Things aren’t always as they seem, according to a recent survey of prospective business school applicants. Fewer people seem to be heading back to business school than you would think based on the reports and discussions in the media – and those who are planning to join MBA programs are going back to school for different reasons and not to ride out the economic recession.
So far in 2009, registration volume for the GMAT is on par with the same period in 2008, which is a difference from the dramatic increases of the recent past, according to “MBA Applications: Is the Party Over?” At the same time many people have speculated that aspiring MBAs are heading to business school because they’ve lost their jobs, and they want to gain more skills and improve their resume in time for the economy to pick up. But in a recent survey, conducted by Manhattan GMAT, 82% of the 6,000 respondents from within the entire Manhattan GMAT community, say they are employed full time. And 78% of them say they feel stable, if not secure, in their job status, according to the survey.