NYU Stern MBA applications fall 16.3 per cent as acceptance rate rises to 32 per cent

New York University’s (NYU) Stern School of Business has recorded a 16.3 per cent decline in applications to its full-time MBA programme for the Class of 2028, even as its acceptance rate climbed to 32 per cent, the highest in six years.

The business school received 4,130 applications, down 803 from 4,933 applications for the Class of 2027. The decline followed two years of growth that had pushed applications close to the 5,000 mark.

Despite receiving fewer applications, Stern admitted a record 1,309 candidates, compared with 1,161 in the previous year. However, only 321 students enrolled, down from 336, making it the school's smallest incoming MBA class since 2022, when 317 students joined.


The figures indicate that Stern had to offer admission to more applicants to fill its available seats, while a smaller proportion of admitted candidates ultimately chose to enrol.

Acceptance rate rises, but admission falls

Stern's acceptance rate increased to 32 per cent for the Class of 2028, compared with 24 per cent for the previous batch. This represents an increase of eight percentage points in one year and is the highest rate across the six classes from 2023 to 2028.

The acceptance rate measures the proportion of applicants who receive admission offers. In contrast, the admission yield measures how many admitted candidates actually join the programme.

Stern's yield fell to 24.5 per cent from 28.9 per cent in the previous year. This means that fewer than one in four candidates offered admission enrolled in the latest batch. The figure is also considerably lower than the 46.7 per cent yield recorded for the Class of 2023.

The school admitted 148 more candidates than the previous year but enrolled 15 fewer students.

The decline in applications is part of a wider trend among US business schools. Full-time MBA applications across the US fell 27 per cent in 2026, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council's (GMAC) 2026 Application Trends Survey. Stern's decline was smaller than those reported by Duke Fuqua, UCLA Anderson, MIT Sloan and Dartmouth Tuck.

International student share falls to 38 per cent

The international share of Stern's incoming MBA class declined to 38 per cent from 43 per cent in the previous year. The latest figure is the lowest since the Class of 2023, when international students accounted for 32 per cent of the batch.

The number of countries represented also fell from 43 to 39. Based on the reported percentages, the latest class has approximately 122 international students, compared with around 144 in the previous year.

Stern's international student category includes foreign nationals, dual citizens and US permanent residents.

The decline contrasts with the increase in international representation at several other US business schools, including MIT Sloan, Duke Fuqua, Dartmouth Tuck and UCLA Anderson.

The share of women in the incoming class also declined, falling to 42 per cent from 45 per cent. This is the lowest proportion since the Class of 2023, when women accounted for 41 per cent of students.

Meanwhile, underrepresented minorities increased to 23 per cent from 18 per cent. Military veterans and active-duty students accounted for 14 per cent, up from 9 per cent, marking the highest representation in the six classes tracked.

More students enter with test waivers

The latest class profile also shows a change in standardised test submissions. The average GMAT score under the 10th Edition fell to 732 from 737 in the previous year. Scores ranged between 690 and 780.

The average GMAT Focus Edition score declined to 676 from 682, while GRE averages remained unchanged at 164 in quantitative reasoning and 163 in verbal reasoning.

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At the same time, more students entered the programme without submitting standardised test scores.

Twenty-two per cent of the Class of 2028 received a test waiver, compared with 16 per cent in the previous year. Another 7 per cent used an NYU test waiver, unchanged from the previous batch. Together, these categories accounted for 29 per cent of students, up from 23 per cent.

By comparison, 26 per cent submitted GRE scores and 36 per cent submitted GMAT scores. The proportion submitting GMAT scores declined from 39 per cent, while GRE submissions slipped from 27 per cent.

The average undergraduate GPA stood at 3.63, marginally below the 3.64 recorded in each of the previous two classes. However, the lowest GPA in the latest batch was 2.91, compared with 3.18 in the previous year.

Finance remains the largest pre-MBA industry

Financial services continued to account for the largest share of incoming students, although its representation declined to 27 per cent from 31 per cent.

Consulting accounted for 15 per cent of the class, while technology represented 8 per cent. The share of students from healthcare and pharmaceuticals increased to 6 per cent from 4 per cent, while consumer products and retail rose to 5 per cent from 2 per cent.

Students with undergraduate business degrees formed the largest academic group, accounting for 37 per cent of the latest class, compared with 30 per cent previously. Engineering, mathematics and science graduates accounted for 23 per cent, while economics graduates represented 15 per cent.

The average work experience remained at five years, with 98 per cent of students having worked before joining the programme. The average age was 28, with students ranging from 23 to 37 years.