ERIC ED543174: Profile of Graduate Management Admission Test[R] Candidates 2007-08 to 2011-12: Five-Year Summary

2012·1.1 MB·English

by  ERIC

Profile
of Graduate Management Admission Test®
Candidates
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2012
five-Year Summary
Market Your Program More Effectively with
The Profile of Graduate Management Admission Test®
Candidates
The Profile is a rich source of significant demographic data about GMAT ® examinees over the past five
years. It is ideal for gauging the size and characteristics of your business school’s potential applicant pool.
Use this book to find out about volume and mean GMAT Total scores by:
• gender • undergraduate major • world region
• age group • citizenship • US subgroup
• intended degree • residency • US state
8 For an electronic copy of this document, visit gmac.com/GMATprofile.
To request printed copies, or if you have questions about this publication, please contact us:
Graduate Management Admission Council
11921 Freedom Drive, Ste. 300
Reston, VA 20190 USA
Email: [email protected]
Phone: [phone] or 1(866) 505-6559 (toll-free in the United States and Canada)
The 2012 Profile of Graduate Management Admission Test Candidates has been printed on Rolland Opaque paper, an FSC-certified mixed-sources paper.
Copyright © 2012 Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of GMAC. For permission, please contact the GMAC legal department at
[email protected].
The GMAC and GMAT logos, GMAC®, GMASS®, GMAT®, Graduate Management Admission Council®, Graduate Management Admission Search Service®,
and Graduate Management Admission Test® are registered trademarks of the Graduate Management Admission Council in the United States of America
and other countries. Management Admission Search Service®, and Graduate Management Admission Test® are registered trademarks of the Graduate
Management Admission Council in the United States of America and other countries. Adobe® is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.
Contents
IntroductIon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Inside the Profile ........................................................................................................................................................2
Notes About the GMAT Exam ...................................................................................................................................3
Notes About the Data ................................................................................................................................................3
Graduate Management Admission Council .............................................................................................................. 4
GMAT voluME AND ToTAl SCorE MEANS by Gender and testInG Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Figure 1. GMAT Tests Taken by Gender and Testing year ...........................................................................................5
Table 1. GMAT Total Score Means by Gender and Testing year .................................................................................5
GMAT voluME AND ToTAl SCorE MEANS by aGe Group, Gender, and testInG Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Figure 2. GMAT Tests Taken by Age Group and Testing year .....................................................................................6
Table 2. GMAT Total Score Means by Age Group, Gender, and Testing year .............................................................7
GMAT voluME AND ToTAl SCorE MEANS by Intended deGree, Gender, and testInG Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Figure 3. GMAT Tests Taken by Intended Graduate Degree and Testing year ............................................................8
Table 3. GMAT Total Score Means by Intended Graduate Degree, Gender, and Testing year.....................................9
GMAT voluME AND ToTAl SCorE MEANS by underGraduate Major, Gender, and testInG Year . . . . . 10
Figure 4. GMAT Tests Taken by undergraduate Major and Testing year ..................................................................10
Table 4. GMAT Total Score Means by undergraduate Major, Gender, and Testing year ...........................................11
GMAT voluME AND ToTAl SCorE MEANS by cItIzenshIp, Gender, and testInG Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Figure 5 (a, b). GMAT Tests Taken by region of Citizenship and Testing year ..........................................................16
Table 5. GMAT Total Score Means by region of Citizenship, Gender, and Testing year ...........................................17
Figure 6. GMAT Tests Taken by uS vs. Non-uS Citizens and Testing year .................................................................18
Table 6. GMAT Total Score Means by Citizenship, Gender, and Testing year ...........................................................19
GMAT voluME AND ToTAl SCorE MEANS by resIdence, Gender, and testInG Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Figure 7 (a, b). GMAT Tests Taken by World region of residence and Testing year .................................................25
Table 7. GMAT Total Score Means by World region of residence, Gender, and Testing year ..................................26
