We did a comparison (huge thanks to Dzyubam), of GMAT Club member acceptance rates to Top 10 Schools vs. general acceptance rates as published by schools and are for the lack of a better word - Shocked!
On average, for class of 2012, GMAT Club members had much greater chances of getting into a top 10 school: 24% vs 15% (that's a 60% greater chance) with some schools really standing out. For example, from the review of the HBS thread, out of 112 applied GMAT Club members, 33 were granted admission, which is a 29% acceptance rate, compared to 12% HBS average. Thus for HBS, statistically speaking, GMAT Club members, had a 145% greater chance of admission
Detailed results follow - comments welcome!
| Applied | Admitted | GMAT Club Admission % | Average Admission % | Difference | Scholarship | Waitlisted | Denied | Matriculated* | UNKNOWN |
Harvard | 112 | 33 | 29% | 12% | 145% | 1 | 9 | 70 | 30 | 0 |
Stanford | 176 | 22 | 12% | 9% | 38% | 0 | 12 | 49 | 21 | 93 |
Wharton | 252 | 43 | 17% | 16% | 6% | 18 | 52 | 75 | 33 | 82 |
Booth | 160 | 62 | 38% | 22% | 76% | 14 | 32 | 66 | 60 | 0 |
Tuck | 42 | 15 | 35% | 16% | 123% | 3 | 5 | 18 | 13 | 4 |
MIT Sloan | 150 | 18 | 12% | 15% | -20% | 2 | 23 | 32 | 16 | 77 |
Columbia | 162 | 27 | 16% | 15% | 11% | 0 | 10 | 44 | 23 | 81 |
Kellogg | 233 | 78 | 33% | 19% | 76% | 3 | 46 | 109 | 74 | 0 |
NYU Stern | 111 | 27 | 24% | 15% | 62% | 1 | 14 | 17 | 24 | 53 |
Haas | 89 | 15 | 16% | 12% | 40% | 2 | 5 | 25 | 13 | 44 |
I know there are many factors involved in the admissions process and a sheer registration with GMAT Club will not get anyone to Harvard, but still, the numbers are numbers.
I would argue that GMAT Club and information exchange do enhance one's application and its quality
I would also argue that the forum helps applicants estimate their chances better and thus if they know, the school is a stretch, they are not wasting their effort on unreasonable goals.
Finally, I think the results demonstrate that effort always pays off and that those who are determined will reach their goals and dreams (including the 3 people who chose not to matriculate at HBS - another shocker).
_________________
Founder of GMAT Club
GMAT Day is Coming! - Awesome way to turbocharge your GMAT Prep with expert panels, breakout rooms, free prep resources, and Prizes!
Just starting out with GMAT?
Start here with a Study Plan... WAMC! - What Are My Chances - Automated Profile Evaluation Tool is Here!
New! My Ultimate GMAT Focus Score Calculator