Best MBA For International Applicants? Top 20 vs Top 40 Scholarship?

Things are definitely changing. Many companies are not sponsoring this year. Many companies have changed their policies and are hiring only through internship. Things are messy and unclear. Options are getting lesser. My advise for internationals:

1) Speak to people outside of students admissions committee and preferably with the ones you have some connection like undergrad, city etc. When you start the call ask them not to sell their school.
2) Ask direct questions like ''How many internationals have made it to McK or X company". Understand how you get a job in US.
3) Is your school a core school for recruiting for the company you are interested in?
4) If someone cant give you numbers or specific answers, the person is probably bluffing or the placements were horrible. All data is available in schools and everyone knows how recruitment is going. Its your job to ask grilling questions and theirs to dodge them. Know that on the other side, there are referral programs and awards if they can get you in.
5) Know that networking plays the most important part in job search. If you cant speak English fluently or your communication skills are weak, no matter which company you worked for prior to b school or which school you go to, you will face tough time to get a job.
6) Go to a city where you would like to live in the long term. Finding a job in a different geography is difficult unless your school is core school for the employer.
7) East and West coast are more diverse than others.
8) Your chances in consulting and banking are better at higher ranked school.
9) If moving to US is your sole objective going to schools outside top 7-10 could be fine. You might get ''some'' job depending on your personality. Going to a lower ranked schools is a big risk and it is upon you to make an informed decision. There is no right or wrong answer here.
10) Choose your data point for comparison very carefully. MBA makes sense for people for different reasons. For Ex: There are lot of rich kids from every country who do MBA.
11) There are complications once you get a job. Chances of getting H1B in a lottery are ~33%. Even if you get a visa, you need to extend it every 3 years until your employer files a green card for you. You might not be able to switch jobs or leave the country at your convenience due to processing issues. Find out about these issues. Not many care to find out about these rules as they have short term vision. Sooner or later you have to face these issues. Does MBA still make sense for you in P10, P50 and P90 cases?

All this is my personal opinion. Refer to point 10 if you disagree. Hope this helps.