Figure 8. GMAT Tests Taken by uS vs. Non-uS residence and Testing year .............................................................27
Table 8. GMAT Total Score Means by residence, Gender, and Testing year .............................................................28
GMAT voluME by cItIzenshIp, resIdence, and testInG Year bY world reGIon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Table 9. GMAT Tests Taken by Citizenship, region of residence, and Testing year by World region .......................35
appendIx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
GMAT voluME AND ToTAl SCorE MEANS by us subGroup, Gender, and testInG Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Figure A1. GMAT Tests Taken by Testing year Among uS Non-White Subgroups ....................................................37
Figure A2. GMAT Tests Taken by Testing year Among uS White Subgroup .............................................................37
Table A. GMAT Total Score Means by uS Subgroup, Gender, and Testing year .......................................................38
GMAT voluME AND ToTAl SCorE MEANS by us state, Gender, and testInG Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Table b. GMAT Total Score Means by uS State of residence, Gender, and Testing year ..........................................39
related publIcatIons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
recruItInG resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
© 2012 Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). All rights reserved. Profile of GMAT® Candidates, 2007–08 to 2011–12 1
the Profile of Graduate Management Admission
test® (GMAt®) Candidates 2007–08 to 2011–12
The 2011-2012 testing year held a number of significant milestones for the
Graduate Management Admission Test exam.
A total of 286,529 GMAT exams were administered, with 831,337 score reports
sent to more than 5,200 graduate-level management programs around the
world—all record numbers. This record volume reflects the increase in graduate-
level business and management programs, both MbA and other programs using
the exam in their admissions process. It also may reflect increased interest in
the exam brought on by the addition of the Integrated reasoning section on
June 5, 2012. Historically, test volume rises just before changes are made to a
standardized exam as test takers opt for a familiar format at transition time.
The Graduate Management Admission Council’s annual Profile of GMAT
Candidates captures key data about GMAT volume and the candidates who
take the exam. The Profile presents data about tests taken based on examinee
gender, age, citizenship, residency, and world region. Additional analyses examine
undergraduate major and intended degree.
Inside the Profile
This edition of the Profile summarizes GMAT data over five testing years,
from 2007–08 through 2011–12. “Testing years” run from July 1 to June 30,
mirroring many academic calendars. Descriptions of each individual table offer
specific insights about how to interpret the data. At a glance, here’s what the
Profile can tell you:
• The total number of GMAT exams administered each year for the past
10 years
• Mean GMAT scores each year for the past 10 years1
• Where examinees claim citizenship and residence, with breakdowns by
world region for each of the last five years
• Test volume breakdown by gender, age, intended degree (e.g., MbA,
EMbA, PhD), and undergraduate major
1  When comparing mean scores in this report, keep in mind that the individuals represented in this
report are self-select samples and their means are not necessarily representative of the population.
2 Profile of GMAT® Candidates, 2007–08 to 2011–12 © 2012 Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). All rights reserved.
More detailed data on student mobility are available in the Geographic
Trend reports and online interactive GMAT Trends Tracker tool, which
provide a closer look at GMAT volume and score-sending trends over
the past five years.
Current titles include:
• Asian Geographic Trend report for GMAT Examinees
• European Geographic Trend report for GMAT Examinees
• North American Geographic Trend report for GMAT Examinees
• World Geographic Trend report for GMAT Examinees
• GMAT Trends Tracker (online tool using Adobe Flash)
For details, visit gmac .com/research .
notes about the GMat exam
The GMAT exam is an important part of the admissions process for
more than 2,000 schools worldwide. The GMAT exam consists of
four sections: verbal, Quantitative, Analytical Writing, and Integrated
reasoning. GMAT “Total” scores, which are reported in the Profile,
are calculated based on performance on the verbal and Quantitative
sections of the exam. Total scores are reported in increments of 10,
on a scale ranging from 200 to 800.
notes about the data
Unique Examinees: Data in this report reflect the total number of
GMAT exams that generated valid, reportable scores during a given
testing year. Examinees who took the exam more than once during
the year are included in the aggregate data each time they generated
a valid score. For example, if an individual took the GMAT exam twice
during the 2011–12 testing year, he or she would represent a total of
two exams taken during that year.
