Fixed Supply, Rising Demand

Several weeks ago, I found this year's GMAT registration data on clearadmit.com. I meant to post it as A) a marker for the my particular application year, B) an indication of the perceived relevance of an MBA in the market place, and C) an indication of the competitiveness of this year's application pool.

I'm curious to know how an increase in GMAT registration effects the percent of students admitted to a given program. I'm guessing admission rates get more intimidating. For example, let's say a business school takes 20% of its applicants. Last year this business school received 2,000 applications and admitted 400 students. Now let's say that the application pool increases by 12%. That means that the same business school will probably receive 2,240 applications. Since the student slots haven't changed, the admissions rate will likely decrease from 20% to about 18%. I'm making a lot of assumptions, of course, but you get the idea. Basically, more GMAT takers means more b-school applicants. Since supply is relatively fixed, more b-school applicants means more competition for the same slots.

While the number of test takers hasn't reached the high water mark set in 2001, it's currently at the highest level in five years and trending strongly upward. Needless to say, I feel relieved, honored, and downright lucky to have an admissions letter in hand. It's a jungle out there.

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From clearadmit.com ...

GMAT Registration Volume Update


At this time of year, many MBA applicants are curious about trends in application volume - wondering if this admissions cycle will be more competitive or less competitive than last year. While the schools themselves rarely release figures mid-season, we thought we’d check in with a brief update on GMAT test registration volume - as this often serves as a rough proxy for the number of applications that business schools are receiving.

Here are the world-wide figures through the first 10 months of 2007 (and the same period of 2006):

GMAT Registrations (first 10 months of 2007): 227,166
GMAT Registrations (first 10 months of 2006): 202,338

As our readers can see, this year’s volume is tracking 12.27% ahead of 2006, which likely means a slightly expanding applicant pool for the 2007-08 admissions cycle. These figures also match what we’ve been hearing from the admissions representatives at leading schools, in terms of R1 application volume. For those interested in learning more, please visit the GMAC.org web site for extensive details on test taker volume, registrations and more.