WashU Olin MBA rises 11 spots in new US News ranking

WashU Olin’s Full-Time MBA showed positive momentum as it rose 11 spots in US News & World Report’s ranking, released on April 9, 2024.

Olin’s climb represented the largest increase among schools in the previous year’s top 40. Its trajectory was driven largely by the strength of solid graduate starting salaries and bonuses and higher test scores and GPAs for incoming students. The school placed 26th among US programs.

“It’s an incredibly exciting time to be at WashU Olin,” said Dean Mike Mazzeo. “Our faculty, staff, alumni, and students are committed to our education and research mission."

I’m happy to see the work of our community rewarded by this positive movement. It shows our efforts are making progress.  

Mike Mazzeo

WashU Olin’s incoming MBA cohort showed marked increases in test scores—for both the GMAT and GRE—as well as stronger incoming grade point averages. Improvement in both of those areas was strong and a heavy factor in driving Olin’s overall rise in the ranking.

The ranking was also bolstered by a 10% increase in mean starting salaries and bonuses among graduates, raising Olin’s standing in that dimension of the US News ranking. Additionally, the publication added a new component to its algorithm: “salary by profession,” created to account for differences in starting salary offers among the different career paths favored by MBA graduates. 

US News also tweaked its career placement algorithm to use a two-year average of placement rates, likely designed to smooth out pandemic-related anomalies in graduates’ job success. 

Stanford and Wharton tied for first in the US News ranking; Northwestern, Chicago Booth and MIT filled out the top five.