Michigan Ross Loses A Quarter Of Its International MBAs In One Year

The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business has released its full-time MBA Class of 2028 profile, and the numbers point in two directions. The incoming class is smaller and significantly less international than last year’s, yet its academic credentials are among the strongest Ross has reported in many years.

Ross enrolled 357 students this fall, down 22 seats from 379 in the Class of 2027 and down 39 from 396 two years ago. That makes it the smallest full-time cohort in P&Q’s records going back to the Class of 2021 – one student fewer than the 358 who enrolled in the pandemic-era Class of 2022.

The biggest shift is international enrollment. International students make up 31% of the new class, down from 40% last year and 44% in the Class of 2026 – a 13-point drop in two years and the lowest share since the Class of 2023, which was 28% international.

Ross also declined to disclose how many candidates applied or were admitted, or its acceptance rate – figures it reported last year, when 3,923 candidates applied and 30% were admitted.

ROSS REPORTS LESS THAN IT USED TO

It’s the latest in a string of metrics Ross has stopped making public. Last year the school dropped the share of U.S. students of color, which stood at 53% for the Class of 2026; and the share of LGBTQIA+ students, then 9%. This year, along with the admissions funnel, Ross’s public profile also omits an average GMAT 10th Edition score – 731 last year – as that exam has been phased out in favor of the GMAT Focus Edition.

In written responses to P&Q, Matt Ganderson, managing director of the full-time MBA program, acknowledges that applications fell this cycle.

“We saw a moderate year-over-year decline in applications for the Class of 2028; however, the quality of the applicant pool and incoming student profile were stronger than ever,” he says.

Ganderson says the smaller class was within the school’s planned range: “We plan enrollment around a range rather than a single fixed number, and this year’s class of 357 is within that range. Our priority is enrolling a class with the academic strength, professional experience, and breadth of perspectives that define the Ross MBA experience. Class size varies from year to year.”

MICHIGAN ROSS MBA CLASSES 2025–2028

Stats	Class of 2028	Class of 2027	Class of 2026	Class of 2025
Applications	NA	3,923	4,036	2,976
Class Size	357	379	396	379
Acceptance Rate	NA	30%	29%	38%
Average GMAT 10th Edition	NA	731	728	719
Average GMAT Focus	687	681	–	–
Average GRE Quant	162	163	–	–
Average GRE Verbal	160	160	–	–
Average GPA	3.50	3.43	3.42	3.43
Average Work Experience	5.8 yrs	5.8 yrs	6.0 yrs	–
Women	38%	39%	40%	43%
U.S. Minorities	NA	NA	53%	43%
URM	25%	25%	29%	19%
First-Gen College	17%	22%	22%	17%
LGBTQIA+	NA	NA	9%	10%
U.S. Military	11%	15%	–	–
International	31%	40%	44%	43%
Countries	33	32	40	39
Advanced Degree	15%	15%	–	–
Dual Degree	12%	9%	11%	–
Backgrounds	Finance 17%, Consulting 15%, Engineering/Manufacturing 14%, Health 11%, Tech 10%, Education/Nonprofit/Government 9%, Other 9%, Military 7%, Energy/Sustainability 5%, Media/Hospitality/Sports 3%	Finance 17%, Consulting 16%, Education/Nonprofit/Government 9%, Tech 8%, Health 7%, Military 7%, Engineering/Manufacturing 6%, Energy/Sustainability 6%, Media/Hospitality/Sports 4%, Other 20%	Finance 21%, Consulting 17%, Tech 14%, Engineering/Manufacturing 14%, Health 8%, Other 8%, Military 5%, Media/Hospitality/Sports 5%, Energy/Sustainability 5%, Education/Nonprofit/Government 4%	Consulting 18%, Finance 17%, Tech 16%, Health 12%, Engineering/Manufacturing 10%, Other 8%, Education/Nonprofit/Government 6%, Military 6%, Media/Hospitality/Sports 4%, Energy/Sustainability 3%
Undergrad Major	Business & Economics 41%, Engineering 20%, Social Sciences & Humanities 19%, Computer Science 7%, Other 13%	Business & Economics 37%, Social Sciences & Humanities 22%, Engineering 20%, Computer Science 7%, Other 14%	Business 39%, STEM 38%, Humanities 23%	STEM 44%, Business 34%, Humanities 22%

Source: Michigan Ross. Class of 2028 applications and acceptance rate: Ross declined to report.

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FEWER INTERNATIONAL, MORE DOMESTIC STUDENTS

Apply the percentages to class size and the decline looks even sharper. By P&Q’s estimate, based on Ross’s rounded figures, about 111 international students enrolled this fall, compared with about 152 a year ago – a drop of around 40 students, or more than a quarter. Over the same period, the number of domestic students rose by an estimated 19, to about 246. In other words, the class shrank because of the international decline, not because of any fall-off in U.S. enrollment.

