This is the topic of a recent GMAC press release that highlights the reasons why people are drawn to business school. The data in the release is based on GMAC’s mba.com Prospective Students Survey that shows that prospective students’ motivations for b-school remained constant in the last few years, despite the changing economic climate.
Here are some of the key findings:
- Top motivations for attending business school include “the desire to develop new skills and abilities, gain access to better career opportunities and find more interesting and challenging work.”
- Less emphasis was placed on these factors: “gaining recognition or respect, learning to effectively influence others or earning a credential.”
- People who are attracted to full-time MBA programs generally placed the desire to maximize networking opportunities at the top of their list, while part-time applicants were more likely to have a desire to maintain their competitiveness in the job market.
- People who applied to master’s programs in accounting or finance were more likely to “want to sharpen their ability to control situations.”
- Women were likely to prioritize developing their management skills more than men were, while men were more likely to report a desire to “become more adept at handling technical and operational challenges” than were their female counterparts.
- Most people expected to pay for their business management educations with the help of loans (about 26% of applicants), with personal earnings/savings and then grants/fellowships/scholarships following closely behind at about 23% and about 21% respectively.
For more information view the GMAC press release, “Motivations for Going to Business School Remain Steady Across Economic Cycles, GMAC Research Finds.”
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Read the full article: Why Are You Going to B-School?
