The Results Are In!
Every year, Kaplan surveys admissions officers from top business schools in America. The most recent study, taken in the latter part of 2010, found a couple of interesting trends and looked at on hot topics like whether to take the GRE or the GMAT, and the effect of socials networks on college applications.
GRE or GMAT?
One of the key findings from the survey was that a growing number of b-schools are accepting the GRE - however almost a third of the schools that do say candidates who submit a GMAT test score have an advantage.
According to our 2010 survey of business school admissions officers, the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) is making substantial headway in terms of gaining acceptance at American business schools: 39% of the 288 business schools surveyed say they now allow a candidate to apply with a a GRE score instead of a GMAT test score, compared to 24% in the previous year. Of the schools that only accept GMAT test scores, 75% don't plan on looking at accepting the GRE.
But, even as more MBA programs accept the GRE, the GMAT does maintain an advantage. Whilst 65% of respondents who do accept scores from both tests said that there is no advantage to applicants submitting one over the other, 32% state applicants who submit a GMAT score have an edge on applicants who submit a GRE score. Candidates do appear to be aware of this; of the business programs that accept the GRE, over two thirds report that less than one out of ten applicants actually submitted a GRE score as part of an application.
Other Trends:
A Poor GMAT or GRE Score is the Biggest Application Killer: Nearly half of the colleges questioned say that a low GRE or GMAT score is the biggest application killer. A bad GPA came in second at 33%; with a lack of work experience following at 10%.
Social Media: 66% of officers report that a candidate has included in their application a LinkedIn networking request. 9% of admissions officers say they've visited an applicant’s social networking page to help them evaluative their candidacy.
New GMAT Section: Colleges were asked about their thoughts on the integrated reasoning segment which will be added to the GMAT in June 2012. 47% of the officers have a neutral view, while 31% consider it a positive development. When asked about their thoughts about the difficulty of the revised test, 42% don’t think the IR section will result in the exam being tougher, but 21% think it will.
Respondants included 22 out of the top 30 business schools in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report’s ‘Best Business Schools’ 2010.
