The Class of 2025 employment reports have all been released, and here are some highlights across the M7 MBA programs: 

These numbers show a functioning market. MBA grads are getting jobs, but this market requires a bit more patience than the pandemic hiring boom and other years. 

Acceptance rates in the low-to-mid 80s mean that grads are being selective, companies are taking longer to extend offers, or both. Also, international student hiring had a significant impact on post-MBA hiring across some top MBA programs. 

Here are a few key trends we noticed across the M7 programs…

For the first time that we can remember, technology (22%) edged out consulting (21%) as HBS's top industry. This is a big shift for a school historically known for consulting and finance.

Finance still captured 34% of the class, when you combine all financial services, including investment banking, investment management / hedge funds, venture capital, and private equity jobs… but the growth in tech offer acceptances really stood out. The number includes 17% of grads who joined startups – so, the growth in tech offers acceptances isn't just coming from FAANG companies.

Also, 155 grads (nearly 17% of the class) report that they’re founding a business. That's high – even for HBS. We’ll be curious to see how these business plans all panned out – or whether a good chunk have fizzled already. 

Check out the full HBS report

Stanford's commentary explicitly mentions "a notable surge in graduates accepting opportunities in enterprise technology, fueled by hiring in AI-related organizations with roles in product management, go-to-market, customer success, and sales."

While a solid chunk of grads (16%) from the class of 2025 pursued their own ventures, offer acceptances were strong across the top three industries: 

From the class of 2025, 19% of offer acceptances were in enterprise tech – that’s significant. Much smaller numbers went into consumer, fintech, and other areas of tech.

Stanford has always been strong for tech, but it’s also a finance school! Of the finance offer acceptances, 16% were in private equity, 8% in investment management and hedge funds, and 6% were in venture capital.

Check out the full GSB report

Wharton's latest employment report reveals that it’s still THE finance MBA. More than 38% of grads accepted roles in finance, with the largest groups accepting roles in investment banking / brokerage (14.2%) and private equity / buyouts / other (13.4%). Notably, private equity roles commanded some of the highest base salaries, with a median of $200K.

Even so, Wharton is still a great option for aspiring consultants, as 28.2% of grads accepted roles in consulting, and a respectable 15.3% accepted roles in tech. 

Check out the full Wharton report

For Sloan’s class of 2025, consulting roles pulled in the most offer acceptances (32.3%), with tech (23.3%), and finance (20.6%) taking the second and third spots. 

Tech has seemingly rebounded from a 4-year low of 19% of the class of 2024, and 5% fewer of grads accepted finance offers from 2024 to 2025. 

We may be seeing a shift in the types of roles that tech candidates are landing post-MBA. Sloan’s commentary notes that “MIT Sloan graduates pursued emerging roles as well as traditional ones, embracing opportunities to apply AI innovation in healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, and ecommerce, and bring critical thinking to AI governance and ethics.”

Check out the full Sloan report

While Booth is known for its pipeline into financial services roles, consulting was the dominant industry for 2025 grads. More than 36% of the class (172 grads) accepted jobs in consulting, with 31.6% accepting roles in finance. 

The largest cohorts within financial services accepted roles in investment banking / brokerage (8.3%), investment management / research (5.3%) and private equity (5.3%). The finance pipeline is strong at Booth, but not Wharton-level strong for the class of 2025. 

Even so, the analytical rigor that Booth is known for still sets grads up for success across financial services, consulting, AND a myriad of other types of post-MBA roles. 

Check out the full Booth report

In a challenging recruiting environment and job market, it’s impressive that 92% of CBS grads earned offers, and 90.2% accepted them within 3 months after graduation.

CBS’s class of 2025 held up the school’s reputation for strong recruiting pipelines in consulting and finance. More than 33% of grads accepted roles in consulting, and 35.4% of grads accepted offers in financial services. The most significant batch within financial services chose investment banking (17%).

The following companies hired more than 20 CBS grads apiece, including:

Another stat from the CBS commentary caught our attention: “More than 200 employers hired CBS MBAs for the first time, demonstrating the strength and continued growth of our recruiting partnerships.” Related: grads accepted positions with 346 (!) organizations. This speaks to the versatility of the MBA degree, along with the strength of the CBS brand. 

