2024 OMBA RANKING: Acceptance Rates At The Top Online MBA Programs
University of Washington’s Foster School of Business Hybrid MBA students gather this fall for one of its in-person immersions. The school placed second in our 2024 ranking of online MBA programs. Courtesy photo
At the start of the pandemic, as job and economic uncertainty left many scrambling to make sense of what came next, admission rates at many of the ranked online MBA programs rose – some by a significant amount. In other words, it was somewhat easier to get accepted to an online program in 2021 than it was in 2022.
Overall, ranked programs averaged a 70.63% admission rate in our 2020 ranking (which collected data from the 2019) while averaging 73% in 2021 (with data from 2020.) It’s not a huge difference, especially how acceptance rates rose enmasse in full-time MBA programs over the same period.
So, did acceptance rates rebound three years on? Not at all.
ARE ONLINE MBAs GETTING LESS SELECTIVE?
Overall, online MBA programs got harder to get into in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to data collected in our seventh ranking of online MBA programs.
But, only by a smidge. The average acceptance rate across all 51 programs in the ranking was 76.56% compared to 77.01% in 2022, a decrease of just 0.58%.
But, stretch that comparison over four years, and online MBA programs are, on average, considerably easier to access these days. Acceptance rates jumped 6% overall since 2020 when an average of 70.63% of candidates got in.
There are notable exceptions of course: Bryant University’s acceptance rate dropped from 96.3% in 2022 to 52.94% in 2022, a 45.03% change. Florida International University’s rate fell from 98.3% to 67% over the same period, a 31.84% change. Twenty-one of the 51 schools in our 2024 ranking reported decreased acceptance rates for 2023, meaning it was harder for candidates to get an invitation to enroll.
HARDEST AND EASIEST ONLINE MBA PROGRAMS TO GET INTO
Admission standards account for a third of our ranking of online MBA programs because we believe the quality of the cohort makes for a better learning environment for all students. A school’s admission rate counts for 20% of its overall admission standard score.
It’s not surprising, then, that the most selective schools are also among the most highly ranked.
Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, ranked No. 1 for the second straight year, was the hardest online MBA program on our list to get into with an acceptance rate of 28%. That’s down 19.08% from 2022 and down an astounding 58% from 2020 when it accepted 65.9% of students during the front end of the pandemic.
Jack Welch Management Institute, ranked No. 8, was the second most selective program at 30%. The online-only B-school founded in 2009 by the long-time chairman and CEO of General Electric topped this metric in last year’s ranking at 25%, a 20% jump to this year.
University of Southern California Marshall School of Business (ranked No. 9) and University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management (ranked No. 3) tied for third most selective at 46%.
Overall P&Q Rank | School | Acceptance Rate |
1 | Indiana University (Kelley) | 28.00% |
8 | Jack Welch Management Institute | 30.00% |
9 | University of Southern California (Marshall) | 46.00% |
3 | University of Texas at Dallas (Naveen Jindal) | 46.00% |
24 | Bryant University | 52.94% |
14 | University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | 54.70% |
15 | University of Florida (Warrington) | 56.00% |
5 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | 61.00% |
7 | University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) | 62.00% |
10 | Auburn University (Harbert) | 67.00% |
36 | Florida International University | 67.00% |
23 | University of South Florida (Muma) | 67.00% |
44 | San Jose State University (Lucas) | 68.00% |
Overall P&Q Rank | School | Acceptance Rate |
38 | Ohio University | 99.00% |
26 | Villanova University | 98.60% |
45 | SUNY Oswego | 97.00% |
22 | William & Mary (Mason) | 96.00% |
21 | University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium | 94.30% |
11 | Santa Clara University (Leavey) | 94.24% |
37 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 94.00% |
33 | Bowling Green State University | 93.00% |
18 | Hofstra University (Zarb) | 92.00% |
12 | University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) | 92.00% |
51 | Clemson University | 90.00% |
17 | University of Utah (Eccles) | 89.90% |
On the other end of the spectrum, Ohio University (ranked No. 38) had the least selective program of 2023 at 99%, up slightly from its 97.4% in 2022. It was followed by Villanova University School of Business at 98.6% and SUNY Oswego at 97%
Eleven programs, in fact, had acceptance rates of 90% or more, the same number as last year.
MORE SCHOOLS LOOSENING ADMISSION STANDARDS
Last year, 25 schools reported higher acceptance rates than the previous year. This year, 27 schools did. Standouts included University of Texas at Dallas (Naveen Jindal) with an acceptance rate of 46% in 2023 compared to 34.8% in 2022, a 32.18% increase. Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business reported an acceptance rate that was 23.78% higher than the year before at 85.41% compared to 69%.
Looking over a four-year period, 26 schools had higher acceptance rates, with an average increase of 22%. LeBow College of Business at Drexel University in Philadelphia had the largest four-year increase by miles, rising from 31.3% in 2020 to 77% in its latest cycle. That’s a 146% rise. The next closest was University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) which rose 39% in four years, from 66.3% to 92%.
The table below shows how acceptance rates have changed at all 51 ranked schools over the last four years.
