[Updated. Fifth Tier added in 2015].

If you apply for a school where your GMAT is equal to, or higher than, the average you stand a better chance of admission than at schools where your GMAT is below average. The GMAT isn't the only factor for business schools: if you have an unusual or desirable background then you can get away with being average or below average. However, many people using this site - and especially Indians - are in a highly competitive situation where they have to be better than average to get into a school.

In the list below, I've taken most of the world's leading business schools and broken them into four tiers, then added a fifth tier with some lower-profile European schools. The average GMAT score at each school is used to create the top four tiers. Within each of those tiers, the schools are ranked by average alumni salary. As a rule of thumb, the ten schools at the top of a tier have a higher salary than than the ten schools at the bottom of the previous tier, often because the professional background and educational quality is better at those schools. The fifth tier is ranked by GMAT only.

If you're a strong candidate, apply towards the top of the tier where your GMAT is similar to the average.

For each of the following cases, I suggest you subtract one tier to find safe schools:
* - If you are in a very competitive group (like a male engineer or IT guy), or
* - from a country with a large number of MBA applicants (like from India or China), or
* - you have the bare minimum of work experience.
Under these circumstances, apply the same number of tiers lower than your GMAT to maximise your chances of admission and financial aid. That that means that a Male IT guy with two and a half years experience can look at tier 4 even if they have a GMAT over 690 to find a safe schools, and maybe even consider tier 5.

If you have less work experience, you'll generally be a more competitive candidate towards the bottom of the tier you are targetting.

GMAT Tier 1 - GMAT over 690

Stanford University GSB
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA)
University of Pennsylvania: Wharton
Harvard Business School
Columbia Business School
MIT Sloan School of Management
Dartmouth College: Tuck
University of Chicago: Booth
Insead
Yale School of Management
London Business School
University of California at Berkeley: Haas
Northwestern University: Kellogg
Cornell University: Johnson
New York University: Stern
UCLA: Anderson
University of Michigan: Ross
Duke University: Fuqua
Indian School of Business
University of Oxford: Saïd
University of Virginia: Darden
Ceibs
University of North Carolina: Kenan-Flagler

University of Southern California: Marshall is in Tier 1 for the two-year MBA.

GMAT Tier 2 - GMAT over 670

IE Business School
IMD
University of Cambridge: Judge
Cranfield School of Management
Iese Business School
Georgetown University: McDonough
Carnegie Mellon: Tepper
HEC Paris
Emory University: Goizueta
University of Texas at Austin: McCombs
Rice University: Jones
Vanderbilt University: Owen
University of Rochester: Simon
Boston College: Carroll
Mannheim Business School
University of Notre Dame: Mendoza
University of Washington Business School: Foster
Wisconsin School of Business
Georgia Institute of Technology
Boston University School of Management
University of California at Irvine: Merage
University of California: Davis
Ohio State University: Fisher
Brigham Young University: Marriott
Arizona State University: Carey

GMAT Tier 3 - GMAT 650 or higher

Hong Kong UST Business School
Esade Business School
City University: Cass
Australian School of Business: AGSM
Imperial College Business School
Indiana University: Kelley
Melbourne Business School
University of Maryland: Smith
SDA Bocconi
Pennsylvania State University: Smeal
Wake Forest University: Babcock
Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School
Nanyang Business School
University of Western Ontario: Ivey
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
National University of Singapore School of Business
Purdue University: Krannert
Pepperdine University: Graziadio
University of Toronto: Rotman
University of Florida: Hough
McGill University: Desautels
University of Iowa: Tippie
University of British Columbia: Sauder
York University: Schulich
SP Jain Center of Management

Warwick Business School is now also in Tier 3 since it has a 650 minimum now.

GMAT Tier 4 - GMAT under 650

University of Cape Town GSB
University of Southern California: Marshall - One year IBEAR MBA
Manchester Business School
Babson College: Olin
Lancaster University Management School
Texas A & M University: Mays
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Hult International Business School
University College Dublin: Smurfit
University of Strathclyde Business School (Note - average rose from 630 to 680 in 2013)
SMU: Cox
University of Edinburgh Business School
University of Georgia: Terry
Durham Business School
Kaist College of Business
College of William and Mary: Mason
Birmingham Business School
Ipade
Leeds University Business School
University of South Carolina: Moore
Eada
EM Lyon Business School
Incae Business School
Bradford School of Management
Tias Business School
Politecnico di Milano School of Management
IAE Business School

GMAT Tier 5 - Lower profile European schools

I've added a few schools that don't have the profile they would like in the rankings and where the average GMAT might be more variable from year to year.

