2008 vs 2009 Apps

Question

Ok so in light of the other competitive thread I did an unscientific comparsion (not sure if this has been done anywhere?)

# of gmatclub members joined Jan 1st until June 25th 2007 vs members joined Jan 1st until June 25th 2008 (Todays Date)

2007 Year to Date - 5,675 new members
2008 Year to Date - 6,797 new members

20% increase.

So are we to expect a 20% increase in apps this year from 2008?

dosa_don · Answer

Or GMATclub is 20% more "popular"

terp26 · Answer

yea maybe we are getting all the scoretop members leaving their site

IHateTheGMAT · Answer

I'll go by this stat...

GMAT Registrations January-May 2007 106,571
GMAT Registrations January-May 2008 118,684

11.37% increase in GMAT registratins this year. I think that's the best proxy for the application increase.

Oh and another interesting stat. For all the talk of the US recession and layoffs on Wall Street leading to the surge in applicants. It's just not true. The real surge is coming from the same place it's been coming from the last few years.... international applicants.

Increase in US GMAT registrations (same time period as above) 4.88%
Increase in Intl GMAT registratiosn (same time period as above) 22.97%

As we all know, most of the MBA programs already have a higher proportion of international applicants than international students. With the top schools already pushing 40% international, I don't think the proportion of the student body that's international is going to increase. For that reason I think the competition among international applicants will be intense this year. For US applicants, despite all the talk about the effect of the recession, GMATs are only up 5%. So, while it will still probably be the toughest year for domestic applicants since 2002, it will be even tougher for international applicants.

icon · Answer

A couple reasons from the opposite perspective to chew on:

- The longer GMAT Club is around, the more word of mouth traffic it gets.

- Expansion in the breadth of what GMAT Club offers to its members. This particular forum for instance has only been in existence for two years. As GMAT Club continues to expand its scope, its member base will also expand.

- With each year that passes, B-school applicants try more to gain a greater competitive edge. Joining a site like this increases that competitive edge. This can somewhat be correlated with the increase in GMAT scores over the years (test takers preparing more).

terp26 · Answer

yea I figured another year of existence would increase popularity so the number may be closer to the 11% cited, than to the 20%.

Where did you get those GMAT stats?

icon · Answer

Great post! Plus 1 Kudos to you sir.

dosa_don · Answer

Another thing to consider- a lot of good international schools have opened shop in the last few years and now accept GMAT. Especially in countries like India, where there is a huge demand for managers, an MBA is being valued very highly. A lot of Indians apply to schools in India and Europe/Asia and most of them require a GMAT score.

So the international increase does not necessarily mean increased competition in the US schools for that demographic.

ncp · Answer

I think the increase in reality is much less. There are a lot more re-takes nowadays since there is a lot of pressure to get 720+ scores.

sm332 · Answer

excellent point ... for e.g. ISB in Hyderabad requires GMAT scores and has about 500 seats. I would imagine that there are several other places coming up in Asia Pacific to meet the needs of corporations over there.

riverripper · Answer

I wonder if Praet could give us hit stats on this site to compare this year and last year. Its pretty slow now but I can only imagine what this place is going to be like in a few months.

Some advice to people on here, pick interesting avatars. Names blend together (terp26 vs terp06)...having an avatar that people remember is helpful and it increases the chances that the 08 guys/gals will recognize you and be willing to help. As much as many of us would like to help lots of people our time is going to be limited, so personally I am going to be much more willing to spend time with people who are frequent contributors.

icon · Answer

Noted. Not sure if it is interesting or not but at least I have one now. Plus its a dead give away that I am a Houstonian. 8-)

jasonc · Answer

Great advice, I will pick an avatar soon

ihategmat's analysis of international vs US gmat registrations makes me feel a little better haha. A 5% increase doesn't seem too bad

Raabend · Answer

These   avatars   are   getting   more    and   more   colorful!

bsd_lover · Answer

OH crap - more competition for internationals !! - groundhog day

Yahsek · Answer

Interesting/unique avatar, check. I just hope mine doesn't give anyone a seizure :lol:

terry12 · Answer

Aw, I miss that logo. Now you've got me longing for Mike Scott and Charlie Kerfeld at the Astrodome

riverripper · Answer

avatars are great to be memorable...I am sure everyone from last fall remembers mNeo's penguin.

tnttijji · Answer

Advice taken...Added an Avatar ;-)

Cheers, Tijji.

kryzak · Answer

I still like nervousgamt's Star Wars thingy the best... speaking of which, where is nervous these days??? GMATClub will only get more popular as people realize how painful BusinessWeek Forums are, and how much info we have stored here (and somewhat sorted) for the new applicants.

Avatars are great! The other hint is to KEEP you avatar at least until you get into a school, otherwise if you change it too often, we busy students may think you're a new member.

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