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The M7 By The Numbers, 2025 Edition: Who Gets In — And What That Says About The MBA Market
After three years of softness in MBA applications, the elite have roared back.
Applications to the M7 — the so-called “Magnificent Seven” of U.S. business schools — spiked sharply in the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, reversing a downward trend that had raised questions about the value proposition at even the most entrenched programs. The Class of 2026, now halfway to their degree, looks not only more competitive on paper than their immediate predecessors, but also more diverse and gender-balanced.
Across the M7 — Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, Chicago Booth School of Business, Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, and MIT Sloan School of Management — average GMAT scores and undergraduate GPAs held steady. Women now make up half or nearly half of the student body at most schools. And in the clearest sign yet that elite business education has reestablished its pull — even amid high interest rates, AI disruption, and job market uncertainty — acceptance rates at some of the M7 schools have dropped to pre-pandemic lows.
THE M7 BY THE NUMBERS: 2024 EDITION
| 2024 Data (2023) | Harvard | Wharton | Columbia | Booth | Kellogg | Stanford | MIT | 2024 Total/Average (2023) |
| Class Size | 930 (938) | 866 (874) | 972 (829) | 632 (637) | 524 (529) | 424 (431) | 433 (409) | 4,781/683 (4,647/663.9) |
| Acceptance Rate | 11.2% (13.2%) | 20.5% (24.8%) | 20.9% (22.4%) | 28.7% (32.6%) | 28.6% (33.3%) | 6.8% (8.4%) | 14.1% (17.8%) | 18.7% (21.8%) |
| Admits | 1,100 (1,076) | 1,498 (1,533) | 1,490 (1,215) | 1,470 (1,364) | 1,492 (1,439) | 498 (521) | 865 (947) | 8,413/1,201.9 (8,095/1,156.4) |
| Yield | 84.5% (87.2%) | 57.8% (57.0%) | 51.0% (56.2%) | 48.5% (48.2%) | 35.1% (36.8%) | 85.1% (82.7%) | 50.1% (43.2%) | 58.9% (58.8%) |
| Applications | 9,856 (8,149) | 7,322 (6,193) | 7,487 (5,430) | 5,125 (4,184) | 5,300 (4,316) | 7,295 (6,190) | 6,160 (5,317) | 48,545/6,935 (39,779/5,683) |
| Average GMAT | *740 (*740) | 732 (728) | 732 (730) | 729 (728) | 733 (731) | 738 (738) | *730 (*730) | 732.8 – 5 schools (731 – 5 schools) |
| Average GPA | 3.70 (3.73) | 3.70 (3.60) | 3.60 (3.50) | 3.60 (3.60) | 3.70 (3.70) | 3.80 (3.77) | *3.70 (*3.61) | 3.68 – 6 schools (3.65 – 6 schools) |
| Average GRE | *326 (*326) | 325 (324) | 324 (N/A) | 324 (325) | *325 (*326) | 327 (328) | N/A (N/A) | 325 – 4 schools (325.7 – 3 schools) |
| Women | 45% (45%) | 47% (50%) | 44% (44%) | 42% (42%) | 50% (48%) | 44% (46%) | 49% (46%) | 45.9% (45.9%) |
| International | 35% (39%) | 31% (31%) | 46% (47%) | 35% (36%) | 40% (39%) | 39% (36%) | 40% (40%) | 38% (38.3%) |
| US Students of Color | 50% (49%) | 35% (41%) | 44% (43%) | 55% (49%) | 32% (42%) | 53% (50%) | 50% (56%) | 45.6% (47.1%) |
*Median
Source: M7 business schools and P&Q analysis
APPLICATIONS SPIKE, ADMIT RATES FALL
The M7 collectively received 48,545 applications for the Class of 2026, a 22% jump over the previous cycle. Columbia Business School led the surge with a one-year 38% increase, thanks in part to its still-new Manhattanville campus and increased efforts to expand scholarship support. Wharton, Stanford, Booth, and Harvard also saw healthy double-digit gains, with Harvard topping 9,000 applications for the first time in three years.
All the M7 saw one-year app increases of between 16% and 38% in 2023-2024; five of the seven have seen their application totals grow from the 2017-2018 cycle, with increases between 10% to 24% (led by Columbia). The exceptions: Harvard, down 30 apps in that seven-year span, and Stanford, down just over 500.
Kellogg became the second M7 school to achieve gender parity in fall 2024, joining Wharton, while also reporting one of the highest application totals in its history. Stanford remained the most selective program in the group, with an estimated 6.8% admit rate. Harvard followed at roughly 11%. All seven schools reduced their acceptance rates, with Kellogg seeing the biggest drop, 4.7 percentage points to 28.6%. Collectively the admit rate at the M7 fell to 18.7% from 21.8%.
