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Business School Applicants Undeterred by Brexit

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Top business school news.

Application volumes at LBS seem unaffected by worries over Brexit.

An applicant dishes on interviews at two top business schools, applications at one of Britain’s top business schools don’t seem to be affected by Brexit, and aspiring Indian MBAs are looking to Canada for their business education. Here’s the latest in our roundup of business school news.

The MBA interview

A major part of the business school admissions process is the interview. It’s your opportunity to show admissions officers why you’d be a good match for the school. It’s also your chance to interview them and see if the school is everything you thought it was when you applied. Admissions officers also want to know that you’ve taken the time to do your research into what makes their MBA program unique. Here we have a student who applied to two top-ranked business schools: University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

About Chicago Booth the candidate said, “The Booth interview was predictable and relaxed—as an expected result of the interview being conducted by a current student. Had I not visited campus, I would have struggled to speak convincingly about the culture and how I saw myself fitting in.” Lesson: Speak with current students and alumni. That’s part of the research.

On Stanford, the candidate shared, “He asked me to tell him a story about an accomplishment (seemed simple enough), but then proceeded to drill down into acute detail with increasingly probing questions.” Lesson: Don’t exaggerate anything on your resume. Here is where you can get caught for being dishonest. (Poets & Quants)

Choices after business school

The MBA is an incredibly versatile degree. As the business world has changed in the past decade, so have the opportunities for the MBA to use his or her degree in different sectors—from traditional areas like consulting to newer areas like technology. Here a few places where your degree might take you far:

  • Compliance officer – We live in a regulatory environment in which experts are needed to understand the rules which private businesses must follow… or they otherwise may get in trouble with the government. For example, pharmaceutical companies need compliance officers who work with the Food and Drug Administration.
  • Medical and health services manager – Healthcare in this country is very complicated… and changing. It’s hard to say what it will look like in the next year or so with Obamacare on the verge of being repealed and replaced with something different… though we still don’t know what it will be. “The complexity of running a health care system or health care business is greater today than it ever was,” says Jeff McNish, assistant dean of the Darden Career Development Center at the University of Virginia. Jobs in this area are on the upswing.
  • Business operations manager – Want to manage a business? Then you need outstanding managerial and communication skills. Enter the MBA.  “Name (an MBA) course, and it’s going to touch on the sort of multifaceted things you’ll be doing,” says Shawnice Meador, executive director of MBA career and leadership at the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Remember, with an MBA the sky really is the limit in terms of career opportunities. (U.S. News & World Report)

Brexit? What Brexit?

So maybe the sky is not falling because of Brexit after all. Despite worries that Great Britain’s top business schools would see a slump in applications because of its impending exit from the European Union, London Business School, arguably the country’s best MBA program, is reporting a 15 percent increase in applications. “The world’s biggest challenges will still require global, multilateral coordination. Global careers will still exist,” said Olly Nguyen, president of the LBS Student Association.

While there may still be a downturn once the exit becomes official, which is likely to happen this year, aspiring MBAs might still plow right through it. “We attract people from all over the world, who are used to dealing with visa and immigration issues,” said Helen Foley, senior manager of visa compliance and financial aid at LBS. (BusinessBecause)

Indian applicants look to Canada

One of the biggest sources of MBA applications in the world is India. Makes sense, right? With well over one billion people and poised to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation, India is a developing country with a vibrant economy where students learn English from an early age. Indians have long looked to the U.S. and the U.K. to attend business school. But the Trump presidency and Brexit are giving them second thoughts. Many are now instead looking at Canada.

“Canada, being as multicultural as it is, seemed welcoming and I could really picture myself enjoying working in this country,” said one Indian student who was accepted at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, which has a strong reputation. (The Financial Times)

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The post Business School Applicants Undeterred by Brexit appeared first on Business School Insider.