Will competition at top schools heat up this year?

It's also possible that strong candidates will be less inclined to leave their present employers and risk a fresh job search post-MBA in a weak job market.
Unlike the 2008 period, there aren't (many) mass lay-offs occurring right now.

Knock on wood.

I agree about the ever increasing exam scores in the competitive pool at top schools, although there is little incremental value in going above 700 on GMAT, i.e. it does not really matter if you have 710 or 750.

Second point: what would contribute to a decrease in quality of work experience?

The number of applicants probably won't increase this year. You really can't "escape" a recession. Even if you get admitted to an MBA program, the lack of internship prospects would hurt your chances of getting the FT job that you want. You're also under the pressure to find a job, any job, to cover the tuition fees, living expenses and opportunity costs when you're pursuing the MBA.

Also, there is a time lag. If you weren't planning to apply, and then decided today that B-school is looking like a good idea, you'd be hard-pressed to start now, take the GMAT, get your recs and transcripts together, write your essays etc in time for 2012 matriculation. MBA apps are a trailing indicator in that sense; all the buzz right now about a double-dip recession should be associated with higher competition next year, if anything.

The double dip recession really makes me worry about internship opportunities if admitted this year for next fall. It could land right when students are applying for summer associate positions..

Second point: what would contribute to a decrease in quality of work experience?[/quote]


I'm assuming this because in large part during the last few years top employers have limited their hiring and university recruiting. This has especially hit undergraduates hard that have graduated 3 years ago or so, who will make up a very large chunk of the applicant pool.

I guess I didn't necessarily mean a decrease in quality of work experience, rather, a wider variety of work experience. Many graduates that normally would have taken a high profile, well known banking job in normal conditions might have been forced to take another lesser known route. I believe it should carry a little more weight these days to come from a top notch employer due to the increased selectivity of these positions at this time...but decreased quality was probably not the best choice of words.