Stanford's New Average GMAT: 732

Government, military and non-profit backgrounds account for 13% of the class, while technology is represented by 12% of the new students. Some 11% come with work experience in consumer products and services.

“Average years of pre-MBA work experience fell slightly from last year’s decade-long high,” said Stanford, which noted that the average was four years. “The range of years of work experience also narrowed slightly,” the school added. The range was zero to 12 years.

STANFORD SAYS NOT TO READ TOO MUCH INTO THE CLASS PROFILE

“Looking at the Stanford MBA class profiles over the years, you may notice that the percentages always shift a bit here or there,” Stanford explained. “With our small class size, even two students can, and do, create such variations. Since our candidate pool is ever changing, the numbers in the entering class change, too.

“These fluctuations also speak to our admission process. We don’t admit categories; we admit individuals. There are no quotas or targets in the Stanford admission process, and we assess each applicant based on her or his own merit. This is why we consider a class profile illustrative, rather than informative. In truth, there is no metric that can capture an individual’s potential.”

HOW THE CLASS OF 2015 COMPARES AT STANFORD, HARVARD & WHARTON

Criteria	Stanford	Harvard	Wharton
Applications for Class of 2015	7,108	9,315	6,036
Class Size	406	941	845
Percent Admitted	6.8%	12%	21%*
Yield	86%*	90%	65%*
Women	36%	41%	42%
International	41%	35%	35%
Countries Represented	54	60	64
U.S. Minorities	21%	25%	30%
GMAT Average	732	NA	725
GMAT Median	NA	730	NA
GMAT Range	550 — 790	550 — 780	630 — 790
Consulting Background	20%	19%	20%
Private Equity/Venture Capital	17%	16%	12%
Financial Services	10%	14%	27%
High Tech/Communications	16%	11%	6%
Consumer Products	11%	7%	10%**
Government/Military/Non-Profit	13%	12%	11%
Industrial/Manufacturing	3%	7%	NA
Healthcare/Biotech	5%	6%	***
Energy/Extractive Minerals	5%	4%	NA****