App works, but Stanford GSB’s diversity takes a hit

Stanford University, like other top U.S. and global business schools, reported a strong rebound in MBA applications from 2023 to 2024. stanford photos

The significant rebound in MBA apps has been a huge boon for business schools in the U.S. and around the world. However, it cannot solve all the problems of B-schools.

The Stanford Graduate School of Business is the latest example. poet and poetryStanford University, the No. 1 business school in the United States, saw a nearly 18% increase in the number of apps from 2023 to 2024 compared to the previous cycle. This allowed the school to enroll classes with larger numbers of U.S. minorities and international students. The latter was particularly impressive. This feat was achieved at a time when most B-schools are reporting a decline in international student interest (more than offset by a resurgence in domestic applications). Among other notable achievements, Stanford University’s MBA class of 2026 matched the school’s record for average score on the Graduate Management Admissions Examination.

But while the minority population grew from half the class to 53%, that increase was led by Asian American students, who made up 24% of the old class and 53% of the new class, according to federal reporting guidelines. It made up 30% of the class. Unfortunately for Stanford University, at least in part as a result of the 2023 Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action in college admissions, the school experienced a simultaneous decline in black and Latino enrollment; That too has decreased significantly.

Stanford MBA Class 2019-2026: By the Numbers

Source: Stanford GSB

Growth in MBA apps is on par with peer schools

Stanford was one of the few top B schools that didn’t see a decline in MBA applications from 2022 to 2023, but that doesn’t mean this follow-up wasn’t a huge success for the school. The 7,295 applications for 2023-2024 are the most the school has received since the MBA class of 2023, which swelled with applicants spurred by the prospect of relaxed admissions standards amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the highest number in the three years I received it. Stanford University still has a long way to go to return to its all-time high of 8,173 applicants for the Class of 2019, but after two years of staying in the low 6,000 range, admissions increased at the end of the last cycle in the spring. The team certainly breathed a sigh of relief.

They weren’t the only ones. Among the same M7 schools, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania had a total of 7,322 MBA applications in 2023-2024, marking an 18% rebound from the previous cycle but missing out on the school record by just 16 applications, trailing Harvard Business. The school received 21 applications. % increase in number of apps. MIT Sloan School of Management saw a 16% increase in apps, the M7 school enrolled a school-record 49% women, and the class set a new school record for undergraduate GPA (3.7).

Other top schools that reported class profile data include:

This phenomenon is not limited to the United States. In Spain, IESE Business School reported a record for the app, which enabled the school to enroll its largest class ever and the highest proportion of women ever.

Stanford VS. Harvard University VS. Wharton: MBA Class of 2026

*median; Source: School class profile

Significant decline in Black and Latino students in new MBA classes

A significant increase in apps has helped Stanford remain the leader in GMAT (738) and GRE (327) scores over rivals the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School (above). reference). But it wasn’t enough to reverse headwinds from a 2023 Supreme Court ruling ending affirmative action in college admissions. Black students decreased to 8% of the class in fall 2024 (11% in 2023), and Latino students decreased from 12% to 7%. Overall, underrepresented minorities decreased from 27% to 22% of the class, lower than the fall 2020 mark of 24%, a result of shortened app cycles due to the pandemic.

Some schools in the United States have adapted better than others to the 2023 SCOTUS ruling. New York University’s Stern School of Business, like Dartmouth Tuck Business School, reported an increase in URM students in 2024, including students who are Black, Latino, and other non-Asian minorities. Duke Fuqua School of Business reported that URM students jumped from 27% to 40% of the class, and Michigan’s Ross School of Business saw a 10-point increase in URM students to 29%. did. Wharton, on the other hand, had mixed results (more Hispanic students, less black students), and Yale School of Management saw a slight decline.

Like Stanford University, the MIT Sloan School of Management struggled to admit black and Latino students. In August, new york times As a university, MIT reported sharp declines in black and Latino enrollment. Sloan’s class profile shows that graduate business enrollment has not been spared a decline. After reaching a high of 32% of the class four years ago, underrepresented minorities have declined to just 15% in Sloan’s MBA class of 2026.

Stanford GSB Pre-MBA Industrial and Undergraduate MBA Classes 2017-2026

Source: Stanford GSB

Consulting takes top spot in Pre-MBA industry

There were other notable numbers in the profile of Stanford University’s new MBA class. One of the most significant is that the school has reversed its commitment to gender equality. Stanford University had a female enrollment rate of 44% for the Class of 2026, down from 46% last year, and a school record 47% for the Class of 2021 and Class of 2021. 2022. Stanford currently lags behind Harvard and Wharton in female admissions, the latter of which finally fell below 50% this fall for the first time in four years.

Another interesting development is the growth of consulting as a major pre-MBA industry for freshmen. Consulting was the only top sector among Stanford freshmen for the first time since 2019, rising from 17% to 20%, while VC/PE/Investment Management held steady at 19%. Meanwhile, technology companies remained in third place, increasing from 13% to 14%.

For undergraduates, engineering, mathematics, and natural science majors made up 41% of the class, the same as in the previous class, and humanities, social sciences, and economics majors also made up 41%, up from 39%. I did. Business majors make up 18% of the class, down from 20%.

Don’t miss MIT Sloan. Increase in MBA applications helps in many ways, but diversity lags and the MBA class of 2026: Harvard University sees major rebound in MBA applications

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