You would expect Money to be the primary motivation for prospective students to pursue an MBA. Not Really! According to 2012 Prospective Students Survey conducted by GMAC, Job Opportunities is the number one factor that motivates undergraduate to pursue an MBA program.
In the survey, prospective students had to choose from a list of 26 motivating factors that include Improve effectiveness on the job, Personal satisfaction and achievement, Greater freedom in job/career choices, Remain marketable/competitive, more challenging/interesting work, Professional credentials/credibility, Develop managerial skills, Develop leadership skills, Accelerate career path, Develop business KSAs, Increase salary potential and Increased job opportunities
Here are the findings:
What Women think?
Interestingly, Men and Women both think along the same line when it comes to the top four motivations (as shown above). Developing leadership skills seems to be the fifth most important factor for men while being marketable and competitive was women’s fifth.
Does Age influence motivation?
Both candidates younger and older than 30 has the top 3 motivations in common. Older candidates considered being marketable and competitive to be a bigger motivation than developing leadership skills and career progression, which seems to motivate younger (less than 30) candidates.
Does Undergraduate Degree influence motivation?
It seems the undergraduate degree do influence your motivation for an MBA program. Students with Science Degrees were the most motivated to develop their skill base and improve career progression. Business Majors looked upon MBA programs as a mean to improve their competitive edge in the job market. Humanities and Social Science Majors also like Science Majors considered the potential to career progression as a primary motivating factor for an MBA.
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About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.