Bloomberg Businessweek recently released its list of the 2025-2026 best business schools, ranking 102 business schools in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Canada. This year, rankings were based on surveys from students, alumni, and recruiters, with the focus on compensation, learning, networking, entrepreneurship and inclusion (for US schools only).

Personal MBA Coach would like to share our thoughts on the latest Bloomberg Businessweek MBA rankings and business school rankings in general.

Bloomberg MBA Rankings in The United States

For the third year in a row, Stanford GSB topped the US rankings, receiving high scores in four out of five main categories. It is worth noting that Stanford GSB’s scores in Compensation, Networking and Entrepreneurship remained unchanged, while the scores for Learning and Inclusion lost 3 and 15 points, respectively. Stanford GSB is followed by Wharton, Scott’s alma mater, advancing from the 7^th to the 2^nd spot this year. In this year’s ranking, Wharton gained points for Compensation (3), Learning (6), Networking (3), and Entrepreneurship (8). Another school to significantly rise in the ranking is Berkeley Haas, ranking third this year after not even making the Top 10 last year. Berkeley Haas gained points in all given categories: Compensation (6), Learning (11), Networking (11), Entrepreneurship (5) and Inclusion (33).

Harvard placed 4^th (an improvement from its 6^th place ranking last year), gaining points for Compensation (4) and Networking (3). Kellogg dropped two places, ranking 5^th, due to losing points in three of the main categories. Dartmouth Tuck ranked 6^th, gaining 9 points for Entrepreneurship.

Looking a bit farther down the top 10 list, Chicago Booth placed 7^th, despite gaining points for Networking. Cornell Johnson gained points in Learning (13), Networking (12), and Entrepreneurship (17), thus jumping three places and ranking 8^th this year. Columbia ranked 9^th, thanks to gaining points for Compensation (10), Learning (11), Networking (14), and Entrepreneurship (19). The top ten is closed out by UVA Darden, which lost points in four categories and only gained points for Inclusion.

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The European Bloomberg MBA Rankings

This year, SDA Bocconi returned to the top position after ranking 3^rd last year, thanks to earning points in each category: Compensation (2), Learning (3), Networking (4), and Entrepreneurship (1). IMD moved down to the second position, due to losing one point for Compensation. IESE ranked #3, losing points for Learning and Networking. Yet again, London Business School took 4th place in the 2024-2025 ranking, followed by INSEAD.

Asia-Pacific MBA Rankings

This year, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and HKUST swapped places, ranking #1 and #2, respectively. Indian Institute of Management Bangalore ranked third, followed by Indian School of Business. Shanghai University MBA Centre moved two positions up to #5, gaining points for Learning and Networking.

The Canadian Bloomberg MBA Ranking

The Bloomberg Businessweek MBA rankings include four Canadian MBA programs this year, compared to six last year. Concordia topped the ranking this year, thanks to gaining points for Compensation (2), Networking (2) and Entrepreneurship (1). Western Ivey moved down to the second position, despite gaining three points for Learning. In another swap, McGill rose up to #3, earning points for Learning and Entrepreneurship, followed by HEC Montreal #4. It comes as something of a surprise that Toronto Metropolitan University and Alberta are not included in the ranking this year.

How to Think About MBA Rankings

Exploring MBA rankings can be a great way to build your target school list, though remember that almost every ranking source will give different results. Plus, as Personal MBA Coach has shared in the past, you should pay attention to a school’s average ranking over time and not be overly concerned by year-to-year fluctuations. Check out this blog for more detail on how to use rankings.

Finally, with the lines blurring between top schools, available financing also should be a key consideration. You may be able to secure more substantial funding from one school vs. another: last year, our clients earned over $11M in scholarships. Often you will be better served selecting a school with a slightly lower ranking but a more favorable financial package. Some M7 schools are very generous with scholarships, and others are not.

Again, do not overreact to these new rankings but do keep an open mind about expanding your MBA list.