Why are Indian MBA aspirants opting for GMAT scores?

 

 

By Gaurav Srivastava

With the rapid growth of the Indian economy over the past decade, the demand for professionals with a graduate management education has also significantly increased. This is also reflected from the steady growth witnessed towards more test takers applying for GMAT scores.

There has been a surge in the number of Indian candidates heading abroad for higher education. This trend can be credited to a couple of factors like aspiration for a brighter future, revival of the US economy, reduction in the cost differential between studying in India vis-à-vis abroad, wide availability of student loans and an increase in disposable income of Indian parents who in turn fund a part of the candidate’s tuition fees. Another aspect which has led to this phenomenon is increase in the awareness level of Indian candidates.

Having said that, India as a preferred destination has also increased significantly for graduate management education and this scenario is well demonstrated by the considerable increase in score sending by GMAT test takers to Indian business schools.

The reason for this growth is due to the fact that GMAT’s acceptance within Indian business schools has increased appreciably in the past five years. Over 120 business schools in India accept the GMAT for some of their flagship management programmes including top institutions such as ISB, IIM A, IIIM B, XLRI, SPJIMR, IIM L, IIM I, NMIMS, Great Lakes, IMT, MICA, TAPMI, IMI New Delhi, XIM B, BIMTECH, KJ Somaiya and BITS Pilani, amongst others.

In addition to this, GMAC has constantly strived towards adding value to the domestic exams, whether it is by assisting, cooperating with or providing technology to them. Since the beginning, GMAT has been built around the idea of testing a candidate's ability to succeed at the business school environment. This in turn also helps the schools analyze if the candidate qualifies the set that they require to succeed in their environment. In our opinion the primary reason for GMAT gaining popularity in India is owing to our mission of ‘connecting talent and aspiration to opportunity’. GMAT predicts a candidate's capability and using that as an instrument to identify the right schools for him/her. This also means helping B-schools market themselves to reach out to candidates, professionalizing their admissions process so they would find the right candidates.

Apart from this, to provide a platform to undergraduate aspirants, GMAC has started an initiative called ‘On Campus Presence’. As a part of this initiative we are working with some Universities in India to establish GMAT test centres within the universities so that candidates can take the GMAT within the University campus.

There are increasing number of pre-experienced Masters programs like Masters in Management, Accounting, Marketing, Finance and other programs like ISB’s Young Leader Program, Harvard 2+2, ISB’s  Early Entry Option etc., which require little or no work experience, making it ideal for students who are in their pre-final or final year of graduation. Students will now have easy access to write the GMAT exam at their campus through these test centres. With easy access and round the year availability to appear for the GMAT exam it will now allow students greater flexibility to appear for the exam basis their preparation and schedule without hindering their regular studies.

The other aspect is the validity of the GMAT score for five years. This helps candidates to bank their score anytime during these five years and offers them the option to work for two- three years before applying to schools.

In June 2014, GMAT introduced the Score Preview feature where test takers are given the option of reporting or cancelling their scores immediately after taking the test and before leaving the test centre. In addition, test takers who decide to cancel their scores at the test center have the option to reinstate their scores within 60 days of the test date for a USD 100 fee, after which the scores will not be retrievable. This change offers the test taker a better test taking experience and greater control over the score reporting process. 

To ensure that the business schools are abreast of the trends and industry scenario prevalent across the globe, GMAC releases six different kinds of survey reports and also conducts Professional Education and Training Events & Conferences for faculty members and staff working at business schools.

 

About the Author

Gaurav Srivastava is the Director of Market Development at South Asia Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).