During the first weeks of February, GMAC conducts a private worldwide survey of business school admission professionals to assess how MBA and other graduate management program application volume compares with the same period last year.

The purpose of the survey is to provide participating business schools with preliminary feedback about the demand for graduate management education in the early stages of the application cycle. The survey results are shared only among respondents and are not available to the general public, non-participating schools, researchers, or media.

The preliminary survey typically consists of 5 to 10 questions and has a short turnaround time. Participating programs receive a comprehensive report two weeks after the data collection closes. The report includes distributions of survey responses by program type, world region, US region, program competitiveness, and other characteristics.

In addition to overall statistics presented in the report, peer group comparisons are available to survey participants in individualized benchmark reports. Last year, more than 150 participants requested and received individualized benchmarking reports specific to their programs. Click here to see a sample benchmarking report.

2010 Project Timeline

February 3, 2010—GMAC invites graduate management programs to participate
February 17, 2010—Last day for schools to submit data for the survey
February 26, 2010—Target date for electronic report distribution to participating programs

Please note that due to the short turnaround time, the participation deadline will not extend past February 17th!

For More Information

If you have questions about the Preliminary Application Trends Survey and how to participate, please contact Marina Murray at +1-703-245-0648 or research@gmac.com.