Kirsten Moss, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid for Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, has admitted her last class. She will step down at the end of the calendar year
As usual, there was little significant change in the pre-MBA industry or undergraduate major makeup of Stanford’s new MBA class. Class of 2024 members studied at 162 undergraduate institutions in the U.S. or abroad, down from 164 last year; 13% have advanced degrees, down from 19%; and 12% are the first in their family to graduate from a four-year university or college, same as last year.
Before joining Stanford, 24% of the class studied engineering (down from 25%), 21% majored in economics (down from 22%), 20% studied the social sciences (up from 15%), 19% were business majors (up from 15%), 9% studied math or science (down from 14%), and 6% studied arts or humanities (down from 8%).
One-fifth of students with previous professional experience worked in investment management, private equity, or venture capital roles, same as last year (see table below), and another 20% worked in consulting, up 1 point. Fifteen percent of the class worked in the technology sector, down 1 point; 8% of the class previously worked in government, education, or the nonprofit sector, same as last year; 4% are veterans, down 1 point; and 3% have worked in manufacturing, down 1 point. On average, incoming MBA students in the Class of 2024 have nearly five years of professional experience, about the same as every year; the range of work experience, however, jumped from 0 to 11 years to 0 to 18 years.
A 'RICH DIVERSITY OF BACKGROUNDS'
This is the last class to be admitted to Stanford under the admissions leadership of Kirsten Moss, who announced last week that she would be leaving Stanford at the end of the calendar year. She leaves on a high note, with the newest MBA cohort the first to achieve racial parity at the school, an achievement that surely will be among the most important in Moss's legacy.
In her five years at the school, she has contributed to establishing partnerships with such groups as QuestBridge, which connects low-income and first-generation students with partner colleges and universities, and the Forté Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting women in graduate business education. Moss also launched the Building Opportunities for Leadership Diversity Fellows Fund in 2021 to provide assistance to students who face financial hardship and are committed to the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion; the number of BOLD Fellows in the Class of 2024 increased by 25% since the program’s inaugural year.
“Our newest students have already reached significant milestones in their personal and professional lives,” Moss says. “The rich diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives will enable them to work together to tackle some of society’s most pressing challenges.”
DON'T MISS STANFORD REPORTS A RECORD GMAT FOR IT S MBA CLASS OF 2023 and STANFORD ADMISSIONS CHIEF KIRSTEN MOSS RESIGNS
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