MBA Applications To Harvard Fall 6.7%

Harvard Business School

LARGEST GROUP OF STUDENTS–28%–HAIL FROM FINANCE INDUSTRY

Harvard also disclosed that its newest class has undergraduate degrees from 137 domestic universities and 155 non-U.S. universities, though the school relies heavily on undisclosed feeder schools.

The pre-MBA industry backgrounds of this year’s students also saw small year-over-year changes. The largest industry represented in the class remains finance, with 28% of the students, up a tick from 27% last year. Some 16% of the class had jobs in venture capital and private equity, the exact same percentage as a year earlier, and 12% from financial services, up from 11%.

Students from consulting represent 15% of the new class, one point down, while those from the tech industry account for 12% of the class. Because of a change in reporting categories, that number may not compare with the 16% of students HBS reported last year in both tech and communications.

“We updated our job categories in the class profile to better align with the categories that the HBS Career and Professional Development office uses, so we’re all on the same page,” explains Losee. “This doesn’t affect how we read applications, interview, or make decisions in the admissions process, but should make it easier for students at HBS.”

Government, education and nonprofit students account for 8% of the Class of 2021, same as last year; healthcare and biotech students represent 7% of the class, same as last year; 9% come from the consumer products and e-commerce industry, while 12% had been in the energy and manufacturing industries. MBA students from the military account for 4% of this year’s entering class, a single percentage point drop from last year.

DON’T MISS: WILL THE COMING RECESSION CAUSE A BOOM IN MBA APPLICATIONS? DON’T BET ON IT or FOUR REASONS WHY THERE ARE FEWER MBA APPLICANTS IN THE PIPELINE