Let’s not get down to business.
Applications to US MBA programs took a nosedive in 2026 — as Gen Z students are skittish about the economy and increasingly fear AI will eliminate entry-level jobs.
The number of students applying to full-time MBA programs for the class of 2028, entering this fall, plunged 27% compared to last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).
The national trend outpaces the decline in global interest for MBA programs, with applications worldwide falling 13% year over year, the data shows.
Highly selective programs, with acceptance rates below 40%, saw applications decline by just 9% worldwide, while the least-selective programs, with acceptance rates above 85%, saw applications drop by 21%.
While experts blame a myriad of changes — including shifting visa policies and geopolitical tensions — for the drop, 90% of graduate business programs surveyed cited economic changes as the biggest reason for declining applications, Fortune reported.
Those changes included recession fears, layoffs, and shifts in the job market, with 73% reporting a major or moderate impact, according to the study.
This marks a stark shift from the past, when MBA programs were seen as largely recession-proof, as people often consider returning to school to improve their prospects when jobs are scarce.
But as one-third of employers say they are replacing entry-level jobs with AI, that may no longer be the case, according to the Corporate Recruiters Survey from GMAC, which interviewed roughly 600 respondents, more than half of whom recruit for Fortune 100 or Fortune 500 companies.
Roughly 90% of 2025 graduates at the elite “M7” business schools — Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania Wharton, MIT Sloan, Northwestern Kellogg, and University of Chicago Booth — received job offers, with median base salaries for graduates who accepted jobs reaching at least $175,000 at each school, figures show.
But with tuition at top MBA programs hitting over $300,000 in some cases, many students may be increasingly questioning whether it’s worth it.
“[Gen Z] want a return on their investment that goes beyond salary: careers that feel stable and fulfilling, the flexibility to keep their options open, and work that makes a positive impact,” GMAC CEO and Stanford MBA alum Joy Jones told Fortune, as she called on business schools to be more upfront about the return on investment.
“I believe the question isn’t whether business school rebounds, but which programs earn the trust of a generation that wants proof of value up front,” she added.
