A prosperous and healthy New Year to you, our readers! Here are some of the latest, most interesting headlines about the business school admissions process and MBA life from media outlets across the world to ring in 2014.
The number of people who took the GMAT in the 12 months ending last June fell by 48,000, or 17 %, from the year before, according to new data provided by the Graduate Management Admission Council, the makers of the exam. One big reason for the drop – the increased number of students who rushed to take the GMAT in early to mid 2012 to avoid taking the exam’s new Integrated Reasoning section. It was a special circumstance. A rebound seems likely. (BusinessWeek)
And speaking of Integrated Reasoning…Kaplan Test Prep’s 2013 survey of business school admissions officers finds that 58% of MBA programs say that an applicant’s score on the GMAT’s newish section is not currently an important part of their evaluation of a prospective student’s overall GMAT score. Despite that finding, Kaplan’s survey also finds that 51% of business school admissions list a low GMAT score as “the biggest application killer,” confirming that applicants still need to submit a competitive score overall. (U.S. News University Directory)
54. That’s where the United States ranks on the list of average scores on the GMAT. The United States rank behind such countries as Argentina, China and Kyrgyzstan. What explains the poor showing of American students in the land where the GMAT itself was created? (Poets And Quants)
Although women are making strides in education generally, accounting for a majority of university students overall in most developed countries, they remain a distinct minority in MBA programs. Why is this the case and what’s ahead in the years to come? (The Financial Times)
Want to be a successful student in business school? Then be ready to be a team player. The students you advise should hone their listening skills in preparation for group projects. (U.S. News & World Report)
