Application Volume....

Question

Just spent sometime reading some mindless posts at b-week and browsing through admissions411.

Just curious to know what you guys think or have heard regarding the increase in volume? I know its a futile exercise but just for the heck of it...

I think it will be a 0-5% increase

riverripper · Answer

Judging by the past years I would say depending on the schools 0-10% and some demographics will be much much higher. Seems to be that asians and indians are growing at a far greater rate than any other groups. The recent challenges posed by the visa issues will be interesting to see if that factors in.

dosa_don · Answer

I think the big factors would be:

1. How internationals treat the Visa issue- if people dont care, then you would find a significant bump in the number of applicants
2. The fallout from the slightly flat-weak economy in the US

I am not sure how it was last year, but if you take a look at the b0week forums, the school specific threads are not very active. Either the number of users at b-week has dropped significantly (yay! GMATclub!) or the number of applicants (especially the domestics) have decreased. 

The number of GMAT takers has increased YoY but I tend to believe that the number is stacked for the late part of last year AND an increase in the number of re-takes. I would say that almost 40% of test takes seem to be re-testers. 

Also, I am not sure in other parts of the country, but in the midwest, the number of people looking into PT programs is also increasing. This would lend itself a little to the increase in the GMAT test takers as well.

lepium · Answer

I read some data last March from one of the schools I visited which specified that most of the increases in applications came from applicants applying to more schools than more unique applicants. The info was within an article urging students to help sway admitted students to school X, as those students were likely to have more choices.

L.

riverripper · Answer

I think that people are definitely applying to a lot more schools because it seems to be such a random luck of the draw at times. You see people who get into HBS but not Tuck. Talking with a prof. of mine from college who graduated with his MBA in the late 80s he only applied to Chicago and Wharton. Applying to 2-3 schools seemed to be very common years ago, now I think its more likely that someone applies to 8 schools than 2.

rhyme · Answer

I probably can't say the figure publicly, but, apps at the GSB are estimated to be way way up. No real surprises there.

dosa_don · Answer

GSB is not a surprise- it is THE hottest school so it should see huge increase in apps.

CookieMonster · Answer

estimated by whom?
do you think R2 will see the biggest percentage increase?

rhyme · Answer

I don't feel comfortable saying more about it... I'm not sure whats public and what isn't at this point. I'll ask..... if it turns out to be public info, I'll share.

As for % increase, I think it will be pretty evenly distributed among the rounds - plus or minus some "error" due to chance. But honestly, thats just conjecture on my part.

riverripper · Answer

Dammn you rhyme...at least let us have a few months of imagining everyone else decided to wait until next year to apply. Maybe this winter will be like -40 in New England and Chicago, and everyone will be applying to california and the southeast instead.

dabots · Answer

i thought id have a little break after my last r1 app, but now i have to get serious about r2 apps...chances at chi/w/mit are slim

CookieMonster · Answer

ohh great..

riverripper · Answer

I have my R1 apps spread from mid Oct to mid Nov I am hoping for a week or two before even thinking about R2.

Application Volume....

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