Wharton is the first M7 MBA program to release its Class of 2027 profile... and the numbers tell an interesting story.

Here are the highlights:

Wharton apps were up. Application volume jumped 4% from last year – 7,613 people applied for a spot in the Class of 2027, and Wharton enrolled 888 students. This is 22 more students than the Class of 2026, and the biggest class since 2023. Demand for a Wharton MBA is strong!

The bar is higher. The average GMAT score is up to 735 (from 732) – a new record. Wharton is also reporting GMAT Focus scores for the first time, and the average was 676. On the other hand, GRE scores stayed flat at 163 Quant / 162 Verbal. Additionally, the average GPA stayed flat at 3.7.

Racial diversity among Wharton's U.S. students increased – a lot! BusinessBecause reports that students identifying as Black or African American grew from 6% to 13%. Additionally, the proportion of Hispanic or LatinX students increased from 8% to 9%.

LGBTQ+ representation also grew from 10% to 12%.

Where are the women? Just four years ago, Wharton's class was majority women (at 52%). For the Class of 2027, the proportion of women dropped to 44% (down from 47% for the Class of 2026). Did Wharton miss the mark in attracting quality women applicants?

The international student population is lower. Generally, the international student population represents between 30-40% of the cohort at top MBA programs. However, Wharton has been on the lower end of this range for the past couple of years. In the Class of 2027, international students make up just 26% of the cohort, down from 31% from the prior year.

Dual degree programs: The Lauder MBA/MA dropped just slightly (to 72 students – from 76). Health Care Management enrolled 72 students (down from 89 last year). The Carey JD/MBA grew from 12 to 15 students. Finally, the Moelis Advance Access cohort declined to 54 (from 62 last year).

Given that applications are up and that Wharton enrolled a larger class, it's tough to understand the drop in numbers for women. However, we're less surprised to see that fewer international students enrolled in this year's class, due to uncertainty in the U.S. job market and political landscape.

A few things across the last two classes at Wharton are fairly consistent:

Undergraduate education: The mix across the Classes of 2026 and 2027 remained the same. It's still 36% humanities, 32% STEM, 32% business – a pretty balanced group!

Professional experience: This was also unchanged at an average of 5 years of pre-MBA work experience.

Pre-MBA industry: For the Classes of 2027 and 2026, consulting was the dominant pre-MBA career (at 31% of the class, up from 28%). Next, PE and VC comprised 15% of the cohort (same as last year). Additionally, students from non-profit or government backgrounds comprise 10% of the cohort (down 1% from last year).

Is Wharton in a weird spot? The program attracted a healthy number of applicants and raised the bar on the GMAT. Also, the increases across Black, African American, Hispanic, and LatinX students could be the result of a focused recruiting effort.

However, the recruiting effort may have been lacking across women candidates. Is this the result of a changing applicant pool? Did something happen with Wharton's yield? Or is it something else altogether?

If you're applying to Wharton, the message is clear. Wharton is one of the most selective MBA programs in the world. The program values diverse educational and professional backgrounds... but demographics are shifting. As you develop your application materials, leverage the second essay to demonstrate how you'll add specific, unique, and meaningful value to the Wharton community.