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Gain an International Recruitment Edge with the New GMAT Geographic Trend Report

Posted by Matt Hazenbush
Matt Hazenbush is the Director of Research Analysis and Communications at GMAC. He supports the organization’s commitment to presenting and disseminating actionable and relevant information about graduate management education through authoring reports, white papers, and briefs, which are available on GMAC.com. He also leads presentations, workshops, and panel discussions at industry conferences. Matt earned a B.A. in History and Communication from Boston College and an Ed.M. in Higher Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Posted on May 1, 2019 11:00:00 AM

Available exclusively to professionals at GMAT score-accepting institutions, the new report details five years of global score-sending and test-taking trends.

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Did you know that 51 percent of GMAT score reports sent in testing year 2018 were sent to a business school outside of the sender’s country of residence? Graduate management education (GME) is truly a global industry and being an effective professional in today’s market depends more than ever on having reliable international market intelligence to maximize your impact with limited travel and marketing budgets.

Today, GMAC made available the GMAT Geographic Trend Report: Testing Year 2018, which presents mobility trends in the GME student pipeline based on the last five testing years of GMAT exam data. The report provides business schools with global market insights to expand their programs’ recruitment and marketing efforts across borders.

The report is made available in both PDF and Excel formats. The highlights key findings on hot topics in international GME in addition to presenting regional trends in GMAT test taking and score sending. The provides you with filterable tables to explore the data for yourself to discover trends, drive business decisions, and use for industry presentations, such as GMAC Annual Conference.

Access the report  

Some key topics discussed in the PDF report include:

  • Women and GME - Globally, the proportion of GMAT exams taken by women reached a record high of 46.3 percent in TY2018, an increase of 11 percentage points since in the first printed publication of GMAT testing data in TY1984. The last decade of GMAT testing has seen the largest growth in testing by women, increasing from 40 percent of GMAT exams in TY2009 to its current high.
  • Business master’s programs – In TY2018, the number of GMAT score-accepting business master’s programs (3,389) exceeded that of MBA programs (3,283) for the first time. While the majority of score reports continue to be sent to MBA programs (62% in TY2018), the proportion of score reports sent to business master’s programs has grown from 30 percent in TY2014 to 34 percent in TY2018.
  • International student mobility - The United States remains the top score-sending destination overall, receiving 67 percent of total GMAT scores in TY2018, down from 74 percent in TY2014. Among score reports sent by non-US citizens, the share sent to US programs declined to 52 percent in TY2018, down from 61 percent in TY2016. This accelerated decline is likely driven in part by the political climate, which ongoing GMAC research shows has elevated concerns among non-US citizen candidates about their ability to obtain work visas in the United States post-GME, among other negative impressions.

The Excel file includes data on GMAT exam volumes, score sending, and demographic details by examinee region/country or citizenship and residence, as well as GMAT score reports received by school region and the number of active GMAT accepting programs by school region and program type.

Access the PDF and Excel versions of the report at www.gmac.com/geographictrends (requires gmac.com login). For more on international student mobility, read last year’s Application Trends Survey Report 2018 and visit the GMAC News Center, where you can read analysis of the recent H-1B rule change and how it stands to benefit international students with an advanced degree from US institutions of higher education.

Topics: Research Insights

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