It’s MBA application season once again, and deadlines are fast approaching. You’ve likely taken the GMAT or GRE one last time to get your top score and have started brainstorming your list of dream business schools. Now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty to land your spot in the class of 2025.
Most top MBA programs offer several application rounds each year, usually between two and four deadlines each admissions season. MBA hopefuls typically apply between September and January. It feels as if summer just started, but September will arrive before you know it; that’s when many first-round applications are due.
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There’s no magic number of schools that you should apply to; but Shaifali Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Ivy Groupe, an MBA admissions consulting firm, recommends her clients apply to between five and eight programs. Those who do are typically admitted to about half that number, the Harvard Business School (HBS) graduate previously told Fortune.
Fortune has compiled the deadlines for our top 20 ranked full-time MBA programs in the U.S. Note that dates with an asterisk (*) are from the 2021-2022 application season, and the schools have not yet released deadlines for the 2022-2023 school year.
Harvard Business School
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 1
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 7, 2022
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 8, 2022
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 4, 2023
Round 2 decision by: March 29, 2023
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $150,500
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 2
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 9, 2021*
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 9, 2021*
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 5, 2022*
Round 2 decision by: March 31, 2022*
Round 3 deadline: April 12, 2022*
Round 3 decision by: May 26, 2022*
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $158,400
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 3
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 7, 2022
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 15, 2022
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 4, 2023
Round 2 decision by: March 23, 2023
Round 3 deadline: March 29, 2023
Round 3 decision by: June 29, 2023
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $155,000
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 4
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 22, 2022
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 1, 2022
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 5, 2023
Round 2 decision by: March 23, 2023
Round 3 deadline: April 22, 2023
Round 3 decision by: May 25, 2023
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $155,000
Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 5
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 14, 2022
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 14, 2022
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 10, 2023
Round 2 decision by: March 28, 2023
Round 3 deadline: April 5, 2023
Round 3 decision by: May 10, 2023
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $145,000
Columbia Business School
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 6
Early decision deadline: Sept. 28, 2022
Merit fellowship deadline: Jan. 11, 2023
Regular decision deadline: April 5, 2023
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $150,000
New York University Stern School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 7
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 15, 2022
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 1, 2022
Round 2 deadline: Oct. 15, 2022
Round 2 decision by: Jan. 1, 2023
Round 3 deadline: Jan. 15, 2023
Round 3 decision by: April 1, 2023
Round 4 deadline: March 15, 2023
Round 4 decision by: June 1, 2023
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $155,000
MIT Sloan School of Management
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 8
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 28, 2021*
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 15, 2021*
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 19, 2022*
Round 2 decision by: April 4, 2022*
Round 3 deadline: April 12, 2022*
Round 3 decision by: June 1, 2022*
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $150,000
Yale School of Management
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 9
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 13, 2022
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 6, 2022
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 5, 2023
Round 2 decision by: March 24, 2023
Round 3 deadline: April 11, 2023
Round 3 decision by: May 18, 2023
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $140,000
Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 10
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 26, 2022
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 8, 2022
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 4, 2023
Round 2 decision by: March 16, 2023
Round 3 deadline: March 27, 2023
Round 3 decision by: May 4, 2023
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $150,000
Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 11
Early action deadline: Sept. 2, 2021*
Early action decision by: Oct. 14, 2021*
Round 1 deadline: Oct. 11, 2021*
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 15, 2022*
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 5, 2022*
Round 2 decision by: March 16, 2022*
Round 3 deadline: March 24, 2022*
Round 3 decision by: April 29, 2022*
Testing requirement: Yes
Mean starting base salary: $141,109
Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 12
October round deadline: Oct. 12, 2021*
October round decision by: Dec. 12, 2021*
January round deadline: Jan. 5, 2022*
January round decision by: April 8, 2022*
April round deadline: April 12, 2022*
April round decision by: June 1, 2022*
Testing requirement: Yes
Average starting base salary: $139,121
University of California—Berkeley’s Haas School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 13
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 23, 2021*
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 16, 2022*
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 6, 2022*
Round 2 decision by: March 24, 2022*
Round 3 deadline: April 7, 2022*
Round 3 decision by: May 12, 2022*
Testing requirement: Yes
Median starting base salary: $149,000
University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 14
Early action deadline: Sept. 8, 2022
Early action decision by: Oct. 19, 2022
Round 1 deadline: Oct. 5, 2022
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 7, 2022
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 5, 2023
Round 2 decision by: March 15, 2023
Round 3 deadline: April 5, 2023
Round 3 decision by: May 3, 2023
Testing requirement: Yes, but waivers are available
Average starting base salary: $144,933
University of Texas–Austin McCombs School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 16
Round 1 deadline: Oct. 11, 2022
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 15, 2022
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 5, 2023
Round 2 decision by: March 23, 2023
Round 3 deadline: March 28, 2023
Round 3 decision by: May 4, 2023
Testing requirement: Yes, but waivers are available
Median starting base salary: $130,000
University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 17
Round 1 deadline: Oct. 11, 2021*
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 13, 2021*
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 10, 2022*
Round 2 decision by: March 14, 2022*
Round 3 deadline: Feb 28, 2022*
Round 3 decision by: April 25, 2022*
Round 4 deadline: March 28, 2022*
Round 4 decision by: May 23, 2022*
Testing requirement: Yes, but waivers are available
Average starting base salary: $125,687
University of Washington Foster School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 18
Round 1 deadline: Oct. 5, 2021*
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 17, 2021*
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 4, 2022*
Round 2 decision by: March 31, 2022*
Round 3 deadline: March 15, 2022*
Round 3 decision by: May 22, 2022*
Testing requirement: Yes, but waivers are available
Median starting base salary: $125,000
Georgetown University McDonough School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 19
Round 1 deadline: Sept. 27, 2021*
Round 1 decision by: Dec. 9, 2021*
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 6, 2022*
Round 2 decision by: March 22, 2022*
Round 3 deadline: March 31, 2022*
Round 3 decision by: May 5, 2022*
Round 4 deadline: April 26, 2022*
Round 4 decision by: May 25, 2022*
Testing requirement: Yes
Average starting base salary: $126,107
Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 20
Fall 2022 application is still open
Decisions are made 7-10 days after submission
Testing requirement: Yes
Average starting base salary: $125,130
See how the schools you’re considering fared in Fortune’s rankings of the best master’s in psychology programs, public health programs, business analytics programs, data science programs, and part-time, executive, full-time, and online MBA programs.
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