlanta, GA |
28% | 695 | 3.35 | 100 | #26 |
| Rice Jones Houston, TX |
28% | 705 | 3.4 | 130 | #28 |
| UNC Kenan-Flagler Chapel Hill, NC |
30% | 705 | 3.4 | 300 | #19 |
| Texas McCombs Austin, TX |
30% | 705 | 3.4 | 260 | #25 |
| WashU Olin St. Louis, MO |
30% | 700 | 3.45 | 160 | #27 |
| UMass Isenberg Amherst, MA |
30% | 648 | 3.44 | 42 | #70 |
| Arizona Eller Tucson, AZ |
31% | 673 | 3.43 | 28 | #63 |
| Vanderbilt Owen Nashville, TN |
32% | 700 | 3.35 | 180 | #22 |
| Notre Dame Mendoza Notre Dame, IN |
32% | 695 | 3.35 | 110 | #29 |
| UC Irvine Merage Irvine, CA |
32% | 660 | 3.46 | 55 | #52 |
| Rutgers Newark, NJ |
34% | 664 | 3.26 | 95 | #55 |
| Georgetown McDonough Washington, DC |
35% | 700 | 3.4 | 260 | #20 |
| Indiana Kelley Bloomington, IN |
35% | 690 | 3.35 | 200 | #24 |
| Wisconsin Madison, WI |
35% | 690 | 3.3 | 120 | #30 |
| Arizona State Carey Tempe, AZ |
35% | 688 | 3.3 | 120 | #31 |
| BU Questrom Boston, MA |
35% | 690 | 3.3 | 150 | #32 |
| Ohio State Fisher Columbus, OH |
35% | 690 | 3.35 | 110 | #34 |
| Florida Warrington Gainesville, FL |
35% | 690 | 3.4 | 120 | #43 |
| Minnesota Carlson Minneapolis, MN |
38% | 685 | 3.3 | 100 | #33 |
| UC Davis Davis, CA |
38% | 685 | 3.3 | 80 | #36 |
| Maryland Smith College Park, MD |
38% | 685 | 3.3 | 120 | #37 |
| BYU Marriott Provo, UT |
38% | 685 | 3.45 | 120 | #39 |
| Illinois Gies Champaign, IL |
38% | 680 | 3.35 | 100 | #44 |
| Wake Forest Winston-Salem, NC |
38% | 685 | 3.35 | 90 | #45 |
| Pitt Katz Pittsburgh, PA |
38% | 645 | 3.39 | 58 | #54 |
| Miami Herbert Coral Gables, FL |
38% | 640 | 3.54 | 38 | #59 |
| Purdue Krannert West Lafayette, IN |
40% | 680 | 3.25 | 90 | #35 |
| Penn State Smeal University Park, PA |
40% | 680 | 3.25 | 80 | #38 |
| Michigan State Broad East Lansing, MI |
40% | 680 | 3.25 | 80 | #41 |
| Rochester Simon Rochester, NY |
40% | 680 | 3.3 | 100 | #42 |
| SMU Cox Dallas, TX |
40% | 680 | 3.35 | 120 | #46 |
| Boston College Carroll Chestnut Hill, MA |
40% | 680 | 3.3 | 100 | #49 |
| South Florida (Muma) Tampa, FL |
40% | 577 | 3.4 | 55 | #103 |
| UGA Terry Athens, GA |
41% | 641 | 3.5 | 78 | #51 |
| Tulane Freeman New Orleans, LA |
42% | 680 | 3.25 | 90 | #47 |
| George Washington Washington, DC |
42% | 675 | 3.25 | 100 | #48 |
| Northeastern Boston, MA |
42% | 675 | 3.25 | 80 | #50 |
| Howard Washington, DC |
42% | 615 | 3.3 | 50 | #81 |
| Babson Olin Wellesley, MA |
45% | 675 | 3.2 | 100 | #40 |
| Texas A&M Mays College Station, TX |
45% | 660 | 3.24 | 80 | #53 |
| Tennessee Haslam Knoxville, TN |
45% | 635 | 3.4 | 60 | #74 |
| Drexel LeBow Philadelphia, PA |
45% | 600 | 3.2 | 30 | #88 |
| DePaul Kellstadt Chicago, IL |
46% | 580 | 3.3 | 28 | #92 |
| SDSU Fowler San Diego, CA |
47% | 621 | 3.42 | 50 | #93 |
| Fordham Gabelli New York, NY |
48% | 630 | 3.2 | 106 | #58 |
| NC State Jenkins Raleigh, NC |
48% | 609 | 3.39 | 47 | #76 |
| Syracuse Whitman Syracuse, NY |
