HBS Shows Increasing Love Of STEM Admits

GMAT SCORES FOR CLASS OF 2015 ADMITS RANGE FROM 550 TO 780

Leopold also announced that the school’s median GMAT score remained exactly the same as it has for the past two years: 730. Harvard said Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores for its admitted students ranged from a low of 550—20 points lower than the previous year—and 780—ten points less than a year earlier. The average age of an incoming MBA remained stable at 27 years old.

Harvard said its acceptance rate for MBA candidates fell slightly to 12% this year from 13% a year ago, largely on the basis of a larger pool of applicants. The improvement was due to a 3.9% increase in applications that occurred after HBS made major changes to its MBA application process. Some 9,315 applicants sought admission to the school during the 2012-2013 admissions cycle, up from 8,963 (see Harvard MBA Applications Up 3.9%).

There were no major discernable trends in work backgrounds for the class. Harvard did admit slightly more candidates from the financial and high tech sectors and slightly fewer admits from government, education and non-profits. But by and large, the numbers were extremely close.

MORE ADMITS FROM FINANCE & HIGH TECH; LESS FROM NON-PROFITS

The single biggest group of students in the Class of 2015 will come from consulting who will account for 19% of the class, down a single percentage point from a year earlier.  The second largest chunk of the class will hail from venture capital and private equity, which will make up 16% of admits, exactly the same as last year. They are followed by financial services, 14% of the class, up two percentage points from last year.

Other pre-MBA experience is high tech/communications (11%, up from 9%), consumer products (7%, up from 6%), government, education and non-profit (7%, down from 9%), industrial/heavy manufacturing (7%, exactly the same as last year), healthcare/biotech (6%, down from 7%), the military (5%, same as last year), energy/extractive minerals (4%, same as last year), and other services (4%, down from 5%).

Harvard said that 69% of the class—some 655 students—are citizens of North America, with 65%, or 616 students, from the U.S. That’s down from 72% and 66%, respectively, last year. Asian citizens—147 in total–represent 16% of the class, up four full percentage points from last year. “With (Dean Nitin) Nohria from Asia, it’s no surprise that the slight downward trend from past three years has been halted,” added admissions consultant Isiadinso. “Besides, where will the school get many of their STEM students from?”

About 9% of the class will hail from Europe, down from 10% a year earlier, while 4% will come from Central and South America, up from 3% last year. Citizens from Oceania and Africa will each represent 1% of the new class.

Overall, Harvard said that 60 countries would be represented in the Class of 2015, slightly less than the 69 nations in the Class of 2014. The admitted students gained their undergraduate degrees from 126 different domestic universities and colleges (down from 133 last year) and 137 international universities. International admits rose to 35% of the class, up from 32% last year, while “U.S. ethnic minorities” will represent 25% of the entering class, slightly more than the 24% for the Class of 2014.

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CLASS OF 2015

Characteristic                                       Class of 2015    Class of 2014    Class of 2013    Class of 2012
Size of Class 941 925 905 876
Applications 9,315 8,963 9,331 10,368
Acceptance Rate 12% 13% 12% 10%
Yield 90% 89% 89% 89%
Women 41% 40% 39% 36%
U.S. Ethnic Minorities 25% 24% 23% 23%
International 35% 32% 34% 34%
Average Age 27 27 27 26
Countries Represented 60 69 68 73
Undergraduate institutions represented 263 270 243 243
Median GMAT 730 730 730 724
GMAT Range 550 — 780 570 — 790 490 — 790 510 — 790
Citizenship: North American 69% 72% 70% 70%
U.S. 65% 68% 66% 66%
Asia/South Pacific 16% 12% 13% 13%
Europe 9% 10% 10% 12%
Central/South America 4% 3% 4% 3%
Africa 1% 1% 2% 1%
Oceania 1% 2% 1% 1%
Undergraduate Majors:
Business 43% 43%* 20% 23%
Engineering/Natural Sciences/Technical 39% 34% 36% 33%
Humanities/Social Sciences 18% 22% 43% 43%
Pre-MBA Work Experience:
Consulting 19% 20% 21% 22%
Consumer Products 6% 6% 6% 7%
Financial Services 14% 12% 12% 14%
Venture Capital/Private Equity 16% 16% 13% 18%
Healthcare/biotech 6% 7% 6% 6%
High Tech/Communications 11% 9% 9% 6%
Manufacturing 7% 7% 14% 9%
Military 5% 5% 5% 5%
Non-Profit 7% 9% 8% 7%
Other Services 4% 5% 5% 5%

Source: Harvard Business School admissions. Asterisk indicates change in category to business and economics from business in previous years

DON’T MISS: NEW HBS RECORD FOR FEMALE ADMITS or HARVARD MBA APPLICATIONS UP 3.9% FOR 2012-2013

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