After a period of stagnation, MBA applications are on the rise. Not only do MBA programs tend to be counter-cyclical to economic growth, but, as The Economist notes, pivots made by MBA programs amidst the global pandemic have boosted their relevance. In addition to increased flexibility in the admissions process, schools have improved their online and flexible MBA offerings. Vijay Govindarajan of Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, is quoted in The Economist article, explaining that rather than being “giant killers,” digital technology has allowed prestigious schools to “ensure their gold-plated MBA programmes shine even brighter.”
The CarringtonCrisp Consultancy confirmed these trends, finding increased interest in online and flexible MBA programs among prospective MBA applicants in their annual survey results. The results showed that 70 percent of respondents are more likely to apply to an MBA program now than they were a year ago. And, 46 percent are now seeking a form of flexible study. Over three-quarters, 78 percent, agreed that they are more likely to consider a school with flexible study options in its MBA program. Another 70 percent said that they are more likely to consider studying for all or most of their MBA online.
When the CarringtonCrisp survey asked directly about respondents’ preferred method of study, just 15.5 percent selected “online,” falling behind the traditional two-year (28 percent), one-year (23 percent), and part-time (22 percent) programs. However, online study saw a significant year-over-year increase of 4 percentage points, while other methods held relatively steady or dropped. Additionally, a break-down by gender showed that women’s interest in online learning outpaced men’s; 19 percent of women selected online learning as their preferred method compared to 13.2 percent of men. Similarly, while over one-third of men said that they preferred the traditional two-year MBA program (34.7 percent), fewer than a quarter of women (21.5 percent) did, a smaller percentage than those who prefer full-time one-year (24.0 percent) or part-time (23.0 percent) programs.
The 2020 GMAC Application Trends Survey showed similarly large gains for flexible and online MBA programs. Globally, the survey showed large year-over-year increases in applications for the part-time self-paced MBA (53.0 percent), flexible MBA (48.6 percent), and online MBA (43.5 percent). And in the U.S., while 72 percent of full-time two-year MBA programs reported an increase in applications, 86 percent of online MBA programs reported growth in applications (up from 50 percent of programs in 2019 and 36 percent in 2018). Once again, the growth was driven by female candidates with 85 percent of online programs reporting an increase in female applicants, compared to 74 percent reporting increases in male applicants.