48% | 630 | 3.4 | 60 | #98 |
| UCSD Rady La Jolla, CA |
49% | 645 | 3.37 | 36 | #64 |
| Temple Fox Philadelphia, PA |
50% | 622 | 3.35 | 56 | #57 |
| Case Western Weatherhead Cleveland, OH |
50% | 640 | 3.3 | 65 | #65 |
| Auburn Harbert Auburn, AL |
50% | 598 | 3.4 | 55 | #68 |
| Cincinnati Lindner Cincinnati, OH |
50% | 633 | 3.44 | 55 | #69 |
| TCU Neeley Fort Worth, TX |
50% | 617 | 3.36 | 45 | #86 |
| Utah Eccles Salt Lake City, UT |
50% | 651 | 3.49 | 55 | #87 |
| Baylor Hankamer Waco, TX |
53% | 624 | 3.43 | 47 | #56 |
| Baruch Zicklin New York, NY |
54% | 637 | 3.21 | 72 | #61 |
| Chapman Argyros Orange, CA |
54% | 623 | 3.4 | 55 | #71 |
| FIU (Chapman) Miami, FL |
54% | 588 | 3.4 | 52 | #108 |
| Colorado Leeds Boulder, CO |
55% | 610 | 3.3 | 60 | #60 |
| William & Mary Mason Williamsburg, VA |
55% | 620 | 3.3 | 110 | #62 |
| South Carolina Moore Columbia, SC |
55% | 656 | 3.3 | 48 | #66 |
| Kansas Lawrence, KS |
55% | 630 | 3.32 | 53 | #67 |
| Stevens Hoboken, NJ |
55% | 620 | 3.15 | 50 | #73 |
| Bentley Waltham, MA |
55% | 620 | 3.4 | 45 | #77 |
| Iowa Tippie Iowa City, IA |
55% | 650 | 3.5 | 65 | #78 |
| Loyola Marymount Los Angeles, CA |
55% | 580 | 3.3 | 29 | #96 |
| American Kogod Washington, DC |
55% | 600 | 3.3 | 45 | #100 |
| Kennesaw State (Coles) Kennesaw, GA |
55% | 540 | 3.3 | 97 | #104 |
| UCF Orlando, FL |
55% | 550 | 3.5 | 33 | #111 |
| Chapman (Argyros) Orange, CA |
55% | 630 | 3.3 | 28 | #127 |
| Portland State Portland, OR |
56% | 580 | 3.3 | 35 | #119 |
| Oregon Lundquist Eugene, OR |
58% | 610 | 3.37 | 55 | #82 |
| Louisville Louisville, KY |
58% | 616 | 3.4 | 30 | #114 |
| Loyola Chicago (Quinlan) Chicago, IL |
59% | 590 | 3.3 | 40 | #107 |
| Pepperdine Graziadio Malibu, CA |
60% | 615 | 3.26 | 57 | #72 |
| Kentucky Gatton Lexington, KY |
60% | 634 | 3.5 | 55 | #75 |
| Clemson Clemson, SC |
60% | 580 | 3.3 | 35 | #89 |
| UNLV (Lee) Las Vegas, NV |
60% | 600 | 3.4 | 40 | #123 |
| SJSU (Lucas) San Jose, CA |
60% | 587 | 3.3 | 40 | #128 |
| Alabama Manderson Tuscaloosa, AL |
63% | 652 | 3.7 | 50 | #84 |
| Arkansas Walton Fayetteville, AR |
64% | 580 | 3.65 | 32 | #85 |
| Denver Daniels Denver, CO |
65% | 616 | 3.23 | 40 | #83 |
| UIC Liautaud Chicago, IL |
65% | 600 | 3.3 | 60 | #90 |
| Xavier Williams Cincinnati, OH |
65% | 600 | 3.3 | 32 | #94 |
| JMU Harrisonburg, VA |
65% | 568 | 3.4 | 72 | #110 |
| Suffolk (Sawyer) Boston, MA |
65% | 520 | 3.2 | 35 | #113 |
| Fairfield (Dolan) Fairfield, CT |
65% | 590 | 3.3 | 30 | #117 |
| Seton Hall (Stillman) South Orange, NJ |
65% | 570 | 3.2 | 40 | #122 |
| Memphis (Fogelman) Memphis, TN |
65% | 570 | 3.3 | 35 | #124 |
| North Texas (Ryan) Denton, TX |
65% | 540 | 3.3 | 50 | #129 |
| San Francisco (USF) San Francisco, CA |
65% | 617 | 3.3 | 30 | #131 |
| Hawaii (Shidler) Honolulu, HI |
65% | 539 | 3.3 | 35 | #137 |
| Belmont (Massey) Nashville, TN |
65% | 532 | 3.4 | 30 | #142 |
| SUNY Buffalo Buffalo, NY |
