What the Business-Schools Think
Every year, Kaplan Test Prep surveys admissions officers from top business-schools in the US. The most recent study, taken in the second half of 2010, discovered a couple of key trends and focussed on topics like whether to sit the GRE or the GMAT, along with the effect of social networks, such as LinkedIn, on applications.
One of the key findings from the survey was that a growing number of business schools are accepting the GRE as well as the GMAT - but nearly a third of the schools that do say applicants who submit a GMAT score have an advantage.
GMAT vs GRE?
According to our 2010 survey of business school admissions officers, the GRE is making significant progress in gaining acceptance at American business schools: 39% of the 288 B-Schools surveyed said that they now allow an applicant to submit a GRE score instead of a GMAT test score, compared to around 24% last year. Of the schools that only accept the GMAT, 75% have no plans to consider accepting the GRE.
But, even as more B-Schools accept the GRE (the exam required by most non-business American graduate programs), the GMAT holds an edge in the eyes of admissions officers. Whilst 65% of respondents who accept scores from both the GRE and the GMAT say there is no benefit to applicants submitting one or other, 32% say applicants who apply with a GMAT score hold an advantage over applicants who submit a GRE score.
Candidates do seem to be aware of the perception: of the B-School programs that accept a GRE test score, 69% say that that less than 10 percent of applicants actually submitted a GRE score as part of there application.
Other highlights from this year's survey:A Low GMAT/GRE Score is the Biggest Application 'Killer': 48% of admissions officers questioned say that a poor GMAT or GRE score 'kills' the most applications. A bad undergraduate GPA came in second at 33%; not enough work experience followed at 10%.
The New GMAT Section: When asked about their thoughts about the new integrated reasoning section that will be added to the GMAT in June 2012, nearly half, 47%, of admissions officers have a neutral view, whilst 31% think it is a positive development. When asked about their views on the difficulty of the revised test, 4 in 10 don’t think that the new section will result in the exam being tougher, but 1 in 5 think it will.
Social Networking: Two thirds of officers reported that an applicant has included a LinkedIn networking request. 9% of admissions officers said that visited an applicant’s social networking page to help them assess their candidacy.
Survey respondents included 22 of the top 30 business schools in the United States, as listed in US News & World Report’s ‘Best Business Schools’ 2010 edition.
You can see highlights from our 2010 survey in our Downloads area, or by clicking the following link.