St Gallen 660
ESSEC 650
WHU 650
ESMT 640
Henley 640
EDHEC 638
Amsterdam 630
MIB 627
Bath 610
Lisbon 609
Nottingham 600
Ashridge 573
Corvinus 565

If you know the average GMAT and salary for any other schools, or if you think a school should be in a different tier, then let me know. Where possible I am using median rather than mean GMATs, so don't be surprised if there are a few differences. School that use scholarships to bring in a small number of very high GMAT students to pump up the mean (like Georgetown, Hult, and TiasNimbas) might not be where you expect.

PS Don't forget that there are many other factors at work. GMAT points trade off all the other criteria that admissions managers look for. If you're strong on several other criteria then certainly try a stretch school that's a tier above your average.

PPS This post is not being updated. For more current GMAT averages, check this site's directory of business schools, or the schools' own websites.

[Edited by Duncan on Mar 30, 2016]

This is a very good list, Duncan.

If you are in a very competitive group (like a male engineer or IT guy), or from a country with a large number of MBA applicants (like from India or China), or you have the bare minimum of work experience, then apply one, two or three tiers lower to maximise your chances of admission or financial aid.

If you know the average GMAT and salary for any other schools, or if you you think a school should be in a different tier, then let me know.

If you apply for a school where your GMAT is equal to, or higher than, the average you stand a better chance of admission than at schools where your GMAT is below average. The GMAT isn't the only factor for business schools: if you have an unusual or desirable background then you can get away with being average or below average. However, many people using this site - and especially Indians - are in a highly competitive situation where they have to be better than average to get into a school.

In the list below, I've taken most of the world's leading business schools and broken them into four tiers. The average GMAT score at each school is used to create the tiers. Within each tier, the schools are ranked by average alumni salary. As a rule of thumb, the ten schools at the top of a tier have a higher salary than than the ten schools at the bottom of the previous tier, often because the professional background and educational quality is better at those schools.

If you're a strong candidate, apply towards the top of the tier where your GMAT is similar to the average.

If you are in a very competitive group (like a male engineer or IT guy), or from a country with a large number of MBA applicants (like from India or China), or you have the bare minimum of work experience, then apply one, two or three tiers lower to maximise your chances of admission or financial aid.

If you have less work experience, you'll generally be a more competitive candidate towards the bottom of the tier you are targetting.

GMAT Tier 1 - GMAT over 690

Stanford University GSB
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA)
University of Pennsylvania: Wharton
Harvard Business School
Columbia Business School
MIT Sloan School of Management
Dartmouth College: Tuck
University of Chicago: Booth
Insead
Yale School of Management
London Business School
University of California at Berkeley: Haas
Northwestern University: Kellogg
Cornell University: Johnson
New York University: Stern
UCLA: Anderson
University of Michigan: Ross
Duke University: Fuqua
Indian School of Business
University of Oxford: Saïd
University of Virginia: Darden
Ceibs
University of North Carolina: Kenan-Flagler

GMAT Tier 2 - GMAT over 670

IE Business School
IMD
University of Cambridge: Judge
Cranfield School of Management
Iese Business School
Georgetown University: McDonough
Carnegie Mellon: Tepper
HEC Paris
Emory University: Goizueta
University of Texas at Austin: McCombs
Rice University: Jones
Vanderbilt University: Owen
University of Rochester: Simon
Boston College: Carroll
University of Notre Dame: Mendoza
University of Washington Business School: Foster
Wisconsin School of Business
Georgia Institute of Technology
Boston University School of Management
University of California at Irvine: Merage
University of California: Davis
Ohio State University: Fisher
Brigham Young University: Marriott
Arizona State University: Carey

GMAT Tier 3 - GMAT 650 or higher

Hong Kong UST Business School
Esade Business School
City University: Cass
Australian School of Business: AGSM
Imperial College Business School
Indiana University: Kelley
Melbourne Business School
University of Maryland: Smith
SDA Bocconi
Pennsylvania State University: Smeal
Wake Forest University: Babcock
Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School
Nanyang Business School
University of Western Ontario: Ivey
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
National University of Singapore School of Business
Purdue University: Krannert
Pepperdine University: Graziadio
University of Toronto: Rotman
University of Florida: Hough
McGill University: Desautels
University of Iowa: Tippie
University of British Columbia: Sauder
York University: Schulich
SP Jain Center of Management