66% | 599 | 3.39 | 60 | #79 |
| San Diego (Knauss) San Diego, CA |
67% | 586 | 3.1 | 35 | #99 |
| Mississippi State Starkville, MS |
67% | 538 | 3.64 | 22 | #130 |
| Missouri Trulaske Columbia, MO |
68% | 621 | 3.59 | 42 | #91 |
| UNC Wilmington (Cameron) Wilmington, NC |
68% | 545 | 3.3 | 35 | #148 |
| Marquette Milwaukee, WI |
69% | 570 | 3.4 | 30 | #95 |
| RIT (Saunders) Rochester, NY |
69% | 580 | 3.3 | 40 | #101 |
| Quinnipiac Hamden, CT |
69% | 537 | 3.3 | 40 | #106 |
| Kent State (Crawford) Kent, OH |
69% | 540 | 3.3 | 40 | #118 |
| FAU Boca Raton, FL |
69% | 565 | 3.18 | 45 | #136 |
| SLU (Chaifetz) St. Louis, MO |
70% | 568 | 3.3 | 30 | #120 |
| Northern Illinois DeKalb, IL |
70% | 550 | 3.3 | 40 | #125 |
| Elon (Love) Elon, NC |
70% | 581 | 3.3 | 30 | #133 |
| UTSA (Alvarez) San Antonio, TX |
70% | 520 | 3.3 | 55 | #134 |
| Ole Miss Oxford, MS |
70% | 532 | 3.4 | 35 | #140 |
| Appalachian State (Walker) Boone, NC |
70% | 540 | 3.3 | 30 | #141 |
| Stevens Hoboken, NJ |
71% | 620 | 3.3 | 45 | #109 |
| Creighton Heider Omaha, NE |
72% | 560 | 3.3 | 35 | #97 |
| Duquesne (Palumbo-Donahue) Pittsburgh, PA |
72% | 530 | 3.3 | 35 | #105 |
| Oklahoma Price Norman, OK |
73% | 604 | 3.31 | 25 | #80 |
| UAB (Collat) Birmingham, AL |
75% | 521 | 3.3 | 35 | #115 |
| Gonzaga Spokane, WA |
75% | 540 | 3.3 | 30 | #116 |
| Hofstra (Zarb) Hempstead, NY |
75% | 588 | 3.2 | 35 | #121 |
| Dayton Dayton, OH |
75% | 542 | 3.3 | 30 | #126 |
| Mercer (Stetson) Atlanta, GA |
75% | 516 | 3.2 | 25 | #132 |
| Montana Missoula, MT |
75% | 543 | 3.3 | 30 | #144 |
| Iona (LaPenta) New Rochelle, NY |
78% | 520 | 3.2 | 30 | #149 |
| Clarkson (Reh) Potsdam, NY |
79% | 566 | 3.3 | 30 | #147 |
| Kansas State Manhattan, KS |
80% | 540 | 3.44 | 53 | #135 |
| SUNY New Paltz New Paltz, NY |
80% | 526 | 3.4 | 30 | #145 |
| Chatham Pittsburgh, PA |
80% | 500 | 3.2 | 25 | #146 |
| Scranton (Kania) Scranton, PA |
82% | 510 | 3.2 | 25 | #150 |
| WVU (Chambers) Morgantown, WV |
83% | 530 | 3.38 | 39 | #139 |
| Clark Worcester, MA |
83% | 576 | 3.2 | 30 | #143 |
| Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI |
85% | 565 | 3.2 | 30 | #102 |
| Old Dominion (Strome) Norfolk, VA |
85% | 540 | 3.2 | 30 | #138 |
| New Hampshire (Paul) Durham, NH |
90% | 560 | 3.3 | 30 | #112 |
The five most selective MBA programs
- Stanford GSB at 6.9% (GMAT median 738)
- Harvard Business School at 11% (GMAT median 740)
- MIT Sloan at 12% (GMAT median 730)
- Berkeley Haas at 12% (GMAT median 726)
- Columbia Business School at 15% (GMAT median 729)
Stanford has held the top spot for over a decade. Harvard and MIT Sloan trade positions year to year. The single-digit rates at these programs reflect application volume more than program superiority. Stanford GSB receives over 7,000 applications for roughly 430 seats. Even strong candidates get rejected because the funnel is unforgiving.
The acceptance rate mistake most applicants make
