AIGAC MBA Applicant Survey

The MBA Tour US: MBA & Business Master's Conferences

Meet Columbia, MIT Sloan, UCLA, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, Stanford, and more top business programs!

Join us in a city near you:

Seattle: Thursday, July 12
Los Angeles: Saturday, July 14
San Francisco: Sunday, July 15
Houston: Tuesday, July 17
Atlanta: Thursday, July 19
NYC: Saturday, July 21
Chicago: Monday, July 23
DC: Wednesday, July 25
Boston: Thursday, July 2

Why should I attend The MBA Tour?

The world's top business schools, all in one place.

Stand out from the competition and meet with Admissions Directors from top domestic and international business schools. Connect in-person to ask your MBA questions, learn about program offerings, and discover how a graduate business degree can help you boost your career.

  • Small group meetings
  • Admissions panels
  • GMAT strategy sessions
  • School presentations
  • Networking fair
  • & much more!

 

Who will I meet?

Connect with admissions decision makers.

  • You'll have the unique opportunity to meet with admissions decision makers to increase your chances of acceptance.
  • Learn in-depth program information and ask your MBA questions during MeetUp discussions (invite only, small group meetings).
  • Discover admissions tips from industry leaders.
  • Network with the people that matter when it comes to getting accepted to your dream school.

 

How should I prepare?

Complete your online profile to be matched with top schools.

  • Provide helpful information during registration to let schools learn about you and your goals and have them invite you to meet with them during MeetUps or School Presentations.
  • Use The MBA Tour's Research Schools platform to learn more about program offerings and options.
  • Log into The MBA Tour's online portal to easily confirm MeetUps and build your schedule to make the most of your event.

 

Great, sign me up!

Register free today to reserve your spot. Space is limited!

Business Schools Attending

*Schools vary by city; check event pages for individual listings. More schools to come.

Insights from Last Year’s Applicants: The 2018 AIGAC (Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants) MBA Applicant Survey

The 2018 AIGAC (Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants) MBA Applicant Survey emphasized the “great expectations” last year’s applicants had during the admissions process. The survey data includes 1,979 interviews with 1,377 respondents who applied to at least one school. Data was collected during the Spring of 2018.

Like the 2017 responses, this wave of applicants relied heavily on online and technology-based resources to learn about MBA programs, but mentioned the importance of combining these resources with a personalized experience with school representatives.

Students used both school supplied resources, as well as information from independent sources. Over 80 percent of last year’s applicants used school websites for gathering program information. And over 50 percent relied on online information sessions hosted by schools and interactions with current students. When asked about the most valuable school specific resource, the most common response was school website, followed by current student referrals, and on-campus information sessions.

While most applicants, 86 percent, used MBA rankings for school research, responses on the value of the rankings were mixed. Twenty-two percent of respondents selected MBA rankings as the most valuable independent resource, yet it was also the most commonly selected response for least valuable resource at 24 percent. Respondents named online communities/forums as the most valuable independent resource (24 percent), though only 59 percent of survey respondents used this resource in their research.

The majority reported an expectation schools would proactively get to know them through various initiatives, including formal visit programs, diversity and women’s events, and interviews. Respondents spoke to the importance of these face-to-face interactions, noting instances where a positive or negative encounter changed their personal ranking of the program.

The following schools were rated in the top and bottom quartiles for how well they got to know applicants:

AIGAC.jpg

 

Furthermore, when it came to finalizing their school lists, over 60 percent of prospective students named reputation (66 percent) and ranking (61 percent) as top factors to consider, followed by school culture (53 percent).  Others, however, named geographic proximity to their desired work as the predominant concern as networking is critical, particularly in finding employment with small firms and start-ups.

Take-aways for current applicants

The survey emphasized the critical and personal nature of the school selection and application process. While school and independent online resources can provide comprehensive and useful information, nothing can replace interpersonal interactions. Ideally, applicants will be able to visit the schools they are most interested in, but if not, they should look for opportunities to attend school-hosted events in the city where they live.

MBA School Selection: Important Considerations When Building Your School List

According to the 2017 AIGAC MBA Applicants Survey, 39 percent of MBA Applicants reported that their admissions consultant advised them to apply to a school they would have otherwise never considered.

At Apply Point, we work closely with our clients to create a school list that is both compatible with their interests and goals and also sound in terms of acceptance likelihood. We know we’ve succeeded when an applicant has the luxury of choice between multiple programs at the end of the admissions cycle. While there are numerous factors to consider when finalizing school selection, we believe the following three criteria are the most important.

Rankings/Prestige

While we discourage clients from judging schools on rankings alone, US News & World Report’s list of Best Business Schools, for example, is still important to consider when gaining an in-depth understanding of how potential employers will view your investment. Many rankings are also based on algorithms that incorporate various factors of interest to students such as quality assessments, placement success, and student selectivity.

Geography/Network

The second, and perhaps somewhat surprising aspect to consider when putting together a school list is geography. Place will play a crucial role in your ability to network. Thus, we often encourage students who know they want to end up in a certain location to consider the top MBA programs in that city, or within the geographic region. Similarly, if your goals are related to a certain industry, it can be invaluable to attend a school near one of the industry’s hubs.

