Wharton MBA Class Profile: The Class of 2022 Takes Shape Amid COVID-19

See the Wharton MBA Class of 2023 profile here.

The Wharton School has released its MBA Class of 2022 profile. This year, the 916-member class is one of the largest in school history and came from the largest pool of applicants in a decade. Thanks in part to extended deadlines and relaxed testing requirements in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the school received 7,158 applications, a 20 percent jump over the previous year.

Here are some key elements of the profile:

Class Numbers Affected by the Pandemic

The effects of the pandemic can be seen in many of the class statistics. Although 70 countries are represented in the class, just 19 percent are international students—a drop of 11 percent from last year. Enrollment of women also dipped compared to the Class of 2021. Forty-one percent of the incoming class are women as opposed to the record-setting 46 percent of the incoming class last year.

The larger number of applications and changes in testing requirements resulted in lower GMAT and GRE scores overall than in previous years, too. The average GMAT dropped 10 points to 722.

Racial, Ethnic, and Experiential Diversity

Thirty-nine percent of the Class of 2022 are white. The breakdown of the U.S. minority population of the class is 24 percent Asian American, 10 percent Black, and 6 percent Latino. Less than one percent are Indigenous North American or Alaskan Native. These numbers reflect a percentage of the total 916 enrollees. Many schools are changing over to a common reporting standard that identifies U.S. minority students as a percentage of just domestic students and permanent residents rather than the entire class, making a direct comparison between schools using the new standard and schools using the same method as Wharton more difficult.

Last year Wharton chose to count LGBTQ+ students in their class profile for the first time. This year, six percent of students identify as LGBTQ+, which is one percent more than 2019’s first-year students.

In alignment with previous years, the professional experience of incoming students is overwhelmingly in consulting with 24 percent coming out of that industry. Private equity/venture capital was the second most popular career choice, as 12 percent joined the class with related experience. The technology and the non-profit/government sector were both sources of 10 percent of the new class. Eight percent of students have a background in financial services, with another 7 percent coming from investment banking. Health care, investment management, CPG/retail each categorize 5 percent of the incoming class’s professional experience.

Welcoming the New Class

Wharton’s Winter Welcome Weekend in February invited first-year students to visit the campus in Philadelphia at a pre-pandemic networking event. Five admitted students from the Northeast and Chicago, including two military veterans, were interviewed about joining Wharton. Each student indicated their choice of school and the goals they want to fulfil all revolved around their individual story in the context of the larger Wharton community. In a Q&A event, Alec Wrubel, Wharton MBA ’22, saw a student panel that represented “…a range of nationalities, ages, backgrounds, but were united by a genuine excitement to share their Wharton experience.” Kavya Nagalla, Wharton MBA ’22, is looking forward to “forging connections with a set of people I really vibe with.” Another profiled MBA student, Angela Ziccardi, when asked what advice she would give to prospective students, responded “I would encourage others to be confident in the value of their unique backgrounds and experiences.”

Despite what is likely a short-term drop in class diversity that can be attributed to the pandemic, the students coming to class this year are eager to employ that diversity in their education and careers.