Sorting your school list by acceptance rate produces a worse decision than sorting by fit. A 12% acceptance rate at Berkeley Haas doesn't mean Haas is harder than a 25% acceptance rate at Booth. Haas has a smaller class, a more specific cultural fit, and a different recruiting volume. Booth's looser rate reflects a larger class that can absorb more admits without dropping the median GMAT.
Optimizing for low acceptance rate also leads applicants to chase prestige rather than fit. The post-MBA result is a graduate at a name-brand school whose career goals don't align with that school's strengths. The honest move: identify the 6-8 schools where your goals, learning style, and cultural fit map to the program. Worry about acceptance rate second.
Round 1 vs Round 3: the hidden gap
Published acceptance rates blend all rounds together. The reality: Round 1 admissions runs dramatically more favorably than Round 3 at every top school. A school publishing a 20% overall rate may admit 28% in Round 1, 18% in Round 2, and 6% in Round 3.
If you're targeting a school with a 15% published rate, that's not your real number. Your real number depends on which round you apply, your applicant pool's strength, and how full the class is by the time you submit. Apply Round 1 if you can. The rate gap is worth the urgency.
What's the average MBA acceptance rate?
Across the 150 programs we track, acceptance rates range from 6.9% at the most selective schools to over 80% at the least selective. The median is 54%. Top-7 programs cluster between 7% and 25%; top-25 programs sit between 15% and 40%.
Which MBA program has the lowest acceptance rate?
Stanford GSB at 6.9% leads the list. Stanford GSB has been the hardest M7 program for years; rates can swing year to year, but Stanford has stayed under 10% since the early 2010s.
Why are MBA acceptance rates so different across schools?
Acceptance rate is mostly a function of brand strength and class size. M7 programs receive 6-12 applications per seat. Mid-tier programs get 3-5 applications per seat. Regional programs get 1-2. Acceptance rate alone doesn't tell you about program quality; it tells you about applicant volume relative to capacity.
Does acceptance rate predict difficulty of admission?
Loosely. A 10% acceptance rate means a more competitive applicant pool, which raises the implicit bar on every dimension (GMAT, GPA, work experience, essays). But two schools with identical acceptance rates can have very different admissions criteria. Look at the median GMAT and GPA, not just the rate.
How do MBA acceptance rates change between rounds?
Significantly. Round 1 acceptance rates run dramatically higher than Round 3 at every top school. The aggregate published rate flattens this. If you're applying Round 3 to a top-25 program, your effective acceptance rate is closer to the 5-10% range, regardless of what the school publishes.