Wharton MBA Class of 2027 Profile: Higher Enrollment, Broad Diversity

The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania released the profile of its new MBA Class of 2027. This year, 888 students enrolled from an applicant pool of 7,613; last year, 866 students matriculated out of 7,322 applicants. 

Professional and Academic History

The Wharton MBA Class of 2027 arrived on campus with an average of five years of professional experience. Thirty-one percent hailed from consulting, making it the most popular pre-MBA industry another year running. Private equity and venture capital followed at 15 percent again and the nonprofit and government sector at 10 percent. Rounding out the top five industries are investment banking and tech at eight percent each.

Their academic history mirrors the prior class as, during their undergraduate years, 36 percent of the latest Wharton MBA class majored in humanities. Once again, 32 percent had pursued STEM studies and the same (32 percent) earned degrees in business. Eighteen percent of students in the class graduated from schools outside the U.S. Like their second-year classmates, their average undergraduate GPA landed at 3.7 (based on universities with a 4.0 scale).

For those who took the GMAT, the average score on the legacy test came in at 735, a three-point increase over last year and a new record high. On the newer GMAT Focus, the Wharton MBA class averaged a score of 676. The average GRE score held at 162 for Verbal and 163 for Quant. 

159 new students (18 percent of the class) are enrolled in one of Wharton’s interdisciplinary or dual-degree programs: the Lauder MBA/MA Joint Degree in International Studies (72), the Carey JD/MBA Program (15), or the MBA in Health Care Management (72). Fifty-four students joined the Wharton MBA program this year through the Moelis Advance Access Program.

Student Characteristics

Women make up 44 percent of the class, only a three percent decrease from last year. Twenty-six percent are international students–a five percent drop from last year–representing 68 countries. Twelve percent identify as LGBTQ+ students and another 11 percent are first-generation college students.

Turning to the racial and ethnic class demographics, U.S. minorities comprise 55 percent of the class (based on the 74 percent of students that are U.S. passport holders only; percentages calculated out of 888 students). Based on Federal guidelines, 13 percent identify as Black/African American, nine percent as Hispanic/Latinx, and 33 percent as Asian American–all increases over last year. Another two percent identify as mixed-race. 

See the full Wharton MBA class profile for 2027 here.