2007-2011 World Geographic Trends Report

Geographic Trends, Research, Global, 2012, Assessment Report

Alex Chisholm & Hillary Chan

World Geographic Trend Report Cover TY2011

The World Geographic Trend Report presents trends in the student pipeline for graduate management education during the 2007 and 2011 testing years (TY).

Overview

The GMAT score-sending data studied for this update reveal two key types of information related to examinees’ geographic program preferences. First is absolute change in the overall number of GMAT score reports that are sent each year, which reflects the physical size of the annual student pipeline. Absolute change tends to fluctuate widely depending on yearly testing volume. The second type of information is relative change, which measures the proportion of total scores sent to a given country or region and reveals structural changes in market share. Relative change is generally more stable over time. Understanding both types of information—absolute and relative—enhances a school’s ability to navigate the student pipeline and recruit effectively.

Quick Facts

  • Led by growth among East and Southeast Asian citizens, the proportion of non-US citizens taking the GMAT exam continues to rise.
  • GMAT examinees sent a total of 750,399 score reports to programs across 77 countries in TY 2011, up 14% from TY 2007.
  • The average number of GMAT score reports sent per exam taken fell slightly to 2.9.