Admit totals ticked downward at three of the four schools: Wharton, Stanford, and MIT, while growing overall by about 4%. On the enrollment front, five of the seven schools reduced their class sizes from the previous intake, albeit by only a handful of seats, the exceptions being MIT Sloan’s 24-seat jump and Columbia’s big 143-seat increase.
M7 MBA APPLICATIONS THROUGH THE YEARS
| School | 2023-2024 Apps | 2022-2023 Apps | 2021-2022 Apps | 2020-2021 Apps | 2019-2020 Apps | 2018-2019 Apps | 2017-2018 Apps | 2-Year Application Trend | 7-Year Application Trend |
| Harvard | 9,856 | 8,149 | 8,264 | 9,773 | 9,304 | 9,228 | 9,886 | +1,707 (20.9%) | -30 (0.3%) |
| UPenn (Wharton) | 7,322 | 6,193 | 6,319 | 7,338 | 7,158 | 5,905 | 6,245 | +1,129 (18.2%) | +1,077 (17.2%) |
| Columbia | 7,487 | 5,430 | 5,643 | 6,535 | 6,971 | 5,876 | 6,029 | +2,057 (37.9%) | +1,458 (24.2%) |
| Chicago (Booth) | 5,125 | 4,184 | 4,352 | 5,037 | 4,909 | 4,433 | 4,289 | +941 (22.5%) | +836 (19.5%) |
| Northwestern (Kellogg) | 5,300 | 4,316 | 4,187 | 4,632 | 5,813 | 3,779 | 4,471 | +984 (22.8%) | +829 (18.5%) |
| Stanford GBS | 7,295 | 6,190 | 6,152 | 7,367 | 7,324 | 7,342 | 7,797 | +1,105 (17.9%) | -502 (6.4%) |
| MIT (Sloan) | 6,160 | 5,317 | 5,349 | 7,112 | 6,350 | 5,200 | 5,560 | +843 (15.9%) | +600 (10.8%) |
Source: M7 business schools and U.S. News
THE ACADEMIC BAR REMAINS HIGH
Despite the introduction of the Graduate Management Admission Test Focus Edition and a streamlined Graduate Record Exam and speculation that these might shake up the admissions process, the numbers tell a familiar story: You still need near-perfect credentials to break into an M7 MBA program.
All five schools that report GMAT averages saw increases or held steady in the class that enrolled in fall 2024, with Wharton getting the biggest boost, a 4-point jump to a class average of 732. The overall average for those five schools grew to 732.8 from 731. At Stanford, the average undergraduate GPA grew to a whopping 3.80, best among all schools, while it also grew at MIT (which reports a median score), Wharton, Columbia, and overall (see table above).
Graduate Record Exam scores, meanwhile, did not experience a major shakeup, dipping by a point (Verbal and Quant combined) at three schools and rising by a point at Wharton. Stanford led with a GRE total of 327, down a point from the previous year’s class, while Harvard’s median GRE of 326 was flat from the year before.
MBA CLASS SIZES AT THE M7: CLASSES OF 2022 TO 2026
| School | Class of 2026 Enrollment | Class of 2025 Enrollment | Class of 2024 Enrollment | Class of 2023 Enrollment | Class of 2022 Enrollment | 2-Year Change | 5-Year Change |
| Harvard | 930 | 938 | 1,015 | 1,010 | 732 | -8 | +198 |
| UPenn (Wharton) | 866 | 874 | 877 | 897 | 916 | -8 | -50 |
| Columbia | 972 | 829 | 844 | 847 | 782 | +143 | +190 |
| Chicago (Booth) | 632 | 637 | 621 | 620 | 621 | -5 | +11 |
| Northwestern (Kellogg) | 524 | 529 | 503 | 508 | 559 | -5 | -35 |
| Stanford GBS | 424 | 431 | 424 | 426 | 436 | -7 | -12 |
| MIT (Sloan) | 433 | 409 | 408 | 450 | 484 | +24 | -51 |
Source: M7 business schools
A STILL-DIVERSE MBA CLASSROOM
The Class of 2026 isn’t just academically strong; it also remains among the most diverse in M7 history.
At Stanford, 53% of incoming students self-identified as U.S. students of color, up from 50%. At Columbia, the share was 44%, up from 43%. Most M7 schools reported international student representation between 35% and 46% (the exception being Wharton at 31%, flat from the previous year), with Columbia once again topping the list.