Since 2007–08, the annual percentage of individuals taking the GMAT
exam has ranged from 80 to 84 percent of total GMAT exams taken
globally. In the most recent testing year, 228,971 unique test takers
submitted valid scores, which translates to 80 percent of the 286,529
GMAT exams reported for the year. Although the overall rate has
remained relatively constant over the five-year period analyzed for
this report, there is often significant variation across global regions.
uS citizens, for example, had a unique examinee rate of 86 percent
in 2011–12, compared with just 68 percent for citizens of East and
Southeast Asian countries.
© 2012 Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). All rights reserved. Profile of GMAT® Candidates, 2007–08 to 2011–12 3
The percentage of tests taken by non-uS citizens has gone from 49% in
2007–08 to 59% in 2011–12.
Biographical information: During the test session, GMAT examinees are
asked to provide the biographical and demographic information that is used
in this Profile and for the Graduate Management Admission Search Service®
(GMASS®) database.2 Examinees are not required to provide this information,
and some choose not to do so.
“No response” data: “No response” data included in Table 1 of the Profile
refer to a small number of examinees who did not respond to the question
about gender. “No response” data are not specified in the other tables.
Consequently, for tables other than Table 1, grand sums will not necessarily
equal the total in Table 1. Note, however, that all test takers responded to the
questions about gender, citizenship, and residency for testing years 2007–08
through 2011–12.
Standard deviations: The only statistics reported in this summary are group
sizes and mean Total scores. Another statistic commonly reported for data of this
kind is the standard deviation, a measure of the spread of score distribution. For
the data reported in the Profile, nearly all of the standard deviations for GMAT
Total scores are in the 90 to 110 range. because these standard deviations are
redundant across subgroups tabulated in this summary and across the Profile’s
testing years, they are not reported here.
Dashes in tables: Dashes that appear in tables throughout this report are used
to indicate “not applicable,” such as when there are no examinees in a given
subgroup and, thus, no scores exist. For examinee privacy, dashes are also used
in place of mean Total scores when there are fewer than five examinees from a
given subgroup or country.
Graduate Management admission council
The Profile of Graduate Management Admission Test Candidates is a product
of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), owner of the
Graduate Management Admission Test exam. based in reston, virginia, GMAC
is a nonprofit education organization of leading graduate business schools
worldwide, dedicated to creating access to and disseminating information about
graduate management education. More information is available at gmac .com .
2  The Graduate Management Admission Search Service® (GMASS®) database is an annual,
subscription-based service with a pool of names of potential applicants who have chosen to make
their contact and other information available to schools. The database pool frequently renews as
individuals move through the decision-making process. For more information, visit gmac .com/gmass .
4 Profile of GMAT® Candidates, 2007–08 to 2011–12 © 2012 Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). All rights reserved.
GMAT volume and Total Score Means by Gender and Testing year
Figure 1 . GMat® tests taken by Gender and testing Year
180,000
160,000
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
10-Year average avg annual Growth rate
Men 142,237 2.2%
20,000 women 94,507 4.3%
0
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
Men Women
what’s in the table:
• Table 1 presents the number of and mean GMAT Total scores for all examinees by gender and testing year.
