Predicting Academic Success of Students in a Master of Business Administration Program

Abstract

The results of a study to correlate graduate school of business entrance criteria with success in a Master of Business Administration program (as measured by graduate GPA) are reported. Two groups of graduate students (n = 50 for each group) were randomly selected from a pool of 203 recent graduates. One group had taken the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT); the second group, the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). Ten predictor variables were used in bivariate and stepwise multiple regression analyses. The 10 variables were number of semesters in the program, undergraduate GPA, age, ethnic background, sex, marital status, GMAT score, MAT score, number of years since undergraduate degree completion, and the type of undergraduate degree earned (BS vs. BA). Results revealed a strong correlation between the GMAT score and graduate GPA, especially when combined with undergraduate GPA. The relationship between MAT score and graduate GPA was significant, but not as strong as that between GMAT and graduate GPA. There was a strong relationship between ethnic background and graduate GPA when using the MAT.

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