GMAT correlation with being successful in bschool

Well this is the whole "chicken or the egg" type of question. She's looking at a class of people at a top business school and saying that at the end of school the GMAT doesn't always correlate with who were the best leaders.

There are a few HUGE flaws with this argument. First of all, the GMAT is not meant to tell anyone who the "leaders" are. It has been proven that the GMAT has a strong correlation with first year business school success. It has never been tested to see if there is any other correlation, and it is not meant to be a benchmark to pick out leaders. Also, she is using the word "correlate" incorrectly. In order to find true statistical correlation, you have to have a representative population, a good sample size, etc... to look at graduates from a top business school and say there is NO correlation with no statistical evidence is just crazy talk.

Also, the GMAT is just one factor in an application. So if a school has an average GMAT of 700, then people with over a 700 can be a little less competative in their application, while people below 700 will have to bring something else special. Sooo, many of these people that get into top buisness schools with low GMAT's are probably ALREADY top leaders and have something special. So of course these low GMATers would be top leaders, b/c they were before they even got into school. How did they get into a top Bschool with a low GMAT? To look at a top schools population is not a represenative sample of bschool applicants, leaders, and GMAT takers. Imagine that person that gets into harvard with a 550... he must have been an amazing leader! To then at the end of his studies compare his leadership to someone who came in with a 770 is just crazy. HE WAS ALREADY A TOP LEADER.

This might be one of the silliest articles I have ever read, and really has no basis for any interesting arguments. It surprises me that someone in a top position could even right something like this.

This is truly admissions consulatant banter, trying to convince applicants that "they can do anything" and "go anywhere" so apply to 40 schools so we can have your $. It is competative out there, and the GMAT is a key factor in an application. It isn't everything, and of course there are exceptions to the rules, but in general, all things equal, someone with a higher GMAT will have a better shot at getting into that school.