M.B.A. Applications Keep Falling in U.S., This Year Hitting Even Elite Schools

American business schools struggle to lure professionals out of strong job market, face competition from top programs in Europe, Asia, Canada

Applications to American M.B.A. programs dropped for a fourth straight year, with even elite universities starting to show signs of struggling to lure young professionals out of the strong job market.

For the first time in nearly a decade, waning interest in the traditional master of business administration degree hit business schools that draw the most applications, including Harvard and Stanford universities, according to a survey of 360 schools by the Graduate Management Admission Council, a nonprofit that administers the...