Thanks, Consortium alumni! You refer the most prospects to us

An analysis of more than 3,000 Consortium applications spanning four application seasons offers both good news and some so-so news.

On the positive side, Consortium alumni funnel more prospects to us than any other category. More than 30 percent of prospects said they heard about The Consortium from an alumnus. That suggests our expanding membership community is proud, grateful and motivated to spread the word about their experience to the next generation.

Consortium alumni are the leading referral source for our prospects.

Click the image to view a larger version of this pie chart. (Source: Review of 3,070 applications between Aug. 15, 2012, and Nov. 1, 2015)

In fact, The Consortium gets nearly two-thirds of its applications thanks to referrals from Consortium alumni and “friends and family”—the two largest categories among our referral sources.

This suggests to us that prospects are also hearing about The Consortium from friends who have become members or from family members helping to identify resources for a prospect’s MBA experience.

The data come from 3,070 applications in which applicants noted how they heard about us. It covers the application seasons 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 (through Nov. 1). We looked at only primary referral sources. That is, applicants could indicate multiple sources from which they heard about The Consortium; our chart indicates only the first source the applicant named.

RELATED: Consortium referrals: Thankful you’ve sent us so many names

Our review also shows other outreach methods aren’t generating the same level of response. For example, our 18 member schools are responsible for about 16 percent of the referrals we received over the same period.

Combined, five other sources of applicants totaled less than alumni alone. Those five sources accounted for about 24 percent of our prospects. They include Internet/websites; advertising; Consortium contacts; organizations or conferences; and school receptions.

Do you know someone who would make a great Consortium member? Does he or she show a demonstrated commitment to The Consortium’s mission? You can visit our referral page and submit information about that person so we can follow up.

Here are the raw numbers behind the chart, showing how often each source was named as a primary referral source between Aug. 15, 2012, and Nov. 1, 2015:

School Reception 15
Consortium Contact 108
Advertisement 114
Organization or conference 151
Internet/Website 348
Member School 491
Friend or Family 893
Alumni 950