HBS Class Profile [Class of 2023]

Here’s a look at HBS’s Class of 2023 taken from the Harvard Business School website:

Number of applications: 9,773

Enrolled: 1,010

Countries represented:

United States: 63%
Asia: 13%
Europe: 8%
Mexico, Central & South America: 6%
Canada: 3%
Africa: 3%
Middle East: 3%
Oceania: 1%

Women: 46%

International: 37%

US minorities: 52%

Average GPA: 3.69

Average years work experience: 5.0

Percent of class taking GMAT: 71%

Verbal range: 28 – 51
Quantitative range: 32 – 51
Total range: 590–790
Median verbal: 41
Median quantitative: 49
Median total: 730

Percent of class taking GRE: 29%

Verbal range: 147 – 170
Quantitative range: 146–170
Median verbal: 163
Median quantitative: 164

Breakdown of undergraduate majors (137 domestic universities and 158 international universities)

Major	Percent
Engineering	27%
Business / Commerce	21%
Economics	20%
Math / Physical Science	15%
Art / Humanities	4%

Breakdown of pre-MBA industry

Industry	Percent
Consulting	17%
Venture Capital / Private Equity	15%
Financial Services	12%
Manufacturing / Industrial / Energy	11%
Technology	11%
Consumer Products / Retail / E-commerce	9%
Nonprofit / Government / Education	8%
Healthcare / Biotech	7%
Military	5%
Services	3%
Media / Entertainment / Travel	2%

Harvard Business School’s typical class size is around 930 students. HBS gave all the incoming Class of 2022 students the option to defer, and that class was one of the smallest in recent history – 732. The incoming Class of 2023 is therefore larger than typical. In fact at 1,010 students it’s HBS’ largest class ever. HBS expanded the class so that it could make room for the deferred applicants from last year while admitting roughly the same percentage of applicants as in previous years.

Also notable:

29% of students applied using the GRE. Clearly HBS couldn’t care less if someone applies with the GRE or the GMAT. Choose the test on which you will earn the highest score.
The percentage of women in the class edged up to 46%, 2 points higher than last year.
Application volume increased roughly 5%, a healthy increase, but nothing record-breaking. It’s possible that applicant fears of a smaller intake due to the large number of deferrals from the previous class put a damper on application volume.
The percentage of international students in this year’s class went from 33% to 37%. That increase represents a return to “normal” and increased availability of visas and comfort with travel.

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Sample Essays from Admitted HBS Students
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