More foreign students are applying to local MBA programs, a trend expected to continue for the coming academic year.
In the last few years, students from overseas, particularly from Asian and Eastern European countries, have shown more interest in master’s of business administration programs nationwide. Meanwhile, the number of domestic applications has stagnated.
“Clearly there’s an increased demand” internationally, and Asia is “really surging,” said Ray Cooper, associate dean at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
About 30 percent of students in the school’s full-time MBA program are foreign. Since the 2004-2005 academic year, Georgetown has seen applications from non-U.S. residents increase on average about 15 percent per year.
“China and India contributed the largest increase in applicants to MBA programs in other countries,” said Sam Silverstein, spokesman for the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers the GMAT exam.
Nationwide, about 58 percent of full-time MBA programs saw the number of foreign applications rise for the 2007-2008 school year from the previous year, according to a survey by the council. In the mid-Atlantic region, 79 percent of programs saw a climb. Colleges in general are accepting more applications from foreign students, as well.
The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business hada 40 percent spike in international applications for the fall 2007 semester, while applications overall climbed 35 percent, said Sarah Neher, director of MBA admissions, who notes that early indications show that this year will be similar.
That means more competition for U.S. students.
Neher said international student enrollment was increased and domestic enrollment was reduced intentionally “to add diversity.”
The trend “allows us to be more selective,” said Christine LaCola, assistant dean of career management and recruitment at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. LaCola noticed the increase over the past two or three years.
Given the booming economies in China, Taiwan and India, it’s “somewhat logical to see that 24- to 29-year-olds are finding and knowing they need Western business education,” she said. Domestic applications have held steady at one- to two-point raises, with international increases of about 10 percent each year.
Most programs have an international population of about 25 to 35 percent, said LaCola, and the University of Maryland falls within that range.
American University posted a 12 percent increase in applications in the past year, with a bulk of that coming from international students in Asia and Eastern Europe, said Lawrence Ward, associate dean for academic programs at the Kogod School of Business.
An international student body is “seen as a competitive edge,” and the U.S. higher education system still has great value in the world, he said.
