Monthly applications are not the only thing on the rise at the HEC Paris MBA. During the last few weeks, two of the most revered rankings have once again named us one of the world’s best full-time MBA programs. What’s more, our overall positions in both rankings are even better than last year.

In the just-announced Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2021, the HEC Paris MBA earned #7 worldwide, up from #9 in 2020. That comes on the heels of The Economist’s WhichMBA? 2021 Full-Time Ranking. Released at the end of January, The Economist placed us at #2 globally, one spot higher than where we landed in 2020.

Naturally, we are incredibly proud of these results. They reflect the tireless efforts of the entire HEC community to make the program as transformational as possible for our students — and for students in the future.

Still, part of a ranking’s value is showing how an MBA program stacks up against its global peers. With COVID-19 altering so many aspects of the educational experience in 2020, many well-known schools chose not to participate in these rankings. Ninety schools participated in The Economist’s 2021 rankings, down from 160 in 2020. The Financial Times’ results, still formulated using the quantitative and qualitative results from thousands of current and former MBA students, also represents a smaller baseline of schools.

In the end, we decided that it was important to participate in these MBA rankings. With the sweeping changes brought on by the pandemic, it was a way for us to be transparent with our stakeholders, especially our current students and our candidates, who need to have all the information possible to choose the best MBA program to meet their career goals. Sharing our data also allows us to see where our strengths lie, so that we can keep innovating and moving our program forward.

The rankings still highlight the exceptional educational experience offered by the HEC Paris MBA. There are categories in which we show our strength year after year, especially regarding our return on investment. The quality of our curriculum is undeniable, as is the far-reaching impact of our academic research. The rankings also reflect the considerable salary increase achieved by our graduates. They acknowledge the power of our alumni network to connect people throughout the world. At last count, the HEC Paris community numbered 60,000. For those reasons alone, these rankings are definitely worth celebrating.