GMAT Tier 4 - GMAT under 650

University of Cape Town GSB
University of Southern California: Marshall
Manchester Business School
Babson College: Olin
Lancaster University Management School
Warwick Business School
Texas A & M University: Mays
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Hult International Business School
University College Dublin: Smurfit
University of Strathclyde Business School
SMU: Cox
Thunderbird School of Global Management
University of Edinburgh Business School
University of Georgia: Terry
Durham Business School
Kaist College of Business
College of William and Mary: Mason
Birmingham Business School
Ipade
Leeds University Business School
University of South Carolina: Moore
Eada
EM Lyon Business School
Incae Business School
Bradford School of Management/TiasNimbas Business School
Politecnico di Milano School of Management
IAE Business School

If you know the average GMAT and salary for any other schools, or if you you think a school should be in a different tier, then let me know. Where possible I am using median rather than mean GMATs, so don't be surprised if there are a few differences. School that use scholarships to bring in a small number of very high GMAT students to pump up the mean (like Georgetown, Hult, and TiasNimbas) might not be where you expect.

Hi

I've just started gathering info about colleges for my MBA

I've just finished my BSc from UOL expecting a 2nd lower maybe an upper if lucky.

so far i understand that for an MBA European schools usually require at least 2 years of work ex. At least the well reputed ones.

and in the US work ex is not a requirement.

so from the above list what tiers can i apply to with my current academic results or does the result depend mostly on my GMAT scores, i think a second lower is a 3.0-3.2 GPA approx.

hoping for a reply.
thank toy in advance.

The schools on this almost all require three years work experience and a high GMAT score. Look the the MSc in management programmes ranked by the Financial Times instead.

Are there any decent schools in the UK or USA that provide MBA's without prior work experience?

No: they offer masters in management for pre-experience students.

Are there any decent schools in the UK or USA that provide MBA's without prior work experience?

One of the many myths floating around is that you need to have a certain number of years of work experience before you become eligible for admission to business school. This may be true for some schools but NOT for the Stanford MBA Program.

One quick comment. I believe USC: Marshall belongs to Tier -1 and not Tier-4

If you apply for a school where your GMAT is equal to, or higher than, the average you stand a better chance of admission than at schools where your GMAT is below average. The GMAT isn't the only factor for business schools: if you have an unusual or desirable background then you can get away with being average or below average. However, many people using this site - and especially Indians - are in a highly competitive situation where they have to be better than average to get into a school.

In the list below, I've taken most of the world's leading business schools and broken them into four tiers. The average GMAT score at each school is used to create the tiers. Within each tier, the schools are ranked by average alumni salary. As a rule of thumb, the ten schools at the top of a tier have a higher salary than than the ten schools at the bottom of the previous tier, often because the professional background and educational quality is better at those schools.

If you're a strong candidate, apply towards the top of the tier where your GMAT is similar to the average.

If you are in a very competitive group (like a male engineer or IT guy), or from a country with a large number of MBA applicants (like from India or China), or you have the bare minimum of work experience, then apply one, two or three tiers lower to maximise your chances of admission or financial aid.

If you have less work experience, you'll generally be a more competitive candidate towards the bottom of the tier you are targetting.

GMAT Tier 1 - GMAT over 690

Stanford University GSB
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA)
University of Pennsylvania: Wharton
Harvard Business School
Columbia Business School
MIT Sloan School of Management
Dartmouth College: Tuck
University of Chicago: Booth
Insead
Yale School of Management
London Business School
University of California at Berkeley: Haas
Northwestern University: Kellogg
Cornell University: Johnson
New York University: Stern
UCLA: Anderson
University of Michigan: Ross
Duke University: Fuqua
Indian School of Business
University of Oxford: Saïd
University of Virginia: Darden
Ceibs
University of North Carolina: Kenan-Flagler

