Harvard Business School (HBS) boasts one of the most prestigious MBA programs in the world, ranked #5 (tied with MIT) among full-time MBA programs on U.S. News’ 2022 list of the Best Business Schools. So, it’s no surprise that accepted students at HBS have some pretty impressive test scores.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the GRE scores of students accepted to the Harvard MBA program, as well as other key data points in the HBS class profile. You’ll also get some expert tips on how to evaluate your unique profile to set a competitive score goal for applying to HBS.

To start, let’s review HBS’s test score requirements.


A GMAT or GRE score is required of all students seeking admission to the Harvard Business School MBA program. Note that applicants can submit scores from either the in-person or online version of the GRE or GMAT.

Additionally, there is no minimum GMAT or GRE score required to apply. Of course, some test scores will not be as competitive as others, but we’ll get into that further shortly. For now, the important point to know is that you certainly can take the GRE to apply to HBS.

In fact, many more HBS students have been opting to submit GRE scores with their MBA applications in recent years. In the class of 2023, 29% of enrolled students submitted GRE scores, up 7% from the class of 2022. Compare those figures to the percentage associated with the class of 2020, in which only 12% of enrolled students applied with GRE scores.

So, while the majority of enrolled students still submit GMAT scores, the gap between the GMAT and GRE has been closing among HBS students. Even more importantly, HBS explicitly states that it does not have a preference for one test over the other. So, if you’d prefer to take the GRE instead of the GMAT for your MBA applications, you can rest assured that plenty of students have gained entry to HBS using GRE scores.

Now, let’s take a look at just how important a tool your GRE score could be for gaining entry to HBS.


Although HBS did not publish its acceptance rate for the class of 2023, there is evidence that the HBS acceptance rate has decreased somewhat over the past couple of years. The HBS acceptance rate for the MBA class entering in fall 2019 was 11.5%. The rate dropped to 9.2% for the class entering in 2020 and reportedly fell to 9% for the class entering in 2021 (the class of 2023).

At the same time, the number of people applying to HBS’s full-time MBA program has risen. The number of applicants was 5% higher for the class of 2023 than for the class of 2022. According to reporting by Poets & Quants, there were 10.7 candidates for each available seat in HBS’s class of 2023.

So, more people are interested in earning an MBA at HBS, while the school is accepting a smaller percentage of applicants. What does that mean for your GRE score? It means that an impressive GRE score could be more important than ever for distinguishing yourself from the pack. Can a great GRE score guarantee admission to Harvard Business School (or any school)? Unfortunately not. When it comes to MBA admissions, there are no guarantees. However, with competition this stiff, you’ll want to do everything you can to make your application stand out.

So, let’s take a look at the kinds of GRE scores accepted students in the Harvard MBA program have.