European B-School

[Kiril]

Hi to everybody!

I'm reading this forum for long time even if I never write here!
I've some question for you: some of you have a direct experience of any European school? Can you suggest me or give me some particular advice?

I know rankings, but I also know that pratical and direct experience is quite better to have a precise idea about a school...

Thanks!

[hochfelder]

I've heard some people getting loud about Rotterdam

[nntdrm]

I've heard some people getting loud about Rotterdam

Of course, partying, sleeping late, and getting some time off from real work are all potential reasons to go to B-school. As if that was not enough, Rotterdam, is located just 45 miles from Amsterdam; within an hour you can be there. A few more hours will take you to London, Maastricht, Brussels, Berlin or Paris.

[hyman]

I've heard some people getting loud about Rotterdam

When it comes to international the answer is Paris, INSEAD or HEC period.

[drpepper]

63% of INSEAD graduates find jobs in Western Europe. 37% of the latter work in UK. Isn't it that when it comes to international, UK is the answer?

[well, well, well]

The opportunity costs for a foreign student of attending an American MBA programme have risen. This is especially true in China and India, two countries that have historically sent over large numbers of would-be MBAs. Nearly a quarter of programmes saw a decrease in Chinese applicants in 2004 and 16% saw a decrease in Indian applicants.

Why? In part, America’s tightened visa restrictions have driven students elsewhere. Nearly a quarter of applications to the MBA programme at Queen’s University, in Ontario, in 2000 were from international students; by 2003 that had risen to 53%. And Britain's Association of MBAs reports that recent growth in its MBA market has been fuelled largely by international students. Another possible explanation is that would-be students, especially in China and India, have better job opportunities at home. That might help explain why applications to Chinese MBA programmes are down for the second straight year.

A slew of factors is causing a notable drop in overseas students at U.S. schools, prompting them to crank up their recruitment

B-school admissions officers are used to dealing with the ups and downs of application volumes. This past year, though, full-time MBA programs have noticed a worrying trend. Fewer applications are arriving from overseas, and that's troubling for schools that want to give their classes an international edge.

At some schools, the dropoff is staggering. At the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business, international applications fell 26% from 2003. The Wharton School noted a 24% decline in non-U.S. applications, while UCLA Anderson School of Management received about 20% fewer foreign applicants. At Michigan Business School, international applications were down more than 30%.

No single answer explains why international interest has lessened in countries like Argentina, Brazil, China, India, and Japan. Some B-schools blame the U.S. economy. Others say the decline only looks worse following the explosive growth in management education's popularity in the late '90s through 2002. During that time, a handful of BusinessWeek's top 30 full-time MBA programs began enrolling closer to 50% of their classes with foreign MBAs.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES. A closer look reveals that compared to a decade ago, international applicants have more choices, which is starting to affect U.S. B-schools' market share. Global economies are improving, which means "new educational options and new employment options" in places like India, says David Wilson, president and CEO of the Graduate Management Admission Council, the nonprofit which runs the Graduate Manangement Admissions Test. At MIT Sloan, head gatekeeper Rod Garcia says the one-year programs offered by INSEAD and IMD in Europe, for example, are more appealing than the standard two-year degrees in the U.S., which could account for the decline in European applications at MIT.

Top programs outside the U.S. have often had more diverse classes, but having a global perspective is becoming an increasingly important piece of the B-school package for applicants. INSEAD has seen a small uptick of about 5% in applications from India. "The young professionals see the benefit of getting an international MBA, knowledge of international business, and bringing it back to their country," says Johanna Hellborg, director of admissions.

Switzerland resident Katja Berlinger says she chose INSEAD's Singapore campus over The Wharton School in Pennsylvania, where she was also accepted, because of the diversity of the student body. "That's where the European schools are really better than the American ones," she says. "When you have 50% to 60% of one nationality, it's pretty clear which opinion is ruling over the others." Berlinger, 30, says INSEAD's one-year option was also a more attractive choice because she'll forfeit less salary.

VISA VEXATION. Meanwhile, U.S. schools might also be losing share to its northern neighbor because Canada's immigration policies are more relaxed. The tiny Queen's School of Business received 10% more applications from abroad, with more Chinese and Indian applications in the pile. The University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management saw applications dip 10% overall, while international applications dipped 23%, due to a sharp falloff from Chinese applicants. But Rotman did note an uptick in applicants from India, reading 177 applications from India in 2004, up from 128 the year before.

