GMAC Advisor

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.

New additions reflect the diverse, global perspective of the business school community.

Nine in ten corporate recruiters expect the demand for business school graduates to increase or remain stable in the next five years, according to the 2021 Corporate Recruiters Survey. This annual GMAC survey provides vital data for employers and business schools in understanding trends and insights about hiring, salaries, and skills for MBA and business master’s graduates.

Graduate schools of business use a variety of admissions criteria to evaluate prospective students for enrollment. Among them, the Graduate Management Admission Test™ (GMAT™) score is one of few data points by which all applicants’ skills and potential classroom success can be directly compared on the same scale. 

EGADE Business School brings diversity and prestige to the Council.

A new GMAC survey snapshot of nearly 1,800 respondents shows that more than half of prospective students believe that admissions exams improve reliability, fairness, and transparency in evaluating graduate business school candidates. The data collected through mba.com Prospective Students Survey also highlights the diversity of candidates as their perceptions vary by region of citizenship and by preferred study destination (domestic or international). This data addresses questions raised by schools in the Information Needs Survey released earlier this year. It also provides insights to inform schools as they shape their global recruitment strategy.

With applications on the rise this past year, business schools should not lose sight of keeping their brand top of mind with potential candidates.

International students comprise nearly two in three students enrolled in master’s level business programs at British business schools. As a result, Brexit uncertainties coupled with COVID-19 travel restrictions have been particularly severe for many business schools in the UK as international student mobility faced more disruption. Yet, data shows that demand for pursuing graduate business programs in the UK remains strong among international candidates.

Today it might sometimes seem like there’s more data available than you can handle. With candidate leads coming in from a variety of sources, it can be hard to take the time to search for and make genuine connections with prospective business school students.

A new GMAC research report based on the data collected through mba.com Prospective Students Survey provides insights into the diverse choices and preferences of prospective students planning to pursue graduate management education (GME) in 2021. The findings suggest that demand for GME continues to accelerate as the concerns about the impact of COVID-19 wane. The report identifies at least three notable growth drivers for GME related to employability, flexibility, and regional mobility.