How MBA Applicants Pick Their Target Schools
Harvard Business School on a beautiful spring day in 2016
The new survey, published today (May 10) by the Graduate Management Admission Council, found that the single most important factor is the percentage of the latest graduating class with job offers (see table below). That is also true of applicants who are pursuing specialized master’s degrees in business.
After job offers, the quality of faculty came second, the availability of scholarships third, and total tuition and required fees came in fourth. Graduates’ starting base salary and other compensation rounded out the top five. Surprisingly, rankings, according to the survey, came in ninth or next to last for full-time MBA applicants.
QUALITY & REPUTATION OF SCHOOL MOST IMPORTANT IN CHOOSING A SCHOOL
Don’t take that finding too seriously, though. Another section of the survey appears to contradict that notion. When applicants were asked to name the most important selection criteria in choosing a school, the highest percentage of full-time MBA applicants–slight more than 40%–named “quality and reputation,” which are largely a function of the rankings. Only 11% identified “program aspects.” None of the full-time MBA applicants name the curriculum, the school’s culture, or the program’s class profile. “Career aspects” came in second, with about 20% of the respondents checking off that factor in the survey.
The survey, however, was not a controlled sample but a poll of applicants who went to GMAC’s website and filled out its Prospective Students Survey. The organization said that more than 10,000 individuals responded throughout the 2015 calendar year.
Prospective students begin forming their short lists of schools one year prior to application submission, on average, the survey found. A specific event or circumstance often triggers a prospective student’s consideration of earning a graduate management degree. Most common events include seeking a new job but lacking skills to be competitive for the positions (27%), reaching a plateau at work (17%), and lacking knowledge to do a job (17%).
TWO-THIRDS FEEL IT IS IMPORTANT TO GET INTO THE BEST PROGRAM POSSIBLE
Two-thirds of prospective students (65%) feel it is important to get into the best program possible. Only 59% say they have thoroughly researched the programs where they intend to apply. But, no matter where students are in their deliberation process of applying to business school, the vast majority (90% overall) have identified a preferred school from which they want to earn their degree. The survey found that this is true for 94% of those already applying, for the 89% who are still planning to apply, and for the 79% of those still deciding whether or not to pursue a graduate management education.
PROGRAM INFORMATION RANKED AS “MOST INFLUENTIAL” IN APPLICATION DECISIONS
Source: GMAC 2016 Prospective Students’ Survey
MOST PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS’ TARGET LISTS INCLUDE SAFETY & STRETCH SCHOOLS
Source: GMAC 2016 Prospective Students’ Survey
At the same time, however, the majority of prospective students (53%) also have identified safety schools. Those with high GMAT exam scores are equally as likely as those with lower GMAT scores to have selected safety schools. A majority of Millennial (55%) and Generation Z (59%) cohorts are most likely to consider “stretch” schools, even though they may not
qualify (see above table).
On average, prospective students considered 2.8 program types in 2015, down from 3.1 in 2014. For their postgraduate careers, 71% of those surveyed cited a single industry of interest, compared with 58% in 2014. In addition, 61% of prospective students cited a single job function of interest, compared with 46% in 2014. The economy, GMAC researchers said, may play a role in this phenomenon as prospective students may perceive it to be easier to go after their “dream job” in this market compared with the post-recession years.
GMAC said that students deciding to enroll in a graduate business program typically have three general career goals in mind for their postgraduate employment: 1) continue on their current career path, 2) switch careers, or 3) start a business. The majority of full-time MBA applicants anticipate they will either continue along in their existing career path (27%) or switch career paths into another job function or industry (43%).
THREE IN TEN PROSPECTIVE MBA STUDENTS WANT TO START THEIR OWN COMPANIES
Overall, three in ten prospective full-time MBA students (29%) surveyed in 2015 expressed a desire to start a business, a decline from 30% percent who declared such interest in 2013 and 2014.
“Entrepreneurship as a goal is most prevalent among those who prefer to study in a full-time MBA program,” the study found. “Prospective students working in senior (28%) or executive (37%) positions are more likely to consider entrepreneurship as a postgraduate goal than those who are currently in entry-level (21%) or mid-level (23%) positions.
“Regional economic conditions may be an indicator of the likelihood to pursue entrepreneurship. As individuals perceive that economic conditions are improving, their desire to start a business declines, GMAC said. “In a growing economy, there are more jobs available, so prospective students may feel more confident about finding employment and less of a need to set off on their own.”
GMAC survey data shows that prospective students appear to be more selective or deliberate today regarding their expected job outcomes after graduation. An improving economy may play a role in this phenomenon. Rather than aiming broadly at a number of industries, nearly three-quarters (71%) of prospects cite a single industry of interest for postgraduate employment compared with only 58% who had such well-defined career goals in 2014. Similarly, prospects are more singularly focused on pursuing one particular job function in 2015 (61%) compared with
2014, when only 46% of prospective students were so deliberate about their postgraduate job choices.
“As more job opportunities open up,” the survey found, “prospective students may perceive it to be easier to go after their dream job rather than thinking about plausible alternatives.
Overall, the top industries they target for postgraduate employment are similar to previous years’ findings and include consulting (32%), finance and accounting (31%), and products and services (25%), although by generation, Baby Boomers are most likely to seek jobs in the nonprofit/government sector.
TOP INDUSTRIES IDENTIFIED FOR POST-GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT BY GENERATION
Source: GMAC 2016 Prospective Students’ Survey
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