GMAC Advisor

Business school alumni overwhelmingly report that their graduate business education was a highly worthwhile and valuable experience – 94% of business school alumni rate their graduate business education as good, excellent or outstanding, and report a favorable Net Promoter Score® (NPS) of 30, indicating that a high percentage of alums are likely to recommend graduate management education (GME) to friends and family.

In reflecting on the many conversations I’ve had on the important topic of diversity and business school, I’ve come to realize that although diversity is a priority for our industry as a whole, how that diversity is defined or prioritized differs in different regions of the world. I’ve also been asked time and time again- “are we in graduate management education (GME) making progress? How do we know?” Without a benchmark, this is difficult.

To begin exploring these questions, GMAC embarked on a research journey with the aim of creating a lens to better understand representation within the diverse pipeline for graduate management education worldwide.

The results of our research effort is a first-ever global study of diversity in graduate management education, The Global Diversity of Talent – Attainment and Representation. This report is designed to aid the industry in understanding diversity and representation in the GME pipeline today and to inform analysis, strategic planning, and decision-making for the classrooms of tomorrow.

It is a rich report providing a global overview, seven regional outlooks, and separate reports for the 175 countries that have 600 or more people in the student-aged population of 20 to 34 who have attained a master’s degree in the subject of business, administration, or law. It also examines the representation of women globally and underrepresented groups in the United States.

In full swing with demand for graduate management education (GME) up among international candidates and application volume sustaining last year’s boom. To reach, match with, and recruit candidates you’ll need to align your recruiting goals with a successful strategy when it comes to candidate-facing tour events. In the 2020/2021 MBA Tour season, there were 8,700 attendees and 25,000 registrants across 29 events. That included 37,000 school booth visits and 7,000 more intimate, smaller meetup matches.

The pool of talented people interested in pursuing a graduate business degree has never been more global and diverse. In order to fairly evaluate applicants from such a range of educational and professional backgrounds, it’s very helpful for business school admission committees to have GMAT™ exam scores as a means of comparing applicants’ skills and potential classroom success on the same scale. For decades, the world’s top business schools have trusted the GMAT exam because it’s specifically validated to predict performance in the first year of an MBA program.

It’s another busy recruiting season with demand for graduate management education on the rise. And, with face-to-face meetings still a challenge, online communications are as important as ever.

GMAC is leveraging data science to empower schools to find a strong pool of candidates with diverse backgrounds. Our mission is to advance the art and science of admissions by providing the products and services that help schools and candidates discover and evaluate each other.

According to a recent GMAC survey, four in five students enrolled in a business school report that their graduate management education prepares them for leadership positions. Looking at the data from the lens of gender, program, and regional diversity, we gain additional insights into enrolled students’ confidence in leadership preparation. The findings indicate that the value proposition of a graduate management education as a ground for preparing leadership talent remains strong among students even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Good Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, can help boost your website traffic, build brand awareness, and get more prospective students interested in your business school.

Nine in ten alumni report a positive return-on-investment (ROI) from their graduate business education, according to the 4,658 respondents to the recent GMAC survey snapshot. A Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 30 shows that most alumni are likely to recommend their graduate business school to a friend or colleague. This data indicates that the value proposition of a graduate management education is strong; alumni report a high level of satisfaction with their educational outcomes, in line with their career ambitions.

The roll-out of the vaccines in 2021, especially in the leading destinations of international students such as the United States and the United Kingdom, is renewing prospects of international student mobility. A snapshot poll conducted in March compares how Chinese prospective students are making decisions about pursuing graduate management education (GME) compared to August 2020.