Harvard and Stanford MBA have a global brand recognition that not many peer schools can claim. While offers from any one of the two programs are accepted without any second thought due to the post-MBA salary, generous fellowships and the carefully structured curriculum, the preparation and planning required to customize an applicant’s profile to one program is tremendous.
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To give you a holistic perspective on how the two programs are similar and different, we compared the two programs on 8 factors – Cost, Class Profile, Rankings, Post-MBA placement trends and salary, Curriculum, Entrepreneurship, Experiential Learning and Funding (fellowships/scholarships).
Harvard vs. Stanford MBA - Total Cost
Stanford is the costliest (total median cost) US MBA program at $283,000, followed by Harvard in second place, costing $277,350.
Compared to 2021, Harvard became costlier by 24% and Stanford by 18%. Living expenses, including accommodation and food, are higher by $6,500 at Stanford in addition to health insurance, which is also costlier by $2,000, than at Harvard. Married students need to budget an extra $10,000 in living expenses at Harvard and $23,000 at Stanford.
Tuition: Stanford > Harvard
Living expenses: Stanford > Harvard
Health Insurance: Stanford > Harvard
| Harvard vs. Stanford MBA (Cost) | Harvard (Single) | Stanford (Single) | Harvard (Married) | Stanford (Married) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition Fees | $73,440 | $76,950 | $73,440 | $76,950 |
| Additional Fees | $2,550 | $900 | $2,550 | $900 |
| Living Expenses (Accommodation and Food) | $30,780 | $37,293 | $39,050 | $60,084 |
| Laptop | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Health Insurance | $5,384 | $7,491 | $5,384 | $7,491 |
| Loan Fees | $2,748 | $2,748 | $2,748 | $2,748 |
Harvard vs. Stanford MBA - Class Profile and Pre-MBA Undergraduate Degrees
Harvard’s application volume is 30% higher than Stanford’s. However, the class size at Stanford is half that of Harvard’s. This has resulted in a highly selective class at Stanford MBA with an acceptance rate of 5.8%, whereas at Harvard it is 10% for the class of 2023.
Stanford’s average GPA is higher at nearly 3.8 than Harvard’s 3.7, GMAT scores follow the same trend of being higher at Stanford, 8 points ahead of Harvard.
Stanford also offers greater international diversity amongst its MBAs and greater gender equity with a higher representation of women as a percentage of the class size than Harvard.
Application Volume: Harvard > Stanford
Acceptance Rate: Harvard > Stanford
International Student Representation: Stanford > Harvard
Women Representation: Stanford > Harvard
Underrepresented Minorities: Harvard > Stanford
| Class Profile 2023 | Stanford MBA | Harvard MBA |
|---|---|---|
| Application Volume | 7367 | 9773 |
| Admitted | 426 | 1010 |
| Acceptance Rate | 5.80% | 10% |
| GPA | 3.78 | 3.69 |
| GMAT Median | 738 | 730 |
| International Students | 47% | 37% |
| Women representation | 44% | 41% |
| Underrepresented Minorities (including dual citizens) | 48% | 52% |
Pre-MBA Undergraduate Degrees
Stanford and Harvard’s overall preferences and mix of majors in the overall class profile are similar, with only marginal differences of a few percentage points.
The widest difference between the two school profiles can be seen in the case of Business/Commerce majors vs. Economics majors, where Stanford has a higher preference for the latter in the most recent class profile and Harvard for the former. Stanford has a higher representation of Arts/Humanities majors and Social Sciences majors by 4% and 2%, respectively, offering greater diversity. Harvard’s preference for technical majors is evident in this year’s education profile, with engineering majors having the largest representation, 2% higher than Stanford at 27%.
Arts/Humanities: Stanford > Harvard
STEM: Harvard: Stanford
Business/Economics: Harvard > Stanford
| Undergraduate Degrees | Harvard Pre-MBA | Stanford Pre-MBA |
|---|---|---|
| Arts/Humanities | 4% | 8% |
| Business/Commerce | 21% | 15% |
| Economics | 20% | 22% |
| Engineering | 27% | 25% |
| Math/Physical Sciences | 15% | 14% |
| Social Sciences | 13% | 15% |
Harvard vs. Stanford MBA - Rankings
Harvard has been consistently in the top 5 across the various rankings, but Stanford has been in the top 10. The M7 schools are back in The Economist’s 2022 rankings after a “hiatus,” which Harvard tops, whereas Stanford ranked lower at 8, demonstrating the widest gap between the two schools. Stanford topped the Bloomberg Best B-Schools 2021-22 ranking, in which Harvard came third. The Financial Times MBA 2022 rankings featured Harvard in third place and Stanford in sixth place. The US News Best Business Schools 2023 placed Stanford third and Harvard fifth.
The average rank of Harvard is higher than Stanford by almost two places, Harvard third, and Stanford fifth.
According to F1GMAT’s research, Stanford is the costliest US MBA program at $283,000, followed by Harvard. However, Stanford MBA’s salaries have also risen 3% compared to last year, to a total median salary of $188,400. Harvard salaries stayed constant at $180,000 compared to the previous year. If we include post-MBA salary rankings, Stanford’s average ranking would rise to 4, bringing it closer to Harvard’s rank of 3.
| Ranking | Harvard | Stanford |
|---|---|---|
| FT MBA 2022 | 3 | 6 |
| US News Best Business Schools 2023 | 5 | 3 |
| Bloomberg Best B-Schools 2021-22 | 3 | 1 |
| The Economist 2022 | 1 | 8 |
| Average Rank | 3 | 4.5 |
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