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Through our very own editors and guest writers, this blog will discuss the INSIDE scoop on the admissions process of various schools and programs. If you wish to ask a specific question, please write to us, and we will make every attempt to address your questions in our future blog discussions.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Women Closing the Gap in Test Scores
The good news first. Women are doing better overall on the Graduate Management Admission Test than they were ten years ago. The GMAT is a standard requirement for the vast majority of business schools. Though the majority of B-Schools now also accept the Graduate Records Examination (GRE), the GMAT is still the standard-bearer.

The bad news? Women are still lagging behind men on test scores for both examinations. In the 2002-2003 admissions cycle, women were scoring-on average-40 points below the men on the GMAT. For 2011-2012, that number has dipped to 20 points. The GRE disparity was more nuanced, with women outperforming men in analytical writing, matching the men on verbal reasoning, but underperforming against the men in quantitative reasoning.

The GMAT tends to be heavy on graduate business subjects like economics, accounting, and chart interpretation. Conversely, the GRE, which is generally required for graduate degrees of all types, has a humanities base, with focus on grammar, literature and logic.

Applying statistical data to social trends is fraught with complications. Still, with women continuing to comprise less than 50% of student populations in business schools, an examination needs to be made. Why do women underperform men in quantitative reasoning tests? Why is this a distinctly American trend? (In China, women actually outperform men on the GMAT).

Fewer women still apply to business school, which may be an indicator of interest. That is, if men are generally more invested in the idea of business school, they may be better-prepared test takers. So long as the profession itself still lags itself in gender-equity, it may just not be as appealing to women. Why go for the MBA if your long-term prospects already have a lower ceiling?

There's no right answer here. For now, the hope is that women aspiring towards an MBA just keep moving the same direction.

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