Stern Releases Early 2020 Class Stats

As it’s already the middle of the summer, it’s time to learn about the new prospective MBAs who have recently enrolled into business schools.

A few days ago, NYU Stern has published the first data for its 2020 full-time MBA class consisting of 375 students. There have been several changes since last year: almost 200 less applications, but 50+ more students were admitted (making the school’s admittance rate 23%, 2% more than in 2017).

However, the average GMAT score of the newly admitted students is higher than 2017’s: it went from 714 to 717, with the unchanged median of 720, P&Q reports. Most of the new students came in with GMAT results (74%), and 19% got admitted with GRE results. The rest (7%) submitted results of both tests, or entered the university’s two dual programs: MBA/JD and MBA/MD, having taken, respectively, either LSAT or MCAT.

There are also some changes in student backgrounds. 2% more international students got admitted this year than last year: 39%. Two years ago, there were only 31% foreign students. There are also more ethnic minorities: 13% compared to 11%. Still, this class has 3% less female students than in 2017, going against the worldwide trend.

Trends in NYU Stern’s 2020 Class

Additionally, there is some new but less significant data concerning the 2020 class. The average age of the new students is 28, but this class has a 21-year-old person and a 36-year-old. Average GPA of the new class is 3.45, with 4.0 the highest point and 2.81 the lowest. Most students were business majors in college (29%). 20% were studying math, science and engineering, and 18% majored in economics. The lowest GMAT result was 590, while the highest was 780. More than a quarter of the aspiring MBAs have worked in finance (26%), while 13% came from consulting and 9% from tech companies.

First Class with New Admission Rules

One more interesting detail about this incoming class is that they are the first to get admitted through NYU Stern’s new application rules: the business schools got rid of the traditional essay and instead asked the incoming students to send six photos with descriptions. While the more traditional recommendation letters survived, Stern decided to add a new side to them: now they had to contain opinions about the prospective student’s emotional intelligence. According to one of Stern’s admission committee employees, this admissions season felt more like looking through Instagram than anything. It allowed the school to learn more interesting things about their future students, which helped them to make the decision of who gets admitted.

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