Salaries, Business School Applicants in China, and More in MBA News

From business school admissions officers shifting their focus to applicants in China to spikes in startup-centric education and in female entrepreneurship, here’s the latest in MBA news.

What’s the “right age” to get your MBA?

Most aspiring MBAs apply to business school with a few years work experience under their belts—though it’s far from necessary. In fact, a significant number of students apply directly from college, or at least take the GMAT as undergrads.

So is there an optimal age to apply?

As part of its business school rankings, Bloomberg Business Week surveyed more than 10,000 people who expected to earn their MBA last year. Their findings: In your mid-20s, salary increases over every year—or, salary is directly proportional to age. Makes sense,right? More experience, more money.

Not too fast. Turns out that the pay advantage correlated with an increase in age plateaus rather rapidly. Salary levels stagnate in the mid-$120K range between the ages of 28-34. Check out the graph. (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

No match for China

It probably comes as no surprise that China provides the second largest population of GMAT test takers in the world. In 2012-13, 53,005 GMATs were administered in China, over half the 90,541 figure administered in the United States.

That’s not all. On average, Chinese test takers do far better on the GMAT than do their American counterparts—as in 50 points higher. Why? They study harder.

But there’s even more! To increase the average GMAT scores of their students, business school admissions are increasingly seeking Chinese applicants—as well as Indian applicants, who also attain higher averages. The reason? Average GMAT scores weigh heavily into MBA rankings—and this is one easy way for business schools to increase theirs. (Poets & Quants)

Who not to ask for a letter of recommendation

You know that a the strongest business school applications start with a high GMAT scores and strong GPAs, but never discount other pieces of the application—including your letters of recommendation. Those who write on your behalf act as convincing third party endorsements … if you pick the right references.

Rec letters can hurt you if you ask the wrong people to help you out. A couple major (but easy) mistakes to avoid on this front:

• Don’t ask for a letter of recommendation from someone who doesn’t know you well
• Don’t ask for a reference from someone who doesn’t support your decision to go for an MBA (U.S. News & World Report)

The evolution of a startup education

Business school education, long eschewed by many entrepreneurs, is catching up with the times and starting to get hip to the startup innovation.

As more students start their own businesses, business schools are changing their teaching strategies. In some cases, MBA programs are hiring successful startup consultants to act as entrepreneurs-in-residence of a sort, reasoning that if MBA education is going to continue to thrive in today’s morphing business world, it’s going to have to adapt. (BusinessBecause)

Female entrepreneurs on the rise

Speaking of entrepreneurs, more and more female MBA applicants are headed down that path, according to a new survey by AIGAC, a global network of admissions consultants. (BusinessBecause)

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