<p>Also, there’s too much lag in this data. Students usually work for a few years before grad school, meaning that most students of the entering mba 2012 class at any of these schools started college in 2004-2006.</p>
<p>Out of the top schools, UChicago’s entering classes have strengthened (by generic criteria) the most from ~2005-present. In 2004-05, UChicago accepted about 40-45% of applicants, and now accepts about a third of that number. In a comparable period of time, Dartmouth’s admission rate has dropped less drastically, mainly because Dart always engaged in very competitive, selective admissions. </p>
<p>I imagine the numbers for b-school in ~2020, when the OP will be applying, will be different than the numbers in 2012, whatever they may be. Rough metrics now, for example, strongly point to UChicago improving on their numbers moving forward. Such projections, then, should be incorporated into the analysis.</p>