Ross’s Class of 2019
The Class of 2019 at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business includes a CIA economic analyst, a nationally ranked chess player, and a major in the Indian Army.
If that’s not enough, it also has New York Times project manager, someone who raised money to open a 15-bed shelter for LGBTQ kids while he was in college, and an aerospace engineer at NASA.
These tidbits might suggest to you that Ross’s latest class is both highly accomplished and diverse – and you’d be right.
Ross is quick to point out that its latest cohort has the highest average GMAT in school history. At 716, the Class of 2019 beat the previous record of 708, set by last year’s incoming class.
Ross’s latest batch of MBA students is also one of its most diverse. Forty-three percent of the class are women, the highest portion in school history. Meanwhile, 23 percent are underrepresented minorities, which Ross says is the highest number in 15 years.
It’s also a fairly international class, with one in three students coming from overseas. Altogether, these students represent 45 countries.
The Class of 2019’s diversity seems to extend to their academic interests. Ross points out that there is an almost even split between science, humanities and business majors.
Overall, 36 percent of the class studied economics or business as undergraduates, 32 percent studied STEM and 32 percent humanities.
When it comes to work experience, finance is the most popular industry, at 19 percent of the class. “Other” pulls in second at 15 percent, with consulting coming in third at 13 percent.
Military and government accounts for 10 percent of students’ pre-MBA work experience. Perhaps this isn’t a surprise when you consider that Ross’s Class of 2019 has the highest portion of military veterans in school history.
It’s also consistent with the fact that Ross’s latest class includes students who previously held an array of interesting government jobs ranging from energy analyst for the Obama administration to peace corps volunteer in Ecuador.
After government and military, technology, healthcare and education/non-profit are all tied at 8 percent. Engineering/manufacturing, consumer goods, retail and energy make up the rest of the industries represented in the Class of 2019 at 7, 6, 4 and 3 percent respectively.
In painting a profile of the class, Ross pointed out that “diversity (of background, experiences, thought, skills, and everything else) is the main ingredient in developing successful, high-achieving teams.”
Which, in their words, means that the Class of 2019’s diversity “adds up to good news for this stellar group of new students,” a group of students the school says “will accomplish many more great things during their time here and beyond.”