GMAT Volume Results - Thru Sept 30th

Yeah, thats why most schools are now focusing on diversity..diversity in background, diversity in ethnicity.. etc..

Please explain.

You're saying that because more international students are applying, the schools are focusing on diversity? I don't follow.

From what I can gather, most schools (and corporations) have been focusing on diversity for at least the last 5 years.

RF

Thank you for posting these every so often. They're an excellent barometer.

Kudos

I think quite the opposite, the candidates are now more focused on diversity in their application, to stand out. With GMAT scores and applications on the up, a 710 (my score) doesn't stand out like it did 5-10 years ago. So we all have have to flex all our diversity muscle in the application

I think the international increase is 90% Indian IT and an additional smaller contingent from Europe

I wish they broke down the "Non-US" into countries, or at least regions. This way it'd be easier to corroborate the theory that the "Non-US" rise is due to more asian and european schools needing the GMAT for MBA applications i.e non competing test-takers for us

I agree.

But I also think that b-schools are jumping on the diversity bandwagon, just like corporate America.

RF

So what are the chances that the sixth toe on my left foot gets me into b-school?

ok

unfortunately YihWei you are only a 1/500 anomaly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydactyly

If you look elsewhere on the same site, it says that only ~65% of int'l GMAT scores actually get sent to american schools, which means the % that actually apply to american schools is even smaller. That number has been fairly consistent even through the 'lean' GMAT years (2005, 2006).

That's why I'm not freaking out about the numbers. I expect it to be more competitive than last year, but I'm not expecting a huge leap. Plus, as others have commented, I'm expecting even the int'l numbers to jump in areas that are already overrepresented.

thanks for removing the controversy.

So, back to the GMAT discussion. Do you folks think that the rise in test takers could be because of re-takers who in the past would have been satisfied with a lower score?

I think you're probably right, the competition for anyone outside the Indian IT pool is probably not much different. But, I would guess that the increase in the number of GMATs from Indian IT does increase the competition for that particular pool. I think there are plenty more very smart, very capable candidates left in India.

I work in IT, so trust me, I work with plenty of Indians. Almost none (if even any) have any trouble conversing, they were mostly educated in British schools and they probably speak better english than many Americans. I think there are still a lot of these types jumping on the B-school band wagon and I wouldn't consider that pool diluted as of yet.

Ha - did anyone see that the newest Bond girl had this? I was really excited to see her six-fingered hand, but apparently she had them joined as a kid.

Good analysis. I agree as well.

RF

B-school? Probably won't help.

But I bet the chicks love it!!

RF

Its no surprise that there is an increase in the number of people taking the GMAT per year; and the increase in applications to B-School.

But what was the percent increase for total B-School slots for this past year? The top 25 schools might not be taking on more students, but this isn't entirely true for the rest of the programs. Each year a few more MBA programs are created, and many recently established schools are still rapidly expanding. Maybe these numbers will help offset the increase of test takers.

Can anyone chime in?