What data does the IMFS Admissions Intelligence Dataset contain?

The IMFS Admissions Intelligence Dataset v2026.1 contains 6,752 anonymised student records across 13 cohorts (Fall 2016–Fall 2026), including 8,402 standardised exam score records (3,694 GRE, 1,950 IELTS, 2,761 TOEFL), 34,140 university application outcomes, CGPA data for 2,923 students on 10-point grading scales, and destination country preferences. This is a representative sample from IMFS internal student records, not the complete IMFS historical database. Release: IMFS-RR-2026-v1.

How were exam records excluded from the IMFS dataset?

GRE: valid range 260–340, 0 records excluded (0.0%). IELTS: valid range 4.0–9.0, 30 zero-value system defaults excluded (1.5%). TOEFL: valid range 40–120, 14 zero/invalid entries excluded (0.5%). Overall exclusion rate: 0.5% across all three exams. Exclusions were applied consistently across all cohorts using pre-defined criteria. Source: IMFS Admissions Intelligence Dataset v2026.1.

IMFS Insights · Methodology · INS-000

IMFS Insights — Methodology and Dataset

Question: How was the IMFS Admissions Intelligence Dataset compiled and what does it contain? Dataset: IMFS Admissions Intelligence Dataset v2026.1 · 6,752 students · 8,402 exam records · 13 cohorts · Fall 2016–Fall 2026 Analysis: Descriptive observational · Inference: Non-causal Release: IMFS-INS-000-v1.0 · Published 13 June 2026 Analysis: Descriptive observational · Inference: Non-causal

Prepared by IMFS Insights Team · Executive review: Inderjit Singh Matta, CEO — IMFS · 8 min read

6,752Students in
this sample

8,402Exam records in
this sample

13Cohorts covered
in this sample

0.5%Exam record
exclusion rate

⚠ Sample Dataset — Important

This is a representative sample drawn from IMFS internal student records. It is not the complete IMFS database.

IMFS has operated since 1997 — this dataset covers 10 of 28+ years of operations (Fall 2016 – Fall 2026 only)
Within this 10-year window, 6 cohorts are missing from this export: Spring/Fall 2019, Spring 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025. 2019 cohort data was not included in the dataset for this analysiss analysis.
This is not a random sample — every record in the provided IMFS dataset records is included (minus 0.5% invalid exam entries)
Findings describe observed patterns in this sample. They are not statistically generalised to all Indian students studying abroad

Dataset coverage

This page is the canonical data source for all IMFS Insights pages. All numerical findings published across the IMFS Insights hub are derived from this dataset.

Sample dataset declaration: The figures in this document represent a sample of IMFS student records — not the complete IMFS historical database. When this document states "Fall 2017: 642 students", it means 642 students appear in the Fall 2017 IMFS dataset included in this dataset. This is not a claim that IMFS counselled exactly 642 students in Fall 2017 in total, nor that this is a statistically representative random sample of all Indian students studying abroad.

Specifically: IMFS has operated since 1997. This dataset covers 13 cohorts from Fall 2016 to Fall 2026 — approximately 10 of 28+ years of IMFS operations. Six cohorts within this window were not included in the export: Spring/Fall 2019, Spring 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.

Each "Students in sample" figure below is the record count in that IMFS dataset included in this dataset. It is not a claim of total IMFS enrolments for that intake period.

Cohort	Students in sample	GRE records	IELTS records	TOEFL records	Notes
Fall 2017	642	599	48	543
Spring 2018	64	50	17	42	Spring cohort — smaller sample
Fall 2018	700	583	76	519
Spring 2020	79	49	36	29	COVID disruption cohort
Fall 2020	241	170	75	117
Fall 2021	907	654	280	506
Spring 2022	97	46	48	33	Spring cohort — smaller sample
Fall 2022	877	546	352	347
Fall 2023	757	395	354	219
Fall 2024	635	298	269	188
Fall 2025	490	179	201	132
Fall 2026	507	122	194	86	Many outcomes still pending
Total (sample, exam cohorts)	5,996	3,694	1,950	2,761	8,402 exam records (3,694 GRE + 1,950 IELTS + 2,761 TOEFL)

Fall 2016 not shown: 756 students from the Fall 2016 cohort were recorded in an earlier student records system. Exam score data (GRE, IELTS, TOEFL) is not available for this cohort. These 756 students are excluded from exam analysis but included in the combined total of 6,752 students across all cohorts.

Combined total including Fall 2016: 6,752 students. Exam analysis covers Fall 2017–Fall 2026 only (5,996 students, 12 cohorts).

Students who registered for an exam but did not sit it are excluded from score analysis. Spring cohorts (2018, 2020, 2022) had smaller sample sizes — see Notes column.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusions were applied consistently across all cohorts using pre-defined criteria. No cohort-specific adjustments were made.

