Sherwood News

Massive Business Ambitions: Way more people want to go to business school this year

MBA applications have soared 13.2% in 2024

10/25/24 6:08AM

What do NBA all-star Shaquille O’Neal, Republican president George W. Bush, and former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg have in common? They all have an MBA: the graduate-level degree that’s often billed — at least by the schools offering the programs, which can cost more than $200,000 — as a golden ticket into the global corporate elite.

The S-curve

Early classes on the programs likely cover the classic product life cycle, or “S-curve”, which theorizes that most products go through 4 phases: a slow early introduction, rapid growth, maturity, and then decline. With the first MBA introduced in Harvard in 1908, the program is certainly mature, and industry insiders were claiming we’d seen “peak MBA” as recently as February.

But, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council’s latest annual Application Trends Survey, 2024 has seen record growth in demand for graduate management education, with MBA applications soaring 13% from 2023, following 2 consecutive years of decline.

Grads around the globe are turning to business master’s programs to stand out in the somewhat chilly white-collar job market, with B-School often seen as a surefire way to bolster a resume, especially if the school in question is particularly prestigious. Per the Wall Street Journal, Columbia Business School applications are up 27% from last year, while applications at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and Harvard Business School have risen 22% and 21%, respectively.

According to the report, graduate management education programs hosted by US colleges specifically were up 8% year-on-year, driven by the number of American applicants rising almost 19%.

With gas prices soaring, the humble sedan is making a comeback

Recent US sales data reveals a “sedanaissance” among major automakers like Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota.

McDonald’s has a new strategy: Make its stores “easier to run”

Franchised and affiliated locations already make up over 95% of McDonald’s store count and 62% of its sales.

Old McDonald's restaurant in Downey, Los Angeles, California, USA

Tom Jones

hut’s off

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Yum! Brands might have found a potential buyer for Pizza Hut

Yum! is in exclusive talks with private equity firm LongRange Capital about a sale, per reports.

Hyunsoo Rim

hot dogs & half tanks

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Costco’s gas stations are breaking records as drivers seek cheaper fuel

Higher prices have pushed many members to the retailer’s pumps for the first time.

Max Knoblauch5/29/26

The Trump administration is reportedly planning a 50% made-in-America requirement for USMCA tariff relief

Qualifying for USMCA-related lower tariffs may soon require more US-made vehicle components, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to introduce a 50% US content requirement for vehicles covered by the trade pact to receive lower tariffs. The content would be measured by cost, according to the WSJ.

There currently isn’t any US-specific requirement for those lower tariff rates, but in order to receive preferential tariffs, vehicles are must contain at least 75% regional content (components made in North America). Per Reuters reporting, the Trump admin is seeking to raise the regional requirement to 82%.

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Overall, Tesla will likely have the easiest time qualifying for any stricter requirements. The automaker’s vehicles contained the highest amount of US/Canadian content in 2025, according to American University research. Ford, GM, and Stellantis all scored lower.

Notably: the underlying government data that many domestic content measurements rely on intentionally combines US and Canadian components, so it’s difficult to know exactly how much of any given vehicle is specifically US-made.

Exclusive | Trump Administration Wants Autos Under USMCA to Be at Least 50% Made in America