Wharton Releases 2020 MBA Class Profile
The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School has unveiled a profile of its latest MBA cohort. Despite a 7 percent drop in applications this year – from 6,692 to 6,245 – this year’s class is quite similar to last year’s, at least as far as the numbers go.
Demographically, the Class of 2020 is almost identical to the Class of 2019. The percentage of women is 43, compared to 44 last year. Meanwhile, international students and U.S. minorities each account for a third of the incoming class, as they did last year.
If anything, this year’s crop of MBA students is even more impressive academically, with the average GMAT edging up from 730 to 732. Of course, there’s substantial variation in students’ GMAT scores, with the lowest being 500 and the highest being 790.
Among those who took the GRE, the average verbal score was 163 and the average quantitative score was 162. Overall, the Class of 2020 has an average undergrad GPA of 3.6.
A typical incoming Wharton MBA student has five years of work experience. That said, some have as many as 15 while a few have very little.
When it comes to what industry this work experience comes from, there’s more variation. If you had to take a guess, consulting wouldn’t be a bad one, since this industry accounts for 27 percent of Wharton’s newest MBA class.
Private equity and venture capital are also popular, at 13 percent, and tech isn’t far behind, at 10 percent. Other popular industries include investment banking and nonprofit (including government), each of which account for 9 percent of the incoming class.
This year’s class includes a high proportion of humanities and social sciences majors – 45 percent, to be exact, up from 41 percent last year. Those who studied STEM are holding their own at 29 percent, and undergraduate business majors are also represented at 26 percent.
The fact that Wharton’s latest MBA class retained its impressive stats even as applications modestly declined suggests that while fewer students applied, those who did were highly qualified. In other words, Wharton’s admissions process remains as competitive as ever.
So what does it take to get into a school like Wharton? Will your profile catch the attention of adcoms, and what can you do to communicate your unique personal brand in a way that’s compelling?
These questions get at the heart of what goes into a successful application. We have years of experience in both sides of the admissions process, so if you’d like our help answering them, ask us for a free MBA assessment!