Who

Findings in this report are based on responses from 3,531 prospective graduate business students who registered on mba.com. Mba.com, the GMAC® Web site for prospective students, is the portal to the GMAT® exam and a resource for prospective students interested in learning about graduate management education. The survey was conducted online from October 3 to October 31, 2007.

What

The mba.com Registrants Survey, initiated in 2003, is an annual survey designed to track the progression of prospective students through the MBA pipeline. The research objectives of this study are to:

• develop a profile of prospective applicants;
• determine what factors cause them to apply and/or decide not to apply;
• determine the elapsed time between the point when they begin thinking about pursuing a graduate business degree to the point when they apply to business school;
• define the characteristics of the schools that prospective students apply to and attend.

Why

The study was undertaken to help—

• graduate business school professionals determine characteristics of their target audience, build their message and brand, and determine resource allocation;
• prospective business school students better understand their options and develop strategies to increase their chances of being admitted into their school of choice; and
• GMAC® strengthen its efforts to create access for all to graduate management education

The Results

• The majority of respondents consider only one type of program but applies to multiple schools.
• Citizenship and likelihood of attending programs outside one’s country of citizenship play a role in the program types considered.
• Prospective students hope to improve four sets of skills during a graduate business program: “soft” skills, technology skills, reasoning skills, and technical skills.
• 94% of prospects visit school Web sites, and 70% consider the Web site an influential part of their decision to apply to a particular school.
• There are major differences in the motivations, psychographic interests, and school selection criteria of prospective students by world region. Not only are there differences between world regions, there are significant differences within each region by gender and age of the prospective students.
• An extremely large percentage (85%) of prospective students has reservations about pursuing a graduate business degree, especially regarding education costs and their ability to finance their education.
• There is a high degree of competition between part-time MBA programs and online/distance learning MBA programs.
• Prospective students consider five key criteria when selecting schools:
  • quality and prestige
  • convenience and location
  • costs and financial considerations
  • the classroom experience
  • accreditation and curriculum
• Prospective students primarily consult family and friends when making the decision to pursue a graduate business degree. Thus, a school’s outreach communications should not only target prospective students, but also seek to reach those who influence their decisions.