GMAC Advisor

Diversity of all forms adds to the richness of the business school classroom experience, exposing students to peers with perspectives and lived experiences that differ from their own. A facet of diversity that has been historically under-discussed within graduate management education (GME) is students with disabilities. For business school leaders, as well as admissions and recruitment professionals, gaining a deeper understanding of the experiences candidates with disabilities face in GME is essential to elevating your class diversity.

How has COVID-19 changed the preferences of prospective students? That’s the question I’ve been hearing most often in my interactions with business school professionals, and that’s exactly the question we sought to answer in the GMAC Prospective Students Survey – 2022 Summary Report, published to GMAC.com last week.

When lockdown orders canceled 2020 recruiting fairs and online events rushed in to fill the gap, few could have predicted that it would take two years for in-person events to fully bounce back.

55% of full-time MBA programs reported an increase in female applicants in 2021. However, there’s still much more to be done to increase gender parity at business school. It’s up to recruitment teams to engage with women at the early stages of the candidate pipeline and take time to understand women’s motivations for joining business school.

It’s been another disruptive year for graduate management education (GME). Between travel restrictions, hybrid learning, and limitations on face-to-face events, how you connect with and engage candidates is constantly changing. So, what’s next?

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 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.