Interesting Statistics about MBA Degree Programs

mba degreeIt’s great!!  You’ve finally decided to go for the MBA degree program of your choice and you’re raring to go, that’s a really game changer step for your life!!

Today, we will put you across some of the unknown and very interesting facts about MBA Program!

So let’s get started:

Around 2 year back in Jan 2013…an article appeared on Quartz.com, written by Jay Bhatti, an MBA graduate from Wharton, stating that if a candidate cannot get into a “top five” school, then an MBA is not worth having.

It seems to have caused a bit of a stir

So it is worth taking a closer look to see if claims stack up.

There is a definite doubt, as mentioned in The Economist, that the value proposition of an MBA has changed markedly over the past decade or so. Tuition fees have, in many cases, more than doubled over that time, while the salaries of graduates are virtually unchanged (meaning that, if one bears in mind the rising cost of living, they have actually fallen in real terms). But that is something very different to saying that there is no return on investment.

But do the numbers stack up? The average salary increase an MBA graduate can expect from the “top five” schools—comparing their basic salaries immediately before matriculation and after graduation—is exactly 50%.

In the world of MBAs this is nothing remarkable. The average increase among all of the 120 schools surveyed by The Economist in 2012 is 74%. The basic salary a grad from a “top five” school can expect ranges from $112,000 at Kellogg to $127,000 at Stanford. Impressive, certainly!

But these are not the highest to be found. At IMD in Switzerland, for example, the average basic salary of an MBA who graduated last year is $145,000. At some schools in Australia, a country which has plenty of money sloshing about thanks to its booming mining and energy sectors, salaries can be even higher.

Let’s have some more facts:

One is that the percentage of students from the elite schools with a job lined up when they graduate is low and has been falling for years. Mr Bhatti extrapolates that the situation must be worse at less prestigious institutions. He writes, for example, that 75% of Stanford MBAs graduated with a job last year. This, he says is 19 percentage points down on four years ago.

The Economist found that 95% of Stanford MBAs had a job within three months of graduation. The discrepancy may lie in whether those students who are not actively seeking work are included. Stanford’s 95% figure is down by two points compared with 2008; hardly a collapse.

What Salary Can An MBA Graduate Expect?

In a recent survey, 60% of the students who were questioned about their MBA degree experience reported it as outstanding or excellent. Those who attended a full-time MBA degree program expected their salary to increase by 54%, while those attending a part-time MBA degree program expected a 43% salary increase.

Those who attended an executive MBA degree program reported an expected 33% increase after graduation. Many students, before applying for an MBA degree, spend some time attempting to figure out their return on investment for the time and cost involved.

They almost always find that the benefits, computed over a lifetime of earnings, far outweigh the cost and effort involved and therefore gladly enroll in the program of their choice.

The Economist said that although the average salary for the average MBA degree graduate did decrease during the recent recession, their salaries were still high.

The average 2010 graduate from the top MBA degree programs still pulled in more than $100,000 a year. Though these are figures from the top schools, you can expect to receive a relatively high salary once you have done your MBA degree program pretty much from any school.

And, when this salary difference is calculated over the entirety of your professional life, you will realize millions more dollars.

For many, making more cash is the only motivation they need to do an MBA degree.

Expectations about MBA Degree Programs:

People go to business school with expectations, high expectations. They enroll in MBA degree programs because they want to build fine lives full of gold-leafed happiness.

Much of this is tied to how much students think they will earn once they have done their MBA degrees.

The Graduate Management Admissions Council’s (GMAC) “Global MBA Survey 2002” talked to MBA degree students and learned that on average an MBA degree student expected to earn 56% more after they have earned their MBA degree than they did before.

To most of us, 56% of our salary is a good chunk of change that is definitely worth a few years’ worth of MBA degree studies.

Other expectations that students have are increased prestige and respect; the ability to work overseas and, perhaps the most important, the ability to give their family a better life.

Gender Equality Is Becoming A Reality:

The demographics of MBA degree programs are changing for the better. The Graduate Management Admissions Council reports that 105,900 females took the GMAT (the Graduate Management Admissions Test, the generally accepted standard for MBA degree prospects) last year.

That’s the highest number ever. Of these, the United States had the largest number of exams taken by female citizens, with US women representing nearly 33% of global MBA degree candidates.

Interestingly, the largest representative percentages of female citizens taking the GMAT were from East Asia (54.6%). This suggests that East Asia’s growing corporate gender equality is fast making them a model for the rest of the global community to follow.

MBA Degree Graduate Job Prospects:

According to the Graduate Management Admissions Council, more than 86% of last year’s MBA degree graduates had a job at the time they completed their program. Further, nearly 91% of those in part time MBA degree programs had a job at graduation. Most promising, 96% of executive MBA  graduates had jobs at graduation (most of whom already had these jobs during school). These promising statistics are undoubtedly the reason behind the annual increase in MBA degree program enrollments.

Remember one point throughout your life, whether you are a graduate from top-5, top10 or top-50 College…What make the college and program different, are students…i.e. “You”

You have to be completely involved in Cultural diversity, experience levels, industry verticals and global experience…These traits make the program ‘richer’ in experiencing the MBA education.

Hence, MBAs have to be pursued with a goal to make yourself an all rounder at the global platform thru the local way…it’s not necessary that you will go thru the world’s top-5 B-Schools, but you have to choose a B-schools which can be a gate way to the global stage, and all your experience, during the B-school study can help you walk thru the stage proudly…And at IBS, you are already one level above than the rest…

Go, conquer the World!!


Contributed by Himanshu Chaudhary ( Class of 2005, IBS HYDERABAD )

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