Kellogg’s milestone of reaching 50% women, and MIT Sloan reaching the threshold of parity at 49%, were further signals of progress. Harvard, Columbia, and Booth all held steady in their women’s totals. The average across the M7 now sits at 45.9%, exactly what it was the previous year.
Four of the seven schools saw increases in U.S. students of color, meanwhile, but big drop-offs at the other three schools reduced the overall average to 45.6% from 47.1%.
TUITION & TOTAL COST AT THE M7
| School | Tuition 2025 | Tuition 2024 | Tuition 2023 | 2-Year Change | 3-Year Change |
| Harvard | $ 78,700 | $ 76,410 | $ 74,910 | 3.0% | 5.1% |
| Wharton | $ 87,970 | $ 84,830 | $ 87,370 | 3.7% | 0.7% |
| Columbia | $ 91,172 | $ 88,300 | $ 84,496 | 3.3% | 7.9% |
| Chicago (Booth) | $ 87,354 | $ 84,198 | $ 80,961 | 3.7% | 7.9% |
| Northwestern (Kellogg) | $ 86,370 | $ 83,610 | $ 81,015 | 3.3% | 6.6% |
| Stanford GBS | $ 85,755 | $ 82,455 | $ 79,860 | 4.0% | 7.4% |
| MIT (Sloan) | $ 89,000 | $ 86,550 | $ 84,200 | 2.8% | 5.7% |
| School | Total Cost 2025 | Total Cost 2024 | Total Cost 2023 | 2-Year Change | 3-Year Change |
| Harvard | $ 126,536 | $ 118,854 | $ 115,638 | 6.5% | 9.4% |
| Wharton | $ 132,404 | $ 127,716 | $ 124,476 | 3.7% | 6.4% |
| Columbia | $ 137,571 | $ 132,258 | $ 127,058 | 4.0% | 8.3% |
| Chicago (Booth) | $ 129,403 | $ 125,937 | $ 122,160 | 2.8% | 5.9% |
| Northwestern (Kellogg) | $ 128,852 | $ 125,191 | $ 120,432 | 2.9% | 7.0% |
| Stanford GBS | $ 135,771 | $ 130,746 | $ 126,465 | 3.8% | 7.4% |
| MIT (Sloan) | $ 138,310 | $ 126,744 | $ 109,180 | 9.1% | 26.7% |
| School | Estimated 2-Year Cost 2025 | Estimated 2-Year Cost 2024 | Estimated 2-Year Cost 2023 | 2-Year Change | 3-Year Change |
| Harvard | $ 245,390 | $ 234,492 | $ 227,944 | 4.6% | 7.7% |
| Wharton | $ 260,120 | $ 252,192 | $ 243,044 | 3.1% | 7.0% |
| Columbia | $ 269,829 | $ 259,316 | $ 249,518 | 4.1% | 8.1% |
| Chicago (Booth) | $ 255,340 | $ 248,097 | $ 237,622 | 2.9% | 7.5% |
| Northwestern (Kellogg) | $ 254,043 | $ 245,623 | $ 237,691 | 3.4% | 6.9% |
| Stanford GBS | $ 266,517 | $ 257,211 | $ 250,854 | 3.6% | 6.2% |
| MIT (Sloan) | $ 265,054 | $ 235,924 | $ 229,175 | 12.3% | 15.7% |
Source: M7 business schools and P&Q analysis
THE VALUE PROPOSITION STILL HOLDS
This year’s rebound comes with some nuance. Yes, applications are up. Yes, acceptance rates are down. But many of the forces that made MBA programs less appealing in recent years — uncertainty around ROI, hiring freezes in consulting and tech, rising tuition — haven’t disappeared. If anything, they’ve intensified.
At the M7 level, prestige still matters. And for the world’s most competitive applicants, an MBA from one of these schools is still a ticket to a powerful network and top-tier career options. 2025 employment data showing slower hiring and softer salary growth suggests a tougher road ahead (see the next page for details). But that hasn’t dulled interest at the top. And the schools know it, which is why tuition continues to rise at all seven schools (see above).
Tuition grew the most between 2023 and 2024 at Stanford, 4% to $85,755. Since 2022, however, Columbia and Booth have seen the highest rate of tuition growth — nearly 8%. CBS currently has the highest tuition among the M7, at more than $90K, while MIT has the highest one-year total cost at more than $138K. Estimating two-year cost by combining the total cost from 2024 and 2025, Columbia comes out as the most expensive MBA program (for single students), at a whopping $269,829.
SEE P&Q’S COVERAGE OF THE CLASS OF 2026 PROFILES OF THE M7:
CHICAGO BOOTH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
NORTHWESTERN KELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Next page: Pay, placement, and industry choices of the M7 MBA Class of 2024