P&Q Rank | School | 2023 Rate | 2022 Rate | 2021 Rate | 2020 Rate | 4-Year Change |
1 | Indiana University (Kelley) | 28.00% | 34.60% | 35.70% | 65.90% | -58% |
2 | University of Washington (Foster) | 73.00% | 75.20% | 76.50% | 82.80% | -12% |
3 | University of Texas at Dallas (Naveen Jindal) | 46.00% | 34.80% | 46.10% | 50.60% | -9% |
4 | University of Michigan (Ross) | 71.00% | 73.60% | NR | NA | NA |
5 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | 61.00% | 61.20% | 49.30% | 56.00% | 9% |
6 | Rice University (Jones) | 85.41% | 69.00% | 68.70% | NA | NA |
7 | University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) | 62.00% | 59.00% | 55.80% | 54.60% | 14% |
8 | Jack Welch Management Institute | 30.00% | 25.00% | 27.30% | 24.80% | 21% |
9 | University of Southern California (Marshall) | 46.00% | 43.70% | 26.00% | 64.90% | -29% |
10 | Auburn University (Harbert) | 67.00% | 59.50% | 61.70% | 67.20% | 0% |
11 | Santa Clara University (Leavey) | 94.24% | 93.80% | 91.30% | 98.00% | -4% |
12 | University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) | 92.00% | 92.10% | 92.40% | 66.30% | 39% |
13 | Baylor University (Hankamer) | 86.00% | 79.30% | 85.10% | 75.70% | 14% |
14 | University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | 54.70% | 58.90% | 53.70% | 60.70% | -10% |
15 | University of Florida (Warrington) | 56.00% | 45.70% | 61.30% | 63.60% | -12% |
16 | Lehigh University | 72.00% | 65.60% | 65.10% | 55.70% | 29% |
17 | University of Utah (Eccles) | 89.90% | 87.90% | 74.50% | 78.70% | 14% |
18 | Hofstra University (Zarb) | 92.00% | 91.70% | 94.00% | 83.50% | 10% |
19 | University of California, Davis | 76.00% | 67.30% | NR | NA | NA |
20 | Southern Methodist University (Cox) | 76.00% | 76.00% | NR | NA | NA |
21 | University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium | 94.30% | 96.70% | 82.80% | 92.60% | 2% |
22 | William & Mary (Mason) | 96.00% | 96.70% | 89.80% | 85.40% | 12% |
23 | University of South Florida (Muma) | 67.00% | 61.60% | 59.10% | 49.70% | 35% |
24 | Bryant University | 52.94% | 96.30% | 90.60% | NA | NA |
25 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 77.40% | 77.90% | 80.90% | 84.90% | -9% |
26 | Villanova University | 98.60% | 85.40% | 82.00% | 83.50% | 18% |
27 | North Carolina State University (Jenkins) | 74.03% | 70.00% | 57.50% | 70.70% | 5% |
28 | University of Michigan-Dearborn | 72.00% | 75.20% | 62.80% | 53.20% | 35% |
29 | Syracuse University (Whitman) | 86.00% | 83.10% | 81.60% | NA | NA |
30 | University of Denver (Daniels) | 77.50% | 75.20% | 77.30% | 79.80% | -3% |
31 | Washington State University | 85.00% | 81.90% | 81.90% | 78.80% | 8% |
32 | University of Maryland (Smith) | 86.00% | 91.10% | 85.20% | 70.20% | 23% |
33 | Bowling Green State University | 93.00% | NR | NR | NA | NA |
34 | University of Iowa (Tippie) | 88.00% | NR | NR | NA | NA |
35 | University of Cincinnati (Lindner) | 81.00% | 76.90% | 67.70% | 59.80% | 35% |
36 | Florida International University | 67.00% | 98.30% | 97.30% | 55.20% | 21% |
37 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 94.00% | 88.00% | 87.70% | 90.70% | 4% |
38 | Ohio University | 99.00% | 97.40% | 96.60% | 92.10% | 7% |
39 | Pepperdine University (Graziadio) | 83.92% | 81.70% | 85.60% | NA | NA |
40 | Creighton University | 83.00% | 84.40% | 87.50% | 85.90% | -3% |
41 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 76.00% | 100% | 89.50% | 72.70% | 5% |
42 | Rogers State University | 75.00% | 100% | 82.10% | 93.70% | -20% |
43 | Drexel University (LeBow) | 77.00% | 86.00% | 37.40% | 31.30% | 146% |
44 | San Jose State University (Lucas) | 68.00% | NR | NR | NA | NA |
45 | SUNY Oswego | 97.00% | 97.20% | 95.00% | 90.20% | 8% |
46 | University of Delaware (Lerner) | 82.80% | 83.90% | 76.80% | 68.70% | 21% |
47 | Kennesaw State University | 77.00% | 76.80% | 74.20% | 65.60% | 17% |
48 | American University (Kogod) | 80.00% | 89.50% | 85.40% | 81.00% | -1% |
49 | Louisiana State University (Ourso) | 86.00% | 78.90% | 78.60% | 69.80% | 23% |
50 | University of North Texas (Ryan) | 82.00% | 79.20% | 74.00% | NA | NA |
51 | Clemson University | 90.00% | 93.20% | NR | NA | NA |
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