Ganderson confirms the class includes more domestic students than last year’s and says Ross lost ground at two points in the international funnel.

“This was a challenging recruiting environment internationally: we experienced both lower international application volume and lower yield among admitted international candidates,” Ganderson says. “The changes were distributed across regions rather than concentrated in a single country or market; Latin America was a notable exception, with year-over-year application growth.”

Ross isn’t changing course. “We have not changed our overall international recruitment strategy, and we continue to evaluate how best to reach and support prospective students in a changing global environment,” Ganderson says.

Ross is far from alone. Duke’s Fuqua School of Business enrolled 359 students in its Daytime MBA Class of 2028, down 16% from 426, with international students falling to 38% from 47%. Last year’s class profiles showed similar declines at Wharton, UCLA Anderson, Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School and Emory’s Goizueta Business School, as rising costs, visa delays and uncertainty over post-graduation work prospects weighed on international demand for U.S. MBA programs.

Even with fewer international students, the Ross class is geographically broader than last year’s. It represents 33 countries, up from 32, and 33 U.S. states, up from 31.

HIGHER GPA, HIGHER GMAT FOCUS

Academically, the class stacks up well. Average undergraduate GPA rose to 3.50 from 3.43, with a median of 3.58, matching the Class of 2024 and trailing only the Class of 2023’s 3.53 in P&Q’s data. The average GMAT Focus score climbed six points, to 687 from 681, with a median of 695 and a middle-80% range of 645 to 725.

GRE averages were essentially flat: 162 Quant, down from 163, and 160 Verbal, unchanged. Ross did not report an average for the older GMAT 10th Edition, which stood at 731 last year – a figure that can’t be compared directly with Focus scores because the two exams use different scales.

Ross says GRE scores, GMAT scores and its Statement of Quantitative Academic Readiness are all considered equally in admissions. According to Ganderson, more than two-thirds of the class submitted a standardized test – the GMAT, GRE or Executive Assessment – and the mix was similar to last year’s, with slightly more GRE than GMAT submissions. Ross’s data submission to P&Q puts the share of the class enrolled with GRE scores at 35%. That leaves as much as a third of the class admitted without a test score.

Ganderson points to the GPA as the clearest marker of the class’s strength. “The Class of 2028 earned one of the highest average undergraduate GPAs of any Ross MBA class in the past decade,” he says. “We view that as one indicator of strong academic preparation and the ability to succeed in a rigorous, quantitative MBA curriculum. The higher GMAT Focus average is another positive indicator.”

WOMEN & FIRST-GEN SHARES SLIP

Women make up 38% of the Class of 2028, down from 39% last year and 43% in the Class of 2025. That’s the third straight annual decline and the lowest share for Ross in P&Q’s records back to the Class of 2021.

First-generation college students account for 17% of the class, down from 22% in each of the previous two classes and back to the level of the Class of 2025. Underrepresented U.S. minorities held steady at 25%.

Ganderson describes female representation as “broadly consistent year over year” and says first-generation representation “varies from year to year based on the composition of the applicant pool.”

Ross reports that 11% of the new class are U.S. military. Last year’s profile listed 15%, though Ross’s admissions blog at the time described that figure as 15% of domestic students rather than the full class. Ross did not say which basis it used this year. Ganderson says the number of veterans “was comparable with recent years” and that the percentage changed “in part because this year’s class included more domestic students.”

MORE BUSINESS MAJORS, MORE ENGINEERING & HEALTHCARE

Business and economics majors make up 41% of the class, up from 37%. Engineering held at 20% and computer science at 7%, while social sciences and humanities slipped to 19% from 22% and other majors fell to 13% from 14%. Students hold degrees from 213 universities – 132 in the U.S. and 81 abroad – and 15% have an advanced degree, unchanged from last year.

Ross says the class represents 37 industries. According to data Ross submitted to P&Q, finance (17%) and consulting (15%) remain the top feeders, essentially unchanged from 17% and 16% last year. The biggest shift is in engineering and manufacturing, which more than doubled to 14% from 6%, and healthcare, which rose to 11% from 7%. Technology climbed to 10% from 8%, while the catch-all “other” category fell to 9% from 20% – a swing large enough that it may partly reflect how students were classified. Education/nonprofit/government held at 9% and military at 7%, while energy and sustainability slipped to 5% and media, hospitality and sports to 3%.

Average work experience held at 5.8 years, with a middle-80% range of 3.0 to 9.1 years, down slightly from 6.0 years for the Class of 2026. Twelve percent of the class are pursuing dual degrees, up from 9% last year and 11% two years ago.

The profile includes two other noteworthy figures: more than 75% of the class received a merit-based scholarship, and 27% arrived with partners or families.

The average student in the new class is 28. With the Class of 2027, Ross now has 736 students in its full-time MBA program.

See Michigan Ross’ full-time MBA profile here.

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