Wharton’s MBA Class of 2021 Profile
The stats are out on the latest crop of full-time MBA students at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, the Class of 2021.
Interestingly, the number of applicants continues to decline, down to 5,905 from 6,245 last year – which was itself a drop from 6,692 the year before.
Despite the smaller application pool, admission to Wharton appears to be just as competitive as ever. The Class of 2021 came in exactly even with last year’s cohort in terms of average GMAT (732) and average GPA (3.6).
Those who took the GRE are neck-and-neck with last year’s students in terms of quantitative score (162), and one point lower on verbal (162 vs. 163).
Meanwhile, Wharton’s Class of 2021 looks to be more diverse, with the percentage of women up to 47 and the percentage of US students of color at 36. Wharton also asked whether students identified as LGBT this year, with five percent saying they did.
There are 64 countries represented in this year’s incoming MBA class, with 30 percent of the class being international students.
Overall, students are arriving on campus with anywhere between zero and 16 years of work experience. The average, like last year, is five.
Most often that experience comes in consulting, which accounts for a quarter of the class. Twelve percent are coming from private equity and venture capital while non-profit, tech and investment banking are represented by nine percent of students each.
Wharton’s Class of 2021 appears to be just as varied in their undergraduate majors as their work experience. Forty-three percent majored in humanities and 30 percent in STEM subjects. The remaining 27 percent are following up on undergraduate business majors.
Participation in Wharton’s interdisciplinary programs remains strong. That includes 15 students in the JD/MBA program, 67 in the MBA/MA international studies degree, and 78 in the health care management program.
As is usually the case at top business schools, Wharton’s latest MBA class appears to draw on people with a wide range of interests and backgrounds.
What these people have in common, though, is that they submitted applications that communicated the unique personal strengths they would bring to Wharton’s program and thus got the adcom’s attention.
At EXPARTUS, we can give you feedback on how your application is likely to come across at schools like Wharton and what you can do to build a compelling personal brand. Feel free to get in touch with us for a free MBA application assessment!