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MBAs Studying Abroad Face International Uncertainties

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Top business school news.

Want to study abroad for an MBA? First research the benefits and risks.

How high is the average GMAT score for Yale’s newest incoming class? What are the risks associated with studying abroad for business school? Will international MBA students face new obstacles obtaining a post-Brexit visa? Find out what’s trending on the business school landscape.

Yale’s newest class of future MBAs

Meet the newest class of students at Yale School of Management. For starters, there’s a Navy SEAL, a Peace Corps activist, and an advocate for health care reform. Then, there’s the numbers: Approximately 3,650 aspiring MBAs applied to Yale SOM last year, up 200 from the previous cycle. After all was said and done, Yale SOM’s acceptance rate was 19% and its yield was 48%, essentially where it’s been in previous cycles. The average GMAT score for the new class stands at 725, a record high for Yale, and just behind a few other top MBA programs’ average GMAT scores.

“Each incoming class strikes me by their collective commitment to the mission and values of the school,” said Bruce DelMonico, Yale SOM’s assistant dean of admissions. “This year is no different. The incoming class shares a desire to further the school’s mission to educate leaders for business and society, and to do so with a spirit of collaboration, transparency, and mutual support.” (Poets & Quants)

Researching opportunities to study abroad

There are few better ways to build a global mindset in the business world than by working in another country or going for a degree outside your homeland. While many undergraduates study abroad for a social reason—rather than an academic one—there are certain pros and cons you should be aware of if you are considering business school outside the United States. If exposure to different cultures is your thing, consider one of Europe’s many top-ranked business schools, where the percentage of international students can reach 80%. Another plus of European business schools is that they are often only one-year programs.

There are also a growing number of business schools in Latin America, but landing a job there may be tough if that’s your goal. Studies show that that region is prone to hiring fewer people from outside compared with other parts of the world.

“If you already know that you want to work in Asia, Europe, the Middle East or Latin America, you’d be better off choosing a local school where you can network directly with employers,” counsels one business school admissions experts. (U.S. News & World Report)

Business school in Bath

On the topic of business schools located outside the United States, let’s take a closer look at one. Bath School of Management is one of those aforementioned programs where you can study abroad and come out with an MBA in just one year. Located in the southwest of England, not too far from Wales, Bath boasts of an international student population of 90%. (At top U.S. business schools, the international population is around 30%.) The school is also unique in that its student cohorts are remarkably small when compared to cohorts in the United States: just 45 to 50 students.

But it’s that cohort coziness that appeals to many MBA students looking to study abroad, including one from Canada who said, “When I spoke to Bath, there was a connection right away. It was more personalized and friendly. It seemed like they were really interested in taking in students who were not your traditional MBAs.” The school also recently revamped its curriculum to allow for more electives. (BusinessBecause)

Brexit may impact international MBAs

As attractive as Bath and other top-ranked business schools in the U.K. may be to the international applicant, politics—and more specifically, the Brexit—may get in the way of non-British students enrolling there. As you may recall, defying the “experts” and polls, by a narrow margin, the people of Great Britain voted to leave the European Union. That means the government might now tighten its exciting, fairly progressive immigration laws, which would impact aspiring MBAs coming to study abroad on international student visas.  

Leaders of top business schools aren’t happy about what may be down the road. “We have to be conscious of all the things going on in the world. [Business] doesn’t operate in a vacuum, and neither do business schools,” said Peter Tufano, dean of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. (Bloomberg Businessweek)

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