The Wharton School just released the profile of their MBA Class of 2021. Get to know the upcoming first-year MBA class and see how you compare.
Highest Percentage of Female Students and U.S. Students of Color
Wharton’s MBA Class of 2021 includes the highest percentage of female students in the history of the Wharton MBA program. Forty-seven percent of the upcoming class is female—that’s four percent higher than last year.
This year also marked the highest percentage of U.S. students of color for the program. Up from 33 percent last year, students of color comprise 36 percent of the MBA Class of 2021.
New Data on LGBTQ+ Students
Wharton also released some new data this year. For the first time, Wharton collected information about their students who identify as LGBTQ+. Five percent of the Wharton MBA Class of 2021 identify as LGBTQ. We’ll have to keep an eye on this statistic in the coming years to see any changes.
Humanities Students Lead the Way
Another interesting statistic revolves around undergraduate majors. While you would expect mainly business students to apply and be accepted into the Wharton MBA program, that’s not the case. In fact, business undergraduate majors were the least represented (only 27 percent). Instead, 43 percent of candidates had a background in Humanities followed by 30 percent in STEM.
Consultants Still Rule
In terms of prior work experience, of the 856-person Class of 2021, 25 percent come from a consulting background. Other top industries for background experience include Private Equity/Venture Capital (12 percent), Nonprofit/Government (9 percent), Tech/Internet Services (9 percent), and Investment Banking (9 percent).
Application Volume Falls, GMAT Stays the Same
If you’ve been waiting anxiously to apply to Wharton, this might be the perfect opportunity. For the third year in a row, application volume dropped off, reducing by 5.4% compared to last year. They went from 6,245 to 5,905. However, even though application volume went down, the mean GMAT score stayed the same at 732, and the average GPA stayed high at 3.6.
To see more, take a look at the profile on the Wharton website here.
