Admissions advantage for women?

Question

The numbers are quite clear that at the top programs, the percentage of enrolled women is between 33-40%. Curious to everyone's perspective on how this plays into admissions.

Is the applicant pool itself only 33-40% women and therefore both male and female applicants are having similar admissions rates?

Are the applicant pools closer to 50/50, but typically the pools have more strong male candidates than female candidates?

Do female applicants have an admissions advantage due to the program's desire to balance the class? If so, how much?
I have heard that women often have a 10% higher admissions probability due to this factor. Perhaps this is just rumor.

I trust that we'll keep this discussion civilized, but I am curious to hear the opinions from many of the smart folks in this community.

cheetarah1980 · Answer

I don't think schools release breakdowns of applicants by gender. I highly doubt that men and women apply to b-school in equal numbers. I don't necessarily think there's an admissions advantage based on sex alone. I do think that many women bring a uniqueness to their candidacy in terms of professional backgrounds and career goals. 
It's obvious from the enrollment percentages that women are still in the minority in MBA programs. Schools are trying to address this imbalance through recruiting high performing women who may not have been considering business school.

sausagenpeppers · Answer

Women are definitely coveted amongst top MBA programs. I think most schools would like to see women make up at least a third of their class. Since there not as many women interested in MBA programs as men, I believe this leads to a higher acceptance rate for them than for the general population.

Below is a list of schools who list both percentage of women applicants and percentage of women in their most recent class in Businessweek.

Northwestern
Applications from women received: 29 %
Percentage of class who is female: 33 %

Duke
Applications from women received: 28 %
Percentage of class who is female: 37%

Michigan
Applications from women received: 25 %
Percentage of class who is female: 31%

Cal
Applications from women received: 31 %
Percentage of class who is female: 29%

MIT
Applications from women received: 23 %
Percentage of class who is female: 38%

Cornell
Applications from women received: 26 %
Percentage of class who is female: 30%

UNC
Applications from women received: 26 %
Percentage of class who is female: 25%

UCLA
Applications from women received: 32 %
Percentage of class who is female: 28%

NYU
Applications from women received: 35 %
Percentage of class who is female: 33%

Texas
Applications from women received: 26 %
Percentage of class who is female: 28%

LadyRoadWarrior · Answer

Thanks, sausagenpeppers - great breakdown.

Seems to me that there is an implicit advantage when you see those numbers.

What do others think?

Admissions advantage for women?

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