The Interaction Effects of Student Nationality, Gmat Scores, and Undergraduate Gpa in Explaining Performance in a Graduate Accounting Program

Although much research exists explaining student performance in graduate business programs, few studies address performance in graduate accounting programs.This study tests the interaction effects of student nationality, GMAT scores, and undergraduate GPA in explaining performance in a graduate accounting program.Results from this study indicate that GMAT scores and undergraduate GPA both explain student performance in the graduate accounting program, but not equally for domestic and international students.GMAT is more important in explaining student performance for international students, while undergraduate GPA is more important in explaining performance for domestic students.Contrasts show that the differences for GMAT mostly occur at low levels of GMAT, while differences for undergraduate GPA primarily occurs at high levels of undergraduate GPA.Thus, our results suggest that Graduate Program Directors and schools should consider using differing approaches or criteria for domestic and international students when evaluating acceptance to their graduate accounting programs.