Hofstra University’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business
SCHOOLS FOR SKY HIGH SIGNING BONUSES
Signing bonuses for new graduates not only boost total first-year compensation, they can also help new graduates settle into new cities or living arrangements where up-front costs are a consideration.
There was no higher average bonus than at Hofstra Zarb which soared to $14,167 up 68% over last year’s average signing bonus of $8,433. The big caveat here is that just 11% of 2024 Zarb grads reported getting a signing bonus and just 6.5% 2023 grads reported getting one.
Compare that to The Wharton School which posted the second highest average signing bonus on the 2025 ranking. 80.6% of 2024 Wharton grads reported receiving an average signing bonus of $13,307 while 90.7% of 2023 grads reported receiving an average bonus of $15,603.
Rounding out the highest five average signing bonuses for the Class of 2025 were Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) at $12,167 with 20% reporting, NYU Stern at $12,004 at 70.7% and Cornell University (Dyson) at $11,896 and 83.9% reporting.
Overall, the average 2024 signing bonus at all 104 business schools we ranked in 2025 was $6,367, up just slightly from 2023’s average bonus of $6,259. The average percentage of students reporting getting a bonus was 29.6% in 2024 and 32.6% in 2023.
HIGHEST & LOWEST SIGNING BONUSES AT P&Q RANKED B- SCHOOLS
Twelve of 104 ranked programs reported average signing bonuses of $10,000 or more this cycle while 10 programs reported bonuses of less than $4,000. Eleven school reported no signing bonuses for 2024.
HIGHEST |
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2025 Rank |
School |
2024 Signing Bonus |
2024 % Receiving Bonus |
2023 Signing Bonus |
2023 % Receiving Bonus |
| 59 | Hofstra University (Zarb) | $14,167.00 | 11.00% | $8,433.00 | 6.50% |
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | $13,307.00 | 80.61% | $15,603.00 | 90.70% |
| 92 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) | $12,167.00 | 20.00% | $10,250.00 | 28.00% |
| 5 | New York University (Stern) | $12,004.00 | 67.00% | $11,059.00 | 70.70% |
| 2 | Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) | $11,896.00 | 79.10% | $12,128.00 | 83.90% |
| 6 | Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) | $11,344.00 | 72.70% | $10,309.00 | 72.00% |
| 65 | Seton Hall University (Stillman) | $11,138.00 | 21.00% | $6,521.00 | 15.70% |
| 4 | Georgetown University (McDonough) | $10,952.08 | 70.42% | $10,291.04 | 71.01% |
| 10 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | $10,402.00 | 78.00% | $11,583.00 | 83.00% |
| 44 | Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick | $10,301.57 | 48.00% | $11,452.10 | 42.90% |
| 11 | University of Michigan (Ross) | $10,019.00 | 82.20% | $9,979.00 | 83.70% |
| 64 | St. John’s University (Tobin) | $10,000.00 | 1.00% | $5,000.00 | 1.00% |
LOWEST |
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2025 Rank |
School |
2024 Signing Bonus |
2024 % Receiving Bonus |
2023 Signing Bonus |
2023 % Receiving Bonus |
| 74 | Towson University | $3,900.00 | 25.40% | $4,300.00 | 15.30% |
| 96 | Oregon State University | $3,800.00 | 5.00% | $4,200.00 | 5.00% |
| 37 | Fairfield University (Dolan) | $3,601.00 | 16.30% | $4,000.00 | 19.70% |
| 79 | Ohio University | $3,248.40 | 16.00% | $5,455.45 | 16.20% |
| 27 | Trinity University (Neidorff) | $3,182.00 | 30.80% | $3,000.00 | 28.60% |
| 53 | The College of New Jersey | $3,019.00 | 9.00% | $4,400.00 | 25.00% |
| 65 | Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) | $2,683.33 | 9.00% | $2,685.71 | 11.00% |
| 91 | Saint Joseph’s University (Haub) | $2,231.00 | 11.00% | $2,360.00 | 12.00% |
| 78 | Roger Williams University (Gabelli) | $2,000.00 | 1.00% | $2,267.00 | 12.00% |
| 98 | Northern Illinois University | $371.44 | 9.10% | $477.00 | 27.30% |
AND THE SCHOOL WITH THE HIGHEST OVERALL COMPENSATION IS …
With average starting salaries, starting bonuses and percent of students receiving a bonus, we estimate overall adjusted compensation. To calculate this metric, we multiplied the average signing bonus with the percentage of graduates receiving a signing bonus, then we added back the average starting salary.
