Chicago Booth MBA Class Of 2027: New School Record For Applications

The Charles M. Harper Center, home to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The M7 B-school received a record-breaking 5,876 MBA applicants for its MBA Class of 2027. Photo courtesy of Chicago Booth

MBA applications surged again for Chicago Booth School of Business, setting a school record for the second straight year.

Apps soared 21% last fall for the Class of 2026, hitting a historic high of 5,125. They surged another 15% for the Class of 2027, setting a brand new school record at 5,876. Booth has now topped 5,000 applications in three of the last five admission cycles.

The class enrolled 635 students, up slightly from 632 last year and among the second largest since fall 2021.

BOOTH SEES MIXED DIVERSITY PROGRESS

Last cycle, Chicago Booth was among several top business schools to see growth in U.S. minority representation last year. Students of color – including Asian, Black, and Hispanic Americans – made up 52% of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, up three points from the year before. While Booth’s official 2027 MBA profile does not report this percentage, its representation for underrepresented U.S. minorities (URM) – excluding Asian Americans – suggests a step back in domestic diversity.

Black and Latino enrollment dropped from 18% to 12% this cycle. That’s the lowest representation since the fall of 2021.

Booth did manage a slight rise in its international mix, from 35% last fall to 37% with Class of 2027 students coming from 63 countries. That makes it the second M7 this week to release profiles with a larger share of international students than the previous class: MIT Sloan School of Management managed a modest increase of 2 points (enrolling 42% international students compared to 40% last fall). Stanford Graduate School of Business, meanwhile, dropped just 1 percentage point in its global mix at 38%.

Other U.S. business schools haven’t fared as well. A fellow M7, The Wharton School, international representation fell 5 percentage points from last year’s 31%. Just 26% of the new class comes from outside the United States.

Duke (Fuqua) similarly reported a 9% drop in international students while Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) saw a 16 percentage point drop since 2023. UCLA (Anderson)’s slipped from 47% two years ago to 35% today. This, of course, comes even before the full effect of the Trump administration’s aggressive education and visa policies becomes apparent.

Gender diversity at Booth slipped slightly to 41% women, while first-generation students (12%) and veterans (11%) each rose a point.

CONSULTING DOWN, FINANCE BACK ON TOP

Looking at the industry mix among incoming Boothies, consulting fell four points to 23%, while financial services climbed four to 22%.Technology slid to 10%, down from 13%, while nonprofit and government work rose one point to 12%.

Booth’s average GMAT jumped to 736, its highest in at least five years and a notable rise from 729 last cycle. The GMAT range also tightened significantly, from 590–780 to 690–770. One caveat: Only 14% of applicants submitted a legacy GMAT score, while 39% reported the new GMAT Focus. (The focus average score was 670.)

Meanwhile, GRE submissions climbed sharply: 42% of admits applied with GRE scores, up from 38% last year and more than double the rate from 2023 when 18% of applicants submitted the test. The average GRE remained steady at 324.

DON’T MISS: BERKELEY HAAS MBA CLASS OF 2027: SMALLER CLASS REBOUNDS IN GLOBAL DIVERSITY and MIT SLOAN MBA CLASS OF 2027: INTERNATIONAL RANKS GROW, BUT U.S. DIVERSITY STAYS FLAT

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