Exam	Valid range	Raw records	Excluded	Valid	Exclusion rate	Reason
GRE	260–340	3,694	0	3,694	0.0%	Data completely clean
IELTS	4.0–9.0	1,980	30	1,950	1.5%	Zero-value system defaults
TOEFL	40–120	2,775	14	2,761	0.5%	Zero and below-40 values
CGPA (10-pt)	6.0–10.0	3,214	291	2,923	9.1%	Likely % scores in wrong grading field
Decisions	Named universities	34,701	561	34,140	1.6%	DROPPED/CANCELLED entries
Destination data	Fall 2020 onwards	Fall 2017–2018 excluded				<10% field capture

Verified findings — exact figures

These are the exact figures underlying all rounded public-facing numbers. Public insight pages show rounded figures (6,700+, 8,400+, etc.) for clarity. This page holds the precise values.

Competitiveness gap

Exam	University requirement (exact)	IMFS student avg (exact)	Gap	n	Source
GRE	292 (avg across 206 USA universities)	305.5	+13.5 pts	3,694	IMFS Admissions Intelligence Dataset v2026.1
IELTS	6.51 (avg across 494 universities)	6.99	+0.48 bands	1,950	IMFS Admissions Intelligence Dataset v2026.1
TOEFL	86.3 (avg across 463 universities)	98.4	+12.1 pts	2,761	IMFS Admissions Intelligence Dataset v2026.1

IELTS by destination — exact figures

Destination	Requirement avg	IMFS students avg	Gap	n (IMFS students)
Germany	6.43	7.11	+0.68	135
UK	6.64	7.03	+0.39	121
Ireland	6.54	7.03	+0.49	88
Canada	6.58	6.90	+0.32	183
Australia	6.75	7.14	+0.39	72
All 494 universities	6.51	6.99	+0.48	1,950

Top universities by IMFS admits (IMFS sample dataset, 2017–2026)

Rank	University	IMFS admits in sample	State
1	Northeastern University	1,067	MA
2	Stevens Institute of Technology	908	NJ
3	University of Texas – Dallas	575	TX
4	University of Texas – Arlington	529	TX
5	New Jersey Institute of Technology	528	NJ
6	Syracuse University	509	NY
7	George Mason University	505	VA
8	Rochester Institute of Technology	480	NY
9	SUNY – Buffalo	442	NY
10	Drexel University	358	PA
11	Rutgers – New Brunswick	317	NJ
12	University of Alabama – Birmingham	305	AL
13	Pace University	298	NY
14	SUNY – Binghamton	286	NY
15	University of North Carolina – Charlotte	270	NC

Minimum threshold: universities with fewer than 10 IMFS student records are not published. Counts reflect Accepted + Finalized statuses across all cohorts 2017–2026. DROPPED/CANCELLED entries excluded.

California universities — IMFS sample dataset

University	IMFS admits in sample
California State University – Long Beach	198
University of Southern California	163
San Jose State University	148
California State University – Fullerton	147
University of California – Riverside	106

UC Berkeley (n=9) excluded — below minimum n≥10 threshold. Other California institutions with fewer than 10 IMFS records are not shown.

Data definitions

Term	Definition as used in this dataset
GRE benchmark	IMFS-compiled competitive score range for a university, based on admissions research. Not a university-stated hard minimum.
GRE admit median	Average GRE score of enrolled students as reported by the university in admissions statistics. Not IMFS-observed.
IMFS student average	Mean score across IMFS student records for students who sat the exam, after exclusion of invalid entries.
Accept rate	Accepted + Finalized / (Accepted + Finalized + Rejections). Pending decisions excluded. Resolved cohorts (Fall 2017–Fall 2023) only.
Finalization rate	Share of enrolled IMFS students who confirmed a specific university. Distinct from accept rate.
Destination share	Share of students in a given cohort listing that country in interestedCountries field. Fall 2020 onwards only (earlier cohorts <10% field capture).
Representative sample	Not a random sample. Every record in the IMFS dataset is included (minus 0.5% invalid exam entries). Coverage: 13 cohorts, Fall 2016–Fall 2026.
University application outcomes	Application outcome records with a recorded status (Accepted, Finalized, Rejection, Awaiting, etc.). DROPPED/CANCELLED entries excluded.

Governance and version control

Item	Value
Release ID	IMFS-RR-2026-v1
Dataset version	v2026.1
Freeze date	13 June 2026
Prepared by	IMFS Insights Team
Reviewed by	Inderjit Singh Matta, CEO — IMFS
Review cadence	Biannual
Next planned update	Q1 2027 (when Fall 2026 reaches ~70% finalisation)
Counting methodology	Each university counted once in benchmark database regardless of programs. GRE benchmarks at university level, not program level.
University database updated	March 11, 2026 (210 of 218 USA universities). 8 entries have no recorded update date.
Data preparation	Records were cleaned, standardized and deduplicated prior to analysis.
PII handling	fullName, email, parentPhoneNumber, studentPhoneNumber, passportNumber, dateOfBirth, cwidNumber removed before analysis.
Minimum publish threshold	n≥10 for university-specific statistics. n≥50 for destination sub-analysis.
Data processing	Records were cleaned, standardized and deduplicated prior to analysis. Exclusion rules applied uniformly across all cohorts.

Suggested citation

When referencing this dataset

IMFS Insights Team. IMFS Admissions Intelligence Dataset (v2026.1). IMFS — Institute of Management and Foreign Studies, June 2026. Available at: https://www.imfs.co.in/insights/methodology/