Fortune ranked the best MBA programs for 2025: here’s what the data shows

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.

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:

What makes the best MBA programs the best?

Holistically-speaking, the best MBA program prepares students for the business world of today and tomorrow through a modern lens. Students become the best at problem solving, critical thinking, and making data-driven decisions. Having an industry-experienced faculty and a constantly-evolving curriculum are paramount.

Looking more quantitatively, the best programs are highly sought after, and thus students enter with competitive application materials, including multiple years of professional work experience, decent undergraduate GPA, and high GMAT or GRE scores. Because of the growing costs of higher education, Fortune also weighs high tuition negatively. Once in the program, exceptional retention and graduation rates are key. Finally, after graduation, success is indicated by the ability to land jobs with high-paying salaries.

The M7 schools often check all of these boxes. Take Northwestern University (Kellogg), for example. Entrants had median GMAT scores of 740 and average undergraduate GPAs of 3.7. Retention and graduation rates are both above 99%. Three months post-grad, about 92% of students seeking a job were able to land one—with median salaries of $175,000.

Fortune also heavily factors unique data from our lists of the biggest companies in the country.

This in part........

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