Over the past five years, admissions officers at business schools across the country watched gleefully as the number of international applicants applying to MBA programs grew exponentially, fueled largely by rapid growth from India and China.
This year that trend has collapsed. International applications were down at business schools across the country, challenging admissions officers to meet diversity goals and posing questions for the future.
"I'm wondering if we've hit the peak of international applications," says Brenda Knebel, director of admissions at Purdue University's Krannert School of Management (Krannert Full-Time MBA Profile). Krannert's international applications were down 30% this year, although enrollment is still on a par with last year. "I expect the fall to be the same or down, but I don't expect it to go back to the good old glory days."
Indeed, the last application cycle presented a mixed bag for admissions officers, who saw a jump in applications from domestic applicants but a sharp decline in international interest. At many schools, applications are down and enrollment has been curtailed, Even at schools where foreign applications are holding steady, successful applicants are facing delays getting visas, and admissions directors are worried that many may not make it to class in the coming weeks.
At Indiana University's Kelley School of Business (Kelley Full-Time MBA Profile), University of Connecticut's School of Business (Connecticut Full-Time MBA Profile), and Emory University's Goizueta Business School (Emory Full-Time MBA Profile), international enrollment for the coming school year is down anywhere from 5% to 15% from 2008-2009. At the same time, some schools such as Pennsylvania State University's Smeal College of Business (Penn State Full-Time MBA Profile) and the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business (Iowa Full-Time MBA Profile) have purposely decided to limit the number of international students they admit, opting to cut back on students with uncertain job prospects rather than take chances on being unable to help everyone find employment.
Admissions officers attribute the grim international outlook for the upcoming school year to what many are calling a perfect storm. International students who once vied for seats in U.S. business school classrooms have become alarmed about securing financing, jobs after graduation, and the challenges associated with securing H1-B work visas. To calm the nerves of hesitant students and meet their diversity goals, admissions officers have gone into overdrive this year, conducting phone check-ins with students, offering ramped-up orientation programs, and bending over backwards to ensure that students get merit aid or scholarships. Many anticipate the upcoming application cycle to be no less challenging, if not more so, and are developing plans to make sure international enrollment doesn't dip even lower in 2010.
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