Today, I have a question from a reader who asks – which program is the easiest to get into – Harvard, Stanford, or Wharton MBA.
The three schools have different selection criteria and class composition. If I were you, I would look at the culture of the schools and the personality traits that the school values.
Let us look at three factors:
1) Entry Criteria
On the GMAT score, Harvard is ahead of Stanford, and Stanford is ahead of Wharton. For Stanford, 39% of the class took the GRE, where the average GRE score in Quant and Verbal was an achievable 164. GRE seems to ease the entry criteria for Stanford. But, the GPA was the highest for Stanford at 3.77 and lowest for Wharton at 3.6.
For undergraduate degrees, Harvard and Stanford are consistent with prioritizing applicants with STEM backgrounds at 40% of the class. Business and Economics are equally represented at both schools. At Wharton, the focus is on Humanities and Social Sciences, while Business and STEM have close to equal representation.
2) Acceptance Rate
Stanford is by far the toughest school to get into, with an acceptance rate of close to 7%, while at Harvard, it is a respectable 11.5%, and at Wharton, it is 14%.
International Applicant: If you are an international applicant, your chances are higher at Harvard, second highest at Stanford, and the lowest at Wharton
Women Applicant: If you are a woman applicant working in a traditionally male-dominated industry, your probability of admissions increases drastically at Wharton, while Harvard and Stanford have no such inclination.
3) Emotional Intelligence
Stanford really looks into the emotional intelligence of the applicant. That is why you have the What Matters essays that remained the same for close to a decade, while Wharton also expects applicants to share some vulnerability in their essays by highlighting the gaps in their skills. Harvard is trying to understand your values and the motivation for pursuing ambitious goals. The open-ended essay becomes a tool to evaluate your thinking.
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Harvard MBA vs. Stanford MBA vs. Wharton MBA (2025 Class Profile)
| Class Profile | Harvard 2025 Class | Stanford 2025 Class | Wharton 2025 Class |
| Application Volume | 8149 | 6190 | 6194 |
| Enrolled | 938 | 431 | 874 |
| Work Experience (Average) | 4.9 | 5 | 5 |
| GMAT Score (Median/Average) | 740 | 738 | 728 |
| GPA (Median/Average) | 3.73 | 3.77 | 3.6 |
| % Women | 45 | 46 | 50 |
| % International Students | 39 | 36 | 31 |
| Pre-MBA Undergraduate Degree | % | ||
| Business | 22 | 20 | 27 |
| Economics | 21 | 21 | NA |
| Humanities/Social Science | 16 | 18 | 40 |
| STEM | 42 | 41 | 33 |
| Pre-MBA Industry | % | ||
| Consulting | 17 | 17 | 27 |
| Investment Management/PE/VC | 17 | 19 | 17 |
| Technology | 13 | 13 | 12 |
| Financial Services | 10 | 5 | 7 |
| Healthcare | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Government/Non-Profit | 6 | 10 | 10 |
| CPG/Retail/E-commerce | 10 | 9 | 3 |
| Investment Banking | NA | NA | 9 |
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