• The “Total: Number” value reported in each column represents the total number of tests taken recorded in
the Graduate Management Admission Council database and serves as a reference for subsequent tables in
this report that exclude test takers who did not submit valid demographic information for the characteristics
reported.
table 1 . GMat® total score Means by Gender and testing Year
Gender 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12
Men: Number 137,801 124,502 120,185 123,811 132,665 149,511 160,733 158,079 151,392 163,686
Mean Total Score 545 541 541 548 552 554 552 555 554 557
% of year 60.6% 60.2% 59.9% 60.5% 60.6% 60.5% 60.5% 59.9% 58.6% 57.1%

Women: Number 85,473 78,679 76,980 79,661 86,412 97,446 104,880 105,900 106,800 122,843
Mean Total Score 504 501 500 508 514 518 519 526 530 536
% of year 37.6% 38.0% 38.4% 39.0% 39.4% 39.5% 39.5% 40.1% 41.4% 42.9%
No response: Number 4,053 3,671 3,338 1,037 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mean Total Score 510 535 542 547 — — — — — —
% of year 1.8% 1.8% 1.7% 0.5% — — — — — —
Total: Number 227,327 206,852 200,503 204,509 219,077 246,957 265,613 263,979 258,192 286,529
Mean Total Score 529 526 525 533 537 540 539 544 544 548
*note:
Testing figures for testing year 2011–12 partially reflect increased interest in the exam brought on by the addition
of the Integrated reasoning section on June 5, 2012. Historically, test volume rises just before changes are made to
a standardized exam as test takers opt for a familiar format prior to the transition.
© 2012 Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). All rights reserved. Profile of GMAT® Candidates, 2007–08 to 2011–12 5
GMAT volume and Total Score Means by Age Group, Gender, and Testing year
Figure 2 . GMat® tests taken by age Group and testing Year
160,000
140,000
120,000 Five-Year average avg annual Growth rate
Younger than 24 86,679 12.8%
24–30 132,207 0.8%
31–39 36,597 –1.8%
100,000
40+ 8,488 –2.4%
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
Younger than 24 24-30 31-39 40+
what’s in the table:
• Table 2 presents the number of and mean GMAT Total scores for men and women by age and testing year.
• Examinees are not asked to give their age but are asked for their birthdates. Ages have been calculated,
therefore, from birthdates and dates when these examinees sat for the GMAT exam.
• Age totals for testing year 2007–08 do not sum to global total due to missing age data.
• Testing numbers by age in the following table may not match editions of the Profile published prior to 2011, as
age calculation methods were updated in testing year 2010–11 for improved accuracy across years.
• Percent of year totals may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
• The categories for age are:
younger than 20 years 26–27 years 40–49 years
20–21 years 28–30 years 50+ years
22–23 years 31–34 years
24–25 years 35–39 years
6 Profile of GMAT® Candidates, 2007–08 to 2011–12 © 2012 Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). All rights reserved.
table 2 . GMat® total score Means by age Group, Gender, and testing Year
age Group Gender 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12
Younger than 20 Men: Number 264 333 341 401 591
Mean Total 593 585 594 586 592
Women: Number 370 512 670 786 1,281
Mean Total 584 586 604 607 599
Total: Number 634 845 1,011 1,187 1,872
Mean Total Score 588 586 601 600 597
% of year 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 0.7%
20–21 Men: Number 10,172 12,310 13,657 14,915 17,184
Mean Total 555 557 568 571 578
Women: Number 12,325 15,477 18,537 22,461 27,865
Mean Total 538 545 560 568 576
Total: Number 22,497 27,787 32,194 37,376 45,049
Mean Total Score 546 550 563 569 577
