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As global interest in the MBA continues to expand, GMAT examinees sent nearly 750,000 score reports to schools around the world in Testing Year 2008 (the year ending June 30, 2008)—25 percent more scores than were sent four years before. Where do tomorrow’s MBA students come from, and where do they hope to enroll?
GMAC analysis shows that Asia now accounts for a fast-growing share of GMAT testing activity worldwide. The number of GMAT score reports sent by students from around the world to business schools in Europe is also on the rise. North America, meanwhile, has seen a dramatic increase in GMAT test scores being sent from India and China.
In TY08 overall, more score reports were sent by non-US citizens (382,377) than US citizens (362,657). Non-US examinees represented 51 percent of all scores sent, up from 46 percent in TY04.
Although programs in the United States remained the preferred destinations for 81 percent of GMAT examinees in TY08, non-US citizens continue to send more of their score reports to non-US business programs. The proportion of scores sent by non-US citizens to the United States fell from 75 percent in TY00 to 65 percent in TY08.
Here’s a closer look at trends in North America, Asia, and Europe, with audio podcasts.
North American Trends
Test takers in the United States and Canada overwhelmingly send their exam scores to schools in those countries. In TY08, as in TY04, GMAT examinees in all 50 states sent more than 95 percent of their score reports to programs in the United States. Further, of the score reports sent to programs within the United States in TY08, examinees in 39 states sent at least half their score reports to programs in the state where they took the test. Examinees in Canada continue to send most of their score reports to programs in that country.
Meanwhile, examinees from both India and China increased the number of score reports sent to the United States by 161 percent and 256 percent, respectively, between TY04 and TY08. In TY08, seven of the top 10 countries sending GMAT scores to US programs were in Asia.
Further evidence that the GMAT is becoming a more global enterprise is reflected in the number of both US and non-US citizens taking the GMAT exam in the United States, which increased by 14 percent and 13 percent, respectively, between TY06 and TY08.
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