GMAT Tier 2 - GMAT over 670

IE Business School
IMD
University of Cambridge: Judge
Cranfield School of Management
Iese Business School
Georgetown University: McDonough
Carnegie Mellon: Tepper
HEC Paris
Emory University: Goizueta
University of Texas at Austin: McCombs
Rice University: Jones
Vanderbilt University: Owen
University of Rochester: Simon
Boston College: Carroll
University of Notre Dame: Mendoza
University of Washington Business School: Foster
Wisconsin School of Business
Georgia Institute of Technology
Boston University School of Management
University of California at Irvine: Merage
University of California: Davis
Ohio State University: Fisher
Brigham Young University: Marriott
Arizona State University: Carey

GMAT Tier 3 - GMAT 650 or higher

Hong Kong UST Business School
Esade Business School
City University: Cass
Australian School of Business: AGSM
Imperial College Business School
Indiana University: Kelley
Melbourne Business School
University of Maryland: Smith
SDA Bocconi
Pennsylvania State University: Smeal
Wake Forest University: Babcock
Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School
Nanyang Business School
University of Western Ontario: Ivey
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
National University of Singapore School of Business
Purdue University: Krannert
Pepperdine University: Graziadio
University of Toronto: Rotman
University of Florida: Hough
McGill University: Desautels
University of Iowa: Tippie
University of British Columbia: Sauder
York University: Schulich
SP Jain Center of Management

GMAT Tier 4 - GMAT under 650

University of Cape Town GSB
University of Southern California: Marshall
Manchester Business School
Babson College: Olin
Lancaster University Management School
Warwick Business School
Texas A & M University: Mays
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Hult International Business School
University College Dublin: Smurfit
University of Strathclyde Business School
SMU: Cox
Thunderbird School of Global Management
University of Edinburgh Business School
University of Georgia: Terry
Durham Business School
Kaist College of Business
College of William and Mary: Mason
Birmingham Business School
Ipade
Leeds University Business School
University of South Carolina: Moore
Eada
EM Lyon Business School
Incae Business School
Bradford School of Management/TiasNimbas Business School
Politecnico di Milano School of Management
IAE Business School

If you know the average GMAT and salary for any other schools, or if you you think a school should be in a different tier, then let me know. Where possible I am using median rather than mean GMATs, so don't be surprised if there are a few differences. School that use scholarships to bring in a small number of very high GMAT students to pump up the mean (like Georgetown, Hult, and TiasNimbas) might not be where you expect.

The one-year MBA at Marshall has an average GMAT around 620 http://www.marshall.usc.edu/ibear/admissions/faqs#average_GMAT

Warwick states on its website that the minimum GMAT is 650 for its full time MBA.
http://www.wbs.ac.uk/courses/mba/faq/
I find that a bit hard to swallow since from I read, Warwick recently had a GMAT average of around 610 (The Economist). What do you know about this, Should I apply with a 600 balanced GMAT score? thank you!

This is a new policy for Warwick. As you say, they reported an average GMAT of 610 last year. Because of their big leap up in the rankings last year they will have more applicants this year. Raising the average GMAT is helpful: it saves applicants time, raises the learning curve, and compensates for Warwick's weakness, that it's a bit light on quant skills.



If they say it's a minimum, then don't apply there. If you have some personal connection to Coventry, then there's the Mannheim-Warwick track. http://www.mannheim-mba.com/full-time/one-program-five-tracks/european-track.html

[Edited by Duncan on May 04, 2021]

Warwick states on its website that the minimum GMAT is 650 for its full time MBA.

I kind of disagree; first, they could have been more selective in recent years GMATwise, but they didn't. There must be a reason for it. The fact is that Warwick is setting a minimum above its previous average, which seems to me pretty exaggerated. I think that this decision might give them higher ranking because of the higher GMAT average, but a a lesser interesting and diverse range of candidate. Lets face it, GMAT is more accessible to English speaking math geek than a French speaking candidate with a wide range of business experience. In the long run, this might affect the overall quality of the program. These are all suppositions, but its an opinion.

Time will tell. Warwick isn't good at placing French people with weak English.

[Edited by Duncan on May 04, 2021]

Time will tell. Warwick isn't good at placing French people wit weak English.

Wow - this post has had over 10,000 views. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

I was wondering if Cranfield had a good brand recognition in the UK and Western Europe. In the states nobody has heard of it but it does well in the rankings, placements, and salaries. So a bit confused to say the least.

THX

I don't think many of the top European schools have good recognition in the US, outside of the top MC and IB firms. Cranfield is an excellent university, and its rankings fairly reflect its reputation.