% of year 9.2% 10.5% 12.2% 14.5% 15.7%

22–23 Men: Number 24,054 27,909 28,241 27,718 31,541
Mean Total 539 539 542 543 547
Women: Number 20,712 23,436 23,660 24,747 30,923
Mean Total 512 512 518 524 530
Total: Number 44,766 51,345 51,901 52,465 62,464
Mean Total Score 526 527 531 534 539
% of year 18.2% 19.3% 19.7% 20.3% 21.8%
24–25 Men: Number 28,293 31,352 29,790 27,813 29,819
Mean Total 563 560 563 562 561
Women: Number 20,525 21,777 20,801 18,707 20,266
Mean Total 528 527 531 528 530
Total: Number 48,818 53,129 50,591 46,520 50,085
Mean Total Score 548 546 550 548 548
% of year 19.9% 20.0% 19.2% 18.0% 17.5%
26–27 Men: Number 26,161 28,541 27,939 25,508 27,002
Mean Total 568 567 572 568 571
Women: Number 15,601 16,540 15,622 14,335 15,220
Mean Total 527 528 533 532 537
Total: Number 41,762 45,081 43,561 39,843 42,222
Mean Total Score 553 553 558 555 559
% of year 17.0% 17.0% 16.5% 15.4% 14.7%
28–30 Men: Number 26,592 28,096 27,253 26,010 27,403
Mean Total 566 561 563 562 564
Women: Number 12,665 12,838 12,757 12,505 13,302
Mean Total 521 518 522 521 525
Total: Number 39,257 40,934 40,010 38,515 40,705
Mean Total Score 551 548 550 548 551
% of year 16.0% 15.4% 15.2% 14.9% 14.2%
31–34 Men: Number 18,377 17,944 17,402 16,459 17,488
Mean Total 555 548 547 548 548
Women: Number 7,243 7,119 7,101 6,817 7,366
Mean Total 501 498 498 498 502
Total: Number 25,620 25,063 24,503 23,276 24,854
Mean Total Score 540 534 533 533 534
% of year 10.4% 9.4% 9.3% 9.0% 8.7%
35–39 Men: Number 9,229 8,815 8,278 7,652 7,680
Mean Total 532 524 521 523 522
Women: Number 3,995 3,765 3,496 3,301 3,460
Mean Total 480 472 471 467 472
Total: Number 13,224 12,580 11,774 10,953 11,140
Mean Total Score 516 509 506 506 507
% of year 5.4% 4.7% 4.5% 4.2% 3.9%
40–49 Men: Number 4,738 4,605 4,443 4,207 4,202
Mean Total 505 500 500 494 497
Women: Number 2,873 2,818 2,693 2,606 2,649
Mean Total 451 451 451 446 449
Total: Number 7,611 7,423 7,136 6,813 6,851
Mean Total Score 485 482 481 476 479
% of year 3.1% 2.8% 2.7% 2.6% 2.4%
50+ Men: Number 763 828 735 709 776
Mean Total 479 497 489 474 471
Women: Number 589 598 563 535 511
Mean Total 444 440 439 433 425
Total: Number 1,352 1,426 1,298 1,244 1,287
Mean Total Score 464 473 467 456 453
% of year 0.6% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.4%
© 2012 Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). All rights reserved. Profile of GMAT® Candidates, 2007–08 to 2011–12 7
GMAT volume and Total Score Means by Intended Degree, Gender, and Testing year
Figure 3 . GMat® tests taken by Intended Graduate degree and testing Year
160,000
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
MBA Master's in Master's of All Other Executive Undecided Joint PhD/DBA
Business Accountancy Degrees MBA Degrees
(MS, MSc, MA) (MA) (EMBA)
2010-11 2011-12
*note:
Testing year 2010–11 marked the first full year of data reflecting a more precise listing of intended degrees. The
updated list was implemented to provide schools with a better understanding of prospective business school
students in the GMAT pipeline. Comparisons with historic data prior to testing year 2010–11 are therefore no
longer appropriate. Consequently, only two years of full data are reported in Figure 3 and Table 3.
The category for All other Degrees in Figure 3 includes examinees who selected Master’s in Health Care
Administration, Master’s of Public Administration, or “other” degree as their intended degree.
what’s in the table:
• Table 3 presents the number of and mean GMAT Total scores for men and women by intended degree.
8 Profile of GMAT® Candidates, 2007–08 to 2011–12 © 2012 Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). All rights reserved.