GMAC Survey Confirms Increase In Business School Applications.

Increases in applications to business schools for the 2002-2003 academic year confirms prospective students continue to place significant value on the MBA degree. According to a new survey of business schools by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), 84 percent of the business schools responding to the survey reported an increase in applications to their full-time programs.

The GMAC Application Trends Survey shows that despite employers’ cutting back on tuition reimbursement of executive programs, 57 percent of the responding schools also reported an increase in executive program applications.

Almost half of the private schools and a quarter of the public schools reported over a 21 percent jump in applications over last year. “These numbers could not make it clearer. More people are committing to the MBA process in order to improve their competitiveness, security and marketability,” says Dave Wilson, CEO of GMAC. “The weakened economy and corporate uncertainty is a catalyst for young people to find avenues to distinguish themselves in a tight job market. The MBA is one more asset in their personal portfolio. The MBA remains a global currency of intellectual capital. It is known and valued in every market.”

The number one reason for pursuing an MBA degree according to the 2002 GMAC Global MBA Survey, was “an opportunity to improve yourself, personally.” This was followed closely by a desire to improve career options. Among those seeking to improve their career options, nearly three out of four MBA students said the degree would allow them to switch industries and/or to diversify the types of organizations with which they can seek employment.

Increased application volume is also attributed to special outreach done by 68 percent of responding schools. Nearly three out of four schools (71 percent) focused on minorities and more than half of the schools (54 percent) targeted female candidates.

The Application Trends Survey was conducted online in June 2002. The results represent responses from 76 schools. For complete the survey results: http://gmac.com/research/surveys/application/2002/Applications2002.shtml The GMAC ( www.gmac.com ) is a not-for-profit education organization of leading graduate business schools worldwide, dedicated to creating access to and disseminating information about graduate management education. The organization sponsors the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), part of the admissions process by graduate management programs around the world.