3 Key Findings In GMAC’s New Prospective Students Survey

Generation Z — generally defined as the young men and women born after 1996 — is on everyone’s minds at the Graduate Management Admission Council.

The fixation makes sense. The oldest members of that generation are 27 this year, making them prime age for MBA programs and other graduate business degrees; thus, Gen Z has been receiving particular attention from GMAC’s research arm, which this week released its annual Prospective Students Survey.

Among the major findings in the survey is that Gen Z, in a departure from the millennials who preceded them, are turning away from jobs in the tech sector, while largely embracing the traditional in-person, residential two-year MBA structure that has lost favor with other demographic groups, who now prefer one-year MBA programs.

A WIDE CROSS-SECTION OF CANDIDATES, AND 1 MAJOR CAVEAT

GMAC has conducted its Prospective Students Survey for more than a decade, seeking and sharing insights into the decision-making processes of those currently considering applying to a graduate business education program. This year’s report includes data collected in 2022 from 2,710 respondents in 131 countries around the world, 40% of whom are female and 44% younger than 24 years old, making them firmly members of Gen Z. Giving an even more detailed picture of those who answer GMAC’s survey: 21% of respondents belong to U.S. underrepresented populations, and 55% majored in a non-business field as undergraduates.

However, it’s important to keep in mind the limits of GMAC’s survey. First, U.S. respondents account for just 17% of the sample, below even the 20% from Africa. Moreover, as the Graduate Management Admission Test, which GMAC administers, has lost significant marketshare to the rival Graduate Record Exam, fewer people register on GMAC’s site to get ready to take the GMAT test. GMAC’s surveys are sent to registered users of that site one month after they sign up and then supplemented by respondents from GMAC Tours, BusinessBecause, and registered users in India of the NMAT exam acquired by GMAC. So the sample is also likely to miss many prospective students who apply to programs where a standardized test is not required.

But the goal of the survey is worth attaining: to explore trends in the candidate pipeline, program preferences, and career goals. To that end, GMAC added new questions this year about:

• First-generation candidates’ motivations for pursuing graduate management education: 41% of them want to pursue a graduate business degree to support their families, compared to 35% on non-first-generation candidates. Overall, 79% of prospective students globally are motivated to pursue a graduate business degree to enrich their lives and develop their potential, 15 percentage points more than the next-best motivator, increasing income.
• Social issues like sustainability and corporate social responsibility, or CSR, which 42% of respondents view as curricular must-haves, saying they are more likely to seek out organizations involved in social good post-graduation.

GMAC’s report also considers the longevity of trends in online and hybrid education and candidate mobility brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, GMAC’s massive annual survey contains several nuggets of potentially interesting, and possibly valuable, information for candidates for graduate business education. Here are three:

FULL-TIME MBA PROGRAMS CONTINUE DOMINANCE; IN-PERSON EXPERIENCE TRUMPS FOR GEN Z

The two-year MBA has been the preferred program among candidates globally since 2019, GMAC research has shown. This year, however, that changed, with one-year MBA programs surpassing their two-year cousins as the most popular program choice. (See P&Q‘s “Among Would-Be Students, One-Year MBA Options Overtake Two-Year MBAs In Popularity.”) Taken together, though, “the full-time MBA of any duration continues to surpass interest in more flexible or executive MBAs and business master’s programs,” GMAC writes.

“Gen Z is most interested in the two-year MBA and millennials are most interested in the one-year MBA. Despite growing up as digital natives, Gen Z also have a strong preference for in-person study, with 80% of Gen Z reporting preference for this modality compared to 69% of millennials.

“This could be an indication of where each generation is in their career — older candidates may have more established networks or more responsibilities at work or at home, while younger candidates are more interested in expanding their networks and may have more ease entering and exiting graduate management education.”

FLEXIBILITY SPEAKS TO WOMEN CANDIDATES AS INTEREST IN THE TECH SECTOR STAGNATES

While overall global preference remains with in-person learning, online and hybrid programs have made big strides in recent years, GMAC reports, with women, first-generation, and millennial candidates among the groups most likely to benefit from the flexibility they offer. Overall, interest in online and hybrid programs remains above pre-pandemic levels, with the largest market in North America.

Women’s preference for flexible options is well-documented. “There is no doubt that these programs play an important role in the overall equity of graduate management education, attracting candidates who rely on flexible program delivery and may not otherwise pursue a business degree,” says Anthony Wilbon, dean of Howard University’s School of Business and a GMAC board member.

Consulting has long been and remains the most-sought post-graduation industry, a fact that endures across generations and regions. However, change is underway, at least in the short-term, for the No. 2 sector destination: the technology industry. (See P&Q‘s “Gen Z Sours On Tech Jobs, New GMAC Survey Finds.”) The reason: Gen Z again, which has demonstrated a preference for finance and accounting jobs over those in tech and startups; Gen Z candidates’ interest in the tech sector is below the global average and their millennial counterparts. But the growing tech antipathy also extends to women and underrepresented U.S. candidates, GMAC reports. (An interesting wrinkle about this finding is that GMAC says much of the data supporting it was collected before the current implosion in the tech industry.)

THE UNITED STATES REMAINS THE TOP STUDY DESTINATION 

The impact of Covid-19 continues to lessen. Over the last three years, the pandemic forced people around the world to stay at home, but as travel restrictions disappear, candidates are once again looking abroad to study. GMAC reports: “Prospective students interested in studying outside of their country of citizenship is up, especially in Europe and Asia/Pacific Islands compared to last year – 84% of candidates from Asia are looking to study outside of their country of citizenship compared to 79% last year, and 81% of candidates from Europe are looking to study outside of their country of citizenship compared to 77% last year.

“The trends driving candidates to study in places like the United States and Western Europe have not changed since last year. After losing the top spot for a year in 2020, the U.S. remains the most preferred study destination — driven by reputation and perceived career preparation, with 42% of respondents indicating interest, followed by Europe (37%) and Canada (9%). While candidates perceive U.S. programs as more expensive than others in Europe, Canada, or Australia, candidates also believe there is more financial aid available in the United States.”

Read GMAC’s full 2023 Prospective Students Survey here.

DON’T MISS AMONG WOULD-BE STUDENTS, ONE-YEAR MBA OPTIONS OVERTAKE TWO-YEAR MBAS IN POPULARITY and GEN Z SOURS ON TECH JOBS, NEW GMAC SURVEY FINDS