That's not surprising, since access to U.S. work visas is another source of angst for MBAs. Fewer H1-B work visas are being offered, which suggests to foreign students that they won't be able to take a job in Corporate America when they graduate. Just 65,000 new H1-B visas were awarded in 2004 (the cap was reached on Feb. 17, 2004), compared with 201,079 new H1-B visa applicants that got the nod in fiscal 2001, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Dept. of Homeland Security.

Snagging a student visa also takes more patience in 2004 than it did in 2001. Consulates now interview all student visa, or F-1 visa, applicants, instead of selecting a few applicants to meet in person, as many did prior to September 11. And slightly more people applying for F-1 visas were denied in 2003, vs. 2001. The rejection rate for student visa applicants changed to 25.3% in 2003, up slightly from 22.9% in 2001, according to data provided to BusinessWeek Online from the Consular Affairs office of the U.S. State Dept. During that same period, 24% fewer people applied for student visas, with 288,812 foreign students applying in 2003, vs. 380,562 in 2001.

CLOUDIER JOB OUTLOOK. But London Business School admissions head Julia Tyler says a more difficult visa process in the U.S. isn't driving students to schools in Europe. "There's this kind of assumption that because of the [recent] difficulty in getting a [U.S.] visa, that suddenly European schools will pick up huge swells of students," says Julia Tyler, head of MBA admissions at London Business School. That's not the case, Tyler says, adding that international applications have been relatively steady. "Every nationality's application [pool] has been somewhat flatter, or in line with the overall trend."

The biggest culprit in declining overseas applications still seems to be the uncertain U.S. economy. These days, when a job in America isn't guaranteed, the escalating costs for attending a U.S B-school isn't as easily justified. BusinessWeek's top full-time MBA programs in America charge at least $65,000 in tuition alone, which rises to around $100,000 once students factor in other fees and costs.

In countries like Argentina, where the local currencies have lost value against the dollar, MBAs don't want to return home to pay off their hefty U.S. education debt while earning Argentine pesos. Studying closer to home is "a practical alternative when you're not sure what kinds of job opportunities you'll have if you go abroad," says Liz Reisberg, executive director of The MBA Tour, a company that hosts B-school recruiting events abroad.

RECRUITING BOOST. However, not all U.S. B-schools cite a dip in international applications. At The Darden School at the University of Virginia, admissions chief Dawna Clarke says her school's guaranteed loan program for international students, which doesn't require a U.S. co-signer, has even helped her recruit. And despite the dropoff, schools say the percent of their full-time class that they enroll with nonresident MBAs will remain about the same -- about one-third.

However, B-schools say fewer international numbers might have a negative effect down the line. In the fall, many universities will be amplifying their recruiting efforts in Europe and Asia to help stem these losses. The MBA Tour's Reisberg says her tours outside of the U.S. are oversubscribed with schools. UCLA's B-school will travel to China and South American countries more in the fall to do "more intense international recruiting," says Linda Baldwin, director of MBA admissions, at UCLA. "It's not clear how much we'll have to do to get traction [among non-U.S. applicants]."

Pete Johnson, director of international admissions for the full-time MBA program at Haas, says he'll spend more time explaining that international viewpoints are respected in Haas classrooms. "In many countries, U.S. actions in Iraq have been very unpopular, and the information that has been in the media abroad about the issue has created the impression for some international students that the U.S. may not be a welcoming place to study, which is far from the truth," he says.

WEALTH OF OPTIONS. Just about every B-school admissions director hopes the U.S. economy will improve, and that could bring about a positive change. Already, schools say more of their MBAs are finding jobs in 2004, vs. 2003, and career directors are cautiously optimistic that will continue into 2005. And from January to May, 2004, U.S. consulates have received more student-visa applications, vs. 2003. The exact increase wasn't revealed, but the number of student visas issued rose 5.6%, says Stuart Patt, a spokesman for the U.S. State Dept.'s Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Still, the wealth of options now available to international applicants continues to grow. When it comes to choosing an MBA program, U.S. schools will need to find more compelling reasons to convince these applicants to venture beyond their backyards.

[citi]

63% of INSEAD graduates find jobs in Western Europe. 37% of the latter work in UK. Isn't it that when it comes to international, UK is the answer?

Definitely, the home of capitalism is the Anglo-American world!

[the magician]

Definitely, the home of capitalism is the Anglo-American world!

Aren't you taking Germany and Japan lightly?! BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, yanno ..

[niles]

And surely that world is not the answer when it comes to soccer