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What is the best way for business schools to appeal to early-stage candidates who are thinking about whether graduate management education is right for them? “The best approach is proactive transparency, not persuasion. Financial concern is the top barrier, especially for candidates two-plus years out from application, who are seven percentage points more cost-anxious than near-term applicants. Schools should, therefore, normalise discussions of cost, ROI and financial aid early, before sticker shock sets in. “Early-stage outreach should use concrete, relatable examples: real student/alumni lifestyles, financing strategies and career outcomes that help candidates visualise how GME fits their lives, addressing their heightened worries about time commitment and career disruption. Ultimately, schools should frame the degree as a targeted investment in durable, career-upgrading skills with demonstrable impact, while reducing barriers and uncertainty.” How are the trends discussed here impacting efforts to enhance the pipeline of role models from underrepresented groups in both the classroom and academic leadership? Is there more that schools can do to advance inclusivity? “GMAC’s research findings reveal persistent structural patterns. Women, for example, remain underrepresented across GME, especially across full-time MBA (41 per cent) and executive MBA (roughly one-third) programmes. While representation is consistently better in flexible/online formats and business master’s programmes, it is still below parity. Notably, women’s applications are declining in finance and accounting specifically, fields closely tied to academic and corporate leadership pathways. “First-generation representation, which often overlaps with historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, is increasing, but much of that growth is concentrated in highly ranked, well-resourced programmes. This is potentially masking access gaps across the broader graduate management education landscape. To strengthen the leadership pipeline, schools face a golden opportunity to target underrepresentation in formats like the executive MBA and finance-focused degrees, expand flexible pathways where women already engage more and develop messaging, recruitment strategies and support structures that better resonate with first-generation applicants.”
more competitive, with Asia and continental Europe capturing redirected flows. This suggests that students are casting a wider net and prioritising value, affordability, career outcomes and policy stability over historical prestige. Expect continued fluctuation, but within a more permanently reshaped, competitive landscape.” The latest GMAC Prospective Students Survey found a pronounced difference in preferred study modes between male and female candidates. What does this mean for business schools looking to build more equitable pipelines of talent? “This gap signals that equitable pipelines require flexibility, not just access. While full-time, in-person learning remains the top preference overall, women’s preference for it dipped from 2024 to 2025 even as men’s grew, producing the widest gender gap in delivery-mode preference in at least seven years. This likely reflects structural realities like outsized caregiving responsibilities, echoing ‘return to office’ trends that are already pushing women out of inflexible workplaces. “If business schools lean too heavily into full-time, in-person expansion without maintaining robust flexible options, they risk replicating labour-market inequities in the classroom and inadvertently narrowing their pipeline just as they aim to broaden it. Equitable recruitment means preserving genuine choice across modalities.” How do expectations over curricular content differ between employers and student? “Employers and candidates agree on the fundamentals – strategic thinking and problem-solving top both lists – but diverge meaningfully from there. Employers place greater weight on human skills like initiative, coachability and emotional intelligence, which candidates tend to underweight. One of the starkest gaps, according to our latest survey of corporate recruiters, is around AI. While AI-related skills will be employers’ top hiring priority in five years, most consider today’s graduates only somewhat prepared to apply AI tools in real organisational contexts. “Notably, AI’s influence extends beyond tool proficiency, elevating demand for complementary skills like data analysis and adaptability. Students’ ability to interpret AI output and pivot accordingly also represents an area where employers see graduates as underprepared, alongside their perceived grit and human-capital management.”
“Prospective students expect demonstrable outcomes across a range of professional, financial and emotional dimensions”
Sabrina White is senior vice-president of school & industry engagement at GMAC. She is responsible for leading the organisation’s external engagement strategy and driving value for business schools through candidate pipeline development, membership, conferences, partnerships, advocacy, research and global market development. With more than 30 years’ experience in higher education, she previously held leadership roles at the University of Maryland and Bowling Green State University
www.gmac.com
Ambition • ISSUE 4 • 2026 17
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