Along with required work experience and undergraduate prerequisites, prospective MBA students also look at the average scores on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) for a certain school they are interested in applying to.
According the Graduate Management Admission Council, the exam is used as part of the admissions process for more than 6,100 graduate programs around the world. A GMAC study found that 261,248 GMAT exams were taken by prospective MBA students during the 2016 test year. The report also shows that less than 30 percent of scores were 650 or higher. The GMAT has a maximum score of 800.
That’s a pretty low number: Among the 10 schools with the highest GMAT scores in the U.S., incoming full-time students for fall 2016 had an average score of 725. Of course, the most prestigious business school require the highest marks, as you’ll see below with this compiled list of schools with highest GMAT scores. The list was put together by U.S. News & World Report–the same folks behind the prestigious annual ranking of of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and Best Online Programs.
The schools ranked top half of the top 10 are as follows:
10. University of California—Berkeley (Haas) – 717
9. Dartmouth College (Tuck) (NH) – 717
8. Columbia University (NY) – 720
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) – 724
6. Yale University (CT) – 725
Here’s a deeper dive into the top five schools with the highest GMAT scores:
5. University of Chicago (Booth) – 726
Home to the nation’s first Executive MBA program, Chicago Booth is one of the premiere business schools in the country and offers full-time, Evening, Weekend and Executive MBA Programs.
The University of Chicago full-time program is comprised of 21 total classes, which are generally completed over the course of 21 months. Unlike many other cohort or team-based programs, the Booth MBA allows students the flexibility to schedule and prioritize their own course of study as long as they fulfill basic program curriculum requirements listed below.
Booth’s Executive MBA is a 21-month program where students take 17 courses together in a set format and complete Leadership Exploration and Development (LEAD). Students also select three to five elective courses to complete their individual course of study. The EMBA program has campuses in Chicago, London, and beginning in summer 2014, Hong Kong. The program begins in June and runs for 21 months, spanning seven academic quarters.
4. Northwestern University (Kellogg) (IL) – 728
Originally founded in 1908 as the Northwestern University School of Commerce part-time evening program, the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management was a founding member of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. Today, the school is ranked among the top graduate business school’s in the world.
Kellogg offers one-year full-time, two-year full-time, part-time and Executive MBA programs. The immersive two-year full-time MBA at Kellogg begins in September. Students must complete a minimum of 20.5 credit units over the six quarters they are enrolled. Meanwhile, the EMBA program has campuses in Evanston, IL as well as Miami, FL.
3. Harvard University (MA) – 729
Harvard Business School’s MBA program was established in 1908 making it one of the oldest MBA programs in the world. Along with its full-time MBA program, Harvard Business School offers eight doctoral programs and 80 executive education opportunities organized across topics including Entrepreneurship, Healthcare and General Management. For students looking for specialized program, the school’s dual degree options include a JD/MBA, an MD/MBA and a DMD/MBA, all offered in conjunction with other Harvard graduate schools. HBS also partners with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government to offer a Master of Public Policy/MBA and a Master of Public Administration-International Development/MBA.
2. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) – 730
Founded in 1881, Wharton was the first dedicated school of business at the college level in the United States. Today, the school enrolls 1,788 total students in its MBA program and 436 students in the MBA Program for Executives.
Wharton is cut and dry with its MBA offerings: There is a full-time MBA Program and an Executive MBA program. It also offers Certificate programs and a number of opportunities to pursue dual degrees. Among the joint degrees is the MBA/MA Lauder Joint Degree in International Studies, designed to prepare students for careers in international management.
1. Stanford University (CA) – 737
The Stanford Graduate School of Business was originally conceived to be the West Coast alternative to eastern business schools when the Executive Development Program offered its first classes to business managers in 1952. Today, Stanford offers only a full-time MBA Program.
Stanford’s MBA program is known for its small size and is also well recognized for its strengths in entrepreneurship and the tech industry thanks to its close proximity to Silicon Valley. The Class of 2017 is comprised of 407 total students out of nearly 8,000 applicants, which makes the average high GMAT scores even more astounding.
According to U.S. News, 471 business schools were surveyed to put together these rankings. Schools self-reported data regarding: academic programs, makeup of their student body, etc. While the data comes from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News‘ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and Best Online Programs.