Check out the full CBS report

Of course, Kellogg has been known as more than a marketing school for quite some time, and the class of 2025 put up some impressive (non-marketing) numbers. 

Consulting was the top choice for 38% (!) of the class – the highest percentage of all M7 programs. Of course, who wouldn’t want a Kellogg grad on their engagement team?!

Financial services was a distant second, attracting 21% of grads, with tech / communications coming in third (19%). Also worth noting: 9% of grads accepted roles in consumer products, so that marketing pipeline is still something worth talking about. 

Check out the full Kellogg report

1. Tech hiring is on the rebound… but it’s selective

Many of the M7s showed meaningful hiring in the tech industry – for example, HBS (22%), Stanford (35%), and MIT (23.3%) had significant placements. Even Wharton (15.3%) and Booth (14.1%) show meaningful tech pipelines. 

The key difference is where in tech… and doing what? As noted, AI companies, enterprise software, and product management roles are driving hiring at GSB in particular. Consumer tech seems to have pulled back, but B2B and infrastructure are growing.

2. Consulting isn't dead, but maybe it’s losing share (except at Kellogg)

Consulting captured 21-38% across M7 schools, with Kellogg leading the way (by percentage of the graduating class). This equates to roughly 1 in 4 to 1 in 3 graduates at most schools. At programs like HBS, where consulting traditionally dominates, tech has caught up.

MBBs are still massive employers across all programs. Both McKinsey and BCG hired 62 grads at CBS! Will the trend continue?

3. Finance varies by program

By the percentage of the class, Wharton's 38.2% and CBS’s 35.4% lead other programs. MIT (20.6%), Stanford (33% combined), and Booth (28% combined) show that finance is popular, but it doesn't define these programs in the same way it does at Wharton and CBS.

The East Coast finance MBA is a distinct category, and Wharton and CBS benefit from their proximity to Wall Street, strong alumni networks, and decades nurturing recruiting relationships. Also, PE and IM roles are making bank, with PE bonuses reaching six figures on top of base salaries at some institutions. 

4. Entrepreneurship numbers could use some scrutiny

For the class of 2025, entrepreneurship numbers were strong across HBS (16%), Stanford (16%), MIT (11%), and Booth (11%) all report significant entrepreneurship numbers. Maybe some of this is genuine – it’s always part of the DNA at Stanford, for example, but “starting a business” might also be a placeholder for grads who are still looking for a more traditional post-MBA job. We’ll see how things shake out a year post-graduation. 

5. New grads are migrating to the coasts

The Northeast (primarily NYC and Boston) and West Coast (the Bay Area and Seattle) capture a significant portion of grads across programs.  

What are the notable trends beyond the M7?

We don’t have the full story on international student outcomes. Many reports break down offers by work authorization status, but the gap between domestic and international acceptance rates (which can be 5-10%) represents real challenges that MBA programs don't always want to showcase. 

Also, we don’t have much data on graduates still seeking employment 6-12 months post-graduation. Most schools report 3-month outcomes and occasionally reference improvements by publication date, but we don't see comprehensive data on the 10-15% who haven't accepted offers in that initial window.

Here's what you should take away from these reports:

Tech hiring is selective, but not absent – If you want to pursue a role in tech, target programs with demonstrated placement. The roles exist, but they're competitive and concentrated in certain areas. 

Consulting is still a reliable path – Every M7 school placed 20-35% of graduates in consulting. If your goal is MBB or top-tier firms, any M7 program will get you there. And many T10/15 programs also have paths into MBBs and other highly-regarded consulting firms.  

Finance really spikes at Wharton and Columbia – Wharton's financial services placements rates were unmatched in 2025. Of course, other programs place grads in finance, too – just not at this scale or concentration. The East Coast MBA is a real advantage. 

Location matters – With 70-80% of graduates landing on the coasts, your program's geographic proximity to your target industry is critical.  

Acceptance rates reveal market dynamics – Those 81-87% acceptance rates mean 13-19% of graduates with offers are turning them down. Some are being selective and waiting for better opportunities… and others may be holding out for roles that don't materialize.

The information is directional, but shouldn’t drive all of your decision-making – Markets, industries, and data change from year to year. What you’re reading in the class of 2025 reports isn’t what the hiring landscape looks like when you graduate. No one knows what will happen then, so consider the bigger picture as you decide on the best program for you.