Wharton’s MBA Class Of 2027: More Racially Diverse, Fewer Women & Internationals

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School has released its MBA Class of 2027 profile, and the picture is one of mixed momentum. Applications are up. Test scores are strong. The class is slightly larger and academically more competitive than the one before it.

But in two key areas where Wharton once set the pace — gender balance and international representation — the school has seen no progress for a second straight year.

Back in 2021, Wharton made history as the first M7 business school to enroll a majority-women class — a milestone it repeated in the next two cycles. But that streak ended last year, and the Class of 2027 marks noteworthy declines in the representation of both women and international students, even as application volume and academic metrics moved higher.

A BIGGER CLASS WITH STRONGER SCORES

Wharton received 7,613 applications for its Class of 2027, an increase of 4% over the previous cycle’s total of 7,322. It’s a school record — making Wharton the second elite U.S. B-school so far this year to report a record number of apps in the 2024-2025 cycle. The school enrolled 888 students, 22 more than the 866 who joined the Class of 2026. Those students represent 68 different countries and bring academic backgrounds in business, STEM, and the humanities in nearly equal measure: 32% majored in business, another 32% in STEM, and 36% in the liberal arts.

Academically, the class continues to impress. The class’s average GPA ticked upward to 3.7 from 3.6 last year. Wharton is also one of the first top B-schools to release data on the new GMAT Focus Edition, reporting an average score of 676. Meanwhile, students who submitted the legacy GMAT averaged a 735 — slightly higher than last year’s 732. The school also reported GRE averages of 163 in quantitative reasoning and 162 in verbal, a near mirror of the Class of 2026.

WHARTON MBA CLASSES BY THE NUMBERS: 2015–2027

MBA Class	Average GMAT	GMAT Range	Applications	Enrolled	Women	International
2027	735 (legacy) / 676 (Focus)	NA	7,613	888	44%	26%
2026	732	NA	7,322	866	47%	31%
2025	728	NA	6,194	874	50%	31%
2024	733	530–790	6,319	877	50%	35%
2023	733	NA	7,338	897	52%	36%
2022	722	NA	7,158	916	41%	19%
2021	732	540–790	5,905	856	46%	30%
2020	732	500–790	6,245	862	43%	34%
2019	730	530–790	6,692	863	44%	33%
2018	731	570–780	6,679	851	44%	32%
2017	732	620–790	6,590	861	43%	32%
2016	728	620–780	6,111	859	40%	31%
2015	725	630–790	6,036	837	42%	35%

GENDER & INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION DECLINE

The Class of 2027 marks the second consecutive year that Wharton has fallen short of gender parity after three years in a row of achieving that benchmark. Women make up 44% of the incoming class, down from 47% last year and a high-water mark of 52% in 2023. That decline potentially puts Wharton behind peer schools like Northwestern Kellogg and MIT Sloan, which have held closer to — or exceeded — the 45% mark in recent years; Kellogg achieved parity last year, joining Wharton in that exclusive club.

International representation also took a significant hit in Philadelphia this year: Just 26% of the new class comes from outside the United States, a drop of 5 percentage points from last year’s 31%. Though students hail from 68 different countries — an increase from 65 the year before — the share of non-U.S. passport holders is the school’s lowest in several years. Another signal of Wharton’s increasingly domestic profile: 82% of the Class of 2027 earned their undergraduate degrees from U.S. institutions, with just 18% coming from schools abroad.

Other demographic markers remained flat or improved slightly. First-generation college students again comprise 11% of the class, while U.S. military veterans make up 6%. The percentage of students identifying as LGBTQ+ rose from 10% to 12%, continuing a positive upward trend in recent years.

MINORITIES AT WHARTON BY FEDERAL GUIDELINES REPORTING: CLASSES OF 2023–2027

Race	Class of 2027	Class of 2026	Class of 2025	Class of 2024	Class of 2023
White	41%	33%	27%	29%	28%
Asian	33%	20%	21%	23%	20%
Black	13%	6%	9%	7%	8%
Hispanic	9%	8%	7%	5%	7%
Did Not Report	1%	3%	<1%	<1%	<1%

RACIAL & ETHNIC REPRESENTATION: A SHIFT IN CATEGORIES

Like many B-schools, Wharton reports U.S. race and ethnicity data using both federal guidelines and a multi-dimensional format that accounts for students who identify with more than one racial or ethnic group. Under the federal methodology — which requires students to select one category — Black/African American enrollment declined rose significantly to 14% from 6%, while Hispanic/Latinx enrollment climbed slightly from 8% to 9%.

Meanwhile, the percentage of students identifying as Asian American surged from 20% to 33%, while white-identifying students rose from 33% to 41%. These increases may reflect changes in self-reporting practices or categorization methodology, particularly as Wharton expands its multi-dimensional tracking. Under that broader lens, Asian American students comprise 35% of the class, Black students 14%, Hispanic students 9%, and white students 46%. One percent of students identified as Native American.

WHERE THEY CAME FROM — AND WHAT THEY STUDIED

Professionally, the Class of 2027 reflects a familiar hierarchy. Consulting once again leads the way, with 31% of students coming from that sector. Private equity and venture capital were the next most common backgrounds, at 15%, followed by nonprofit and government work at 10%. Investment banking and tech each accounted for 8% of the class, while health care and investment management both came in at 4%.

Other industries — including consumer packaged goods, media and entertainment, energy, and real estate — contributed between 1% to 2% of students each. Notably, Wharton reported zero students coming directly from the retail sector this year.

The academic diversity of the class remains one of Wharton’s strengths. As in years past, students with undergraduate degrees in the humanities — including political science, history, philosophy, and languages — slightly outnumber those from business and STEM fields. Thirty-six percent of the class majored in humanities, with business and STEM at 32% each.

PROGRAM COMPOSITION & JOINT DEGREES

While 675 students are enrolled in the standard two-year MBA, the Class of 2027 includes several joint- and dual-degree cohorts. Seventy-two students are part of the Lauder Institute’s MBA/MA program in international studies, and another 72 are enrolled in the Health Care Management major. 

The Moelis Advance Access Program — Wharton’s deferred enrollment pathway — welcomed 54 students, while 12 students are pursuing the Carey JD/MBA, a joint degree with Penn Law.

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