More women, non-U.S. citizens and prospective graduate management students younger than 24 took the GMAT entrance exam this year than ever before, according to the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), which owns the test. The council’s 2011 Profile of Graduate Management Admissions Test Candidates also revealed that a majority of specialized master’s programs in business have reported application growth since 2007.
The two findings are interrelated, according to Alex Chisholm, GMAC senior manager of statistical analysis, who noted that non-MBA master’s degrees typically draw a greater proportion of women and recent college graduates. “This year’s Profile seems to reflect the growing presence of these candidates in the pipeline,” Chisholm said. Around one-fifth of GMAT exams taken in the testing year ending June 30, 2011, were by those pursuing non-MBA master’s degrees.
Of the 258,192 tests taken this past year, 55 percent were taken by non-U.S. citizens, marking the third straight year that U.S. citizens were outnumbered by test takers from other parts of the globe. Forty-one percent of test takers in 2011 were women, up from 39 percent two years earlier. Those younger than 24 represented 35 percent of all tests taken. This last group has been the fastest growing segment in the GMAT pipeline, swelling by 55 percent since testing year 2007.
Overall, 2011 saw the third-highest GMAT test-taking volume ever, marking modest declines from 263,979 in testing year 2010 and 265,613 in testing year 2009.
“Although overall testing volume is down slightly from a recessionary peak in 2009, early signs for testing year 2012 are encouraging,” Chisholm said. “Over the last several months, we’ve seen global test registrations up sharply.”
For the complete 2011 Profile of Graduate Management Admission Test Candidates, click here.
Read the full article: Women, International Students, Young Students Take GMAT in Record-Breaking Numbers