This metric accounts for 30% of the Career Outcomes category in our ranking methodology. The category, in turn, accounts for 33% of the overall ranking score.
With its high average salaries and signing bonuses, Wharton again comes out on top for the highest first-year compensation. Its 2024 graduates had an adjusted total compensation of $120,206, down slightly from 2023 grads’ total compensation of $121,367.
Six other schools join Wharton in the $100K club as you can see in the table below.
Graduates of all schools in the top 10 in this metric had average first-year earnings of $95,966, down from last year’s average of $103,609.Click through the following pages for salary, signing bonus, and total compensation figures at all 104 ranked business schools.
ADJUSTED FIRST-YEAR COMPENSATION
10 HIGHEST |
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| 2025 Rank | School | 2024 Salary | 2024 Signing Bonus | 2024 % receiving signing bonus | 2024 Adjusted Compensation |
2023 Adjusted Compensation
|
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | $109,479.00 | $13,307.00 | 80.61% | $120,205.77 | $121,366.92 |
| 4 | Georgetown University (McDonough) | $100,732.94 | $10,952.08 | 70.42% | $108,445.39 | $108,166.82 |
| 5 | New York University (Stern) | $99,119.00 | $12,004.00 | 67.00% | $107,161.68 | $99,884.71 |
| 2 | Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) | $96,394.00 | $11,896.00 | 79.10% | $105,803.74 | $108,241.39 |
| 11 | University of Michigan (Ross) | $94,418.00 | $10,019.00 | 82.20% | $102,653.62 | $102,646.42 |
| 10 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | $94,200.00 | $10,402.00 | 78.00% | $102,313.56 | $103,954.89 |
| 6 | Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) | $91,852.00 | $11,344.00 | 72.70% | $100,099.09 | $97,793.48 |
| 4 | University of Virginia (McIntire) | $91,838.00 | $9,801.00 | 78.10% | $99,492.58 | $100,966.57 |
| 3 | University of Southern California (Marshall) | $90,188.00 | $9,434.00 | 65.00% | $96,320.10 | $101,005.25 |
| 7 | University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) | $91,440.00 | $9,981.00 | 38.00% | $95,232.78 | $92,058.76 |
10 Lowest |
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| 2025 Rank | School | 2024 Salary | 2024 Signing Bonus | 2024 % receiving signing bonus | 2024 Adjusted Compensation |
2023 Adjusted Compensation
|
| 104 | Kennesaw State University (Coles) | $58,866.00 | $0.00 | 0.00% | $58,866.00 | $58,866.00 |
| 78 | Roger Williams University (Gabelli) | $57,836.00 | $2,000.00 | 1.00% | $57,856.00 | $56,969.04 |
| 79 | Ohio University | $57,206.30 | $3,248.40 | 16.00% | $57,726.04 | $57,353.87 |
| 82 | Ithaca College | $56,834.00 | $5,600.00 | 4.00% | $57,058.00 | $49,269.00 |
| 96 | Oregon State University | $56,535.00 | $3,800.00 | 5.00% | $56,725.00 | $57,140.00 |
| 46 | Lipscomb University | $56,273.00 | $6,000.00 | 2.04% | $56,395.40 | $55,002.00 |
| 87 | University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) | $54,085.00 | $4,875.00 | 6.30% | $54,392.13 | $59,014.37 |
| 86 | University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) | $54,000.00 | $0.00 | 0.00% | $54,000.00 | $54,000.00 |
| 84 | University of Mary Washington | $50,673.00 | $7,500.00 | 2.00% | $50,823.00 | $49,705.00 |
| 72 | Hult International Business School | $44,700.00 | $0.00 | 0.00% | $44,700.00 | $42,900.00 |
PAGE 3: Average first-year salaries for Class of 2024
PAGE 4: Average signing bonuses for Class of 2024
PAGE 5: Average first-year adjusted total compensation for Class of 2024
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