Career Placement

The last, but perhaps most critical component, is to develop a thorough understanding of which companies are recruiting and hiring employees from the MBA programs you are interested in. We suggest prospective students gain a thorough knowledge of the information contained in each school’s career placement report and also engage with the school’s counselors in the career center to learn more. It can also be helpful to look for student clubs or associations within a business school relevant to your goals (e.g., Finance Club, Luxury Goods Club, Marketing Club), as they will often host events connecting potential employers with interested students, as well as providing other resources.

During the school selection period of the application process, we encourage prospective students to keep an open mind and fully explore the many options that exist. Speaking with professors, career placement professionals, current students, alumni, and admissions directors at different programs is a wonderful way to start.  Your personal MBA rankings may not look exactly like those in US News and World Report or Financial Times. And that is just fine.

The GMAT V. The GRE: Which Test is Best for You?

For the past two years, respondents to the AIGAC MBA Applicant Survey have reported that the standardized test is the most challenging component of the MBA application. While there is no way to completely defray the stress associated with the GMAT or GRE (the top 50 business schools accept both), it is helpful to think critically about which one will provide you the best opportunity for success.

At Apply Point, we generally make the following recommendations:

You might prefer the GMAT if:

  • Your strengths are quantitative, analytical
  • You are adept at interpreting data presented in charts, tables, and text to solve problems
  • You know that you want to attend an MBA, or business-related program, such as a MS Finance.

You might prefer the GRE if:

  • Your strengths are verbal, writing
  • You want to keep your graduate school options open. The GRE is accepted at most graduate programs, including a couple of law schools.

In Kaplan’s 2016 Survey of Business School Admissions Officers, 26 percent of admissions officers reported that those submitting a GMAT score have an admissions advantage over those who submit a GRE score. However, 73 percent said that neither exam has an advantage. In 2014, Harvard Business School’s Admission Director shared that the school looks carefully at the score components in combination with the student’s transcript and resume. As such, prospective students should use the test strategically to fill in any “gaps” or answer open questions that may stem from their transcript and/or work experience. For example, an applicant with an undergraduate degree and work experience in finance may need to bolster their application with strong verbal scores, while a communications major will want to demonstrate his/her ability to handle the rigors of the quantitative coursework in the MBA by providing a strong quantitative score on the GMAT/GRE.

Above all, an applicant should take the test they feel most comfortable with and are most likely to succeed on. Taking a diagnostic exam of each is a good place to start.

MBA School Selection: What are the Alumni Saying?

While there are many considerations that go into forming a comprehensive list of well-fitting, potential schools—including prestige and career placement—one that can be easily overlooked is the “alumni factor.”  In the 2017 AIGAC MBA Applicant Survey, 45 percent of respondents listed ‘access to a strong network’ as a factor in applying to an MBA program this year, though just 32 percent of respondents listed the alumni network as the factor with the most influence on their specific school choice[i]. It is important to note that, while you are matriculated at a school for two years, the strength of an institution’s alumni commitment can have a long-lasting impact on your professional life. Alumni can provide critical information, advice, and access to industries and employers long after graduation day. Thus, we have isolated a couple of rankings that provide a more in-depth view of the alumni network experience and perspective.

Alumni Networks. The Economist surveys current and recently graduated MBAs in order to create an amalgamated “potential to network” score. This includes an equal weighting of the ratio of MBA alumni to current full-time MBA students, number of overseas alumni chapters, and a student rating of alumni network effectiveness. This score comprises ten percent of their overall MBA ranking[ii].

Alumni Recommendations. The Financial Times surveys MBAs three years post-graduation and asks them to select three MBA programs that they would recruit from[iii]. While this component comprises only two percent of their overall ranking, we feel that looking specifically at this variable can provide valuable insight into how recent MBA graduates view their programs as well as the programs attended by their peers in terms of workforce readiness.

While some schools are named on both lists (Insead, UC Berkeley, Northwestern, NYU, Harvard, London Business School, and University of Chicago), there is some variation between the two lists. For potential MBA applicants, careful consideration of the strength of the alumni network from the point of view of both current students as well as recent alumni may help you to create a broader, yet strategic list of prospective schools for visiting and exploring.

Key considerations when determining if an alumni network may be beneficial for you:

  1. The size and activity-level of the organization overall, but also how active the chapters are in regions/cities where you are interested in living post-graduation
  2. The number of alumni working at employers you are interested in, as well as in industries that you are pursuing
  3. The relationship between the school and alumni. For example, the school’s career-services support for alumni
  4. The number of alumni who continue to participate in events over time

Researching a school’s alumni network online, looking beneath overall rankings, reviewing LinkedIn groups and members, and reaching out to a school’s alumni group directly can provide you with valuable information that may serve you well as you start to narrow down your list of prospective schools.

[i] http://aigac.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/2017-aigac-presentation-final-jun-2017.pdf

[ii] http://www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking

[iii] http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-ranking-2017

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