If you’re thinking about getting into a business career or finishing your MBA, you’re not alone. With COVID-19 wreaking havoc on our educational system and frantic professors attempting to deal with the change to online learning, many Universities are restricting enrollment in 2021.
For instance, Poets and Quants reported that Harvard Business School announced it would only accept 720 MBA candidates in the fall of 2020, down from the usual 940 candidates. With many out of work and looking for more careers, competition for the top business schools in 2021 is steadily increasing.
In addition to restricted enrollments, admission criteria are focused more on the applicant’s Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores than ever before. WIth stricter entrance guidelines and selection processes, the top business schools of 2021 are judged by the quality of instruction provided and the academic level of incoming students.
Based on GMAT scores and business programs offered, here are the business schools you’ll want to look into in 2021.
Top business schools in the United States in 2021
Many of these schools can be interchanged depending on the desired programs, but we have ordered the top schools based on programs offered, location, and graduate success rates.
1. University of Pennsylvania – Wharton (Philadelphia, PA)
The main fields of study at Wharton are:
- Accounting
- E-Commerce
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Ethics
- Finance
- General Management
- Health Care Administration
- Human Resources Management
- Insurance
- International Business Marketing
- Public Policy
- Real Estate
- Quantitative Analysis, Statistics, and Operations Research
Yearly Tuition: $74,500
Average GMAT Score: 732
Average Grade Point Average: 3.61
Acceptance Rate: 23.1%
2. Stanford University (Stanford,CA)
The main fields of study at Stanford are:
- Accounting
- E-Commerce
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Ethics
- Finance
- General Management
- Health Care Administration
- Human Resources Management
- Leadership
- Manufacturing and Technology Management
- Marketing
- Not-For-Profit Management
- Organizational Behavior
- Portfolio Management
- Public Administration
- Public Policy
- Real Estate
- Technology
- Sports Business
Yearly Tuition: $73,062
Average GMAT Score: 734
Average Grade Point Average: 3.70
Acceptance Rate: 6.9%
3. Harvard University (Boston, MA)
The main fields of study at Harvard are:
- Accounting
- Consulting
- E-Commerce
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Ethics
- Finance
- General Management
- Health Care Administration
- Human Resources Management
- International Business
- Leadership
- Manufacturing and Technology Management
- Marketing
- Not-For-Profit Management
- Portfolio Management
- Public Administration
- Public Policy
- Real Estate
- Sports Business
- Tax
- Technology
Yearly Tuition: $73,440
Average GMAT Score: 728
Average Grade Point Average: 3.70
Acceptance Rate: 11.5%
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Sloan (Camebridge, MA)
The main fields of study at Sloan are:
- Accounting
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance
- General Managment
- Health Care Administration
- Human Resources Managment
- Industrial Management
- International Business
- Leadership
- Manufacturing and Technology Management
- Marketing
- Tax
- Technology
- Organizational Behavior
Yearly Tuition: $77,168
Average GMAT Score: 727
Average Grade Point Average: 3.58
Acceptance Rate: 14.6%
5. University of Chicago – Booth (Chicago, IL)
The main fields of study at Booth are:
- Accounting
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance
- General Managment
- International Business
- Marketing
- Management Information Systems
- Production/Operations Management
- Orgazational Behavior
- Public Policy
- Quantitative Analysis/Statistics
- Operations Research
Yearly Tuition: $72,000
Average GMAT Score: 730
Average Grade Point Average: 3.58
Acceptance Rate: 24.2%
6. Columbia University (New York, NY)
The main fields of study at Columbia are:
- Accounting
- Consulting
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance
- General Managment
- Health Care Administration
- International Business
- Leadership
- Marking
- Not-For-Profit Managment
- Production/Operations Managment
- Portfolio Management
- Real Estate
- Quantitative Analysis/Statistics
- Technology
Yearly Tuition: $77,376
Average GMAT Score: 732
Average Grade Point Average: 3.60
Acceptance Rate: 16.4%
7. Northwestern University – Kellogg (Evanston, IL)
The main fields of study at Kellogg are:
- Accounting
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance
- General Managment
- Health Care Administration
- Leadership
- Marketing
- Not-For-Profit Management
- Production/Operations Management
- Orgazational Behavior
- Portfolio Management
- Public Administration
- Public Policy
- Real Estate
- Technology
Yearly Tuition: $73,404
Average GMAT Score: 730
Average Grade Point Average: 3.64
Acceptance Rate: 27.0%
*Information provided by Accepted and US News.
If you are have the available funds or are willing to take on a substantial amount of student debt, these top seven business schools are ranked as the top schools in the United States.
Even with the high tuition rates, there still seems to be a neverending supply of students eager to get into one of these prestigious schools.
