US Vs International B schools

Question

Hello All,

I am a new member of gmat club and so am hoping you would pardon my naivety.

But what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing an MBA from an International B-School?

Replies with different perspectives are also appeciated.

Thank you.

togafoot · Answer

It all depends on what you are trying to achieve.
Where do you want to work?
What type of experience are you looking for?

If you are looking for a job in Europe, a European business school will give you more opoprtunities, likewise for Asia. 
Are you interested in working for an MNC or a local start-up? Are you interested in setting up your own business? Then select the location you are more likely to set up in and start networking via your school. For MNC's it depends on whether they recruit internationally from the USA or not, but a lot of the MNCs will go to lots of the top schools globally.

tmino · Answer

To add on, one of the main differences is that for most European bschools (not sure about other international ones) you will have 70%+ international students, while in the US it's the other way around, you'll have around 30% international students. I'd have to say though that it's more feasible to get a job in Europe when attending a top US bschool, versus getting a job in the US from a top European bschool. In general, settle for a bschool in the region where you see yourself working later on.

kwam · Answer

Let me share my perspective as a South American who lived in Europe and now is in an American School.

I agree that if you just look at the raw numbers, European schools may seem more diverse than US schools; nevertheless, it is hard to compare diversity. My experience is that US schools have fewer non US citizens, but, this doesn´t mean less diversity. The USA is a big country with people from several diferent regtions of the world living there, I had in my first year classes with americans who are from families that migrated from China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria, and Europe in general - just to ilustrate some countries that popped up in my mind. Even though they are somehow "americanized", one can´t say that they are all equal. In terms of language, it is true that one may have less exposure to different languages, but I feel that, at least at Booth, there are enough people so that you can somehow have a decent amount of exposure to different cultures. I have been talking more than I wanted in Portugues with my Brazilian and Portugues fellows, I've been practicing Spanish with people from Spain and South America, and "trying" to learn something of German with the guys from Germany, Switzerland and the Polish guys who speak German.

I agree that it is easier to go from a US school to Europe than the other way around, but it is easy to go to UK. Remember that to work in most countries in Europe one will either have to have an European Passport or will go through a painful process of getting a Visa, believe me that Visa in Europe is a Pain in the neck, and the company must truly help you through the proces - it took more than one year for me to get a Visa when I worked there.

One thing that I am somehow "disappointed" is that in my opinion US schools are too US centric in terms of cases and examples - and I checked with friends at other US schools and they told me that they have the same approach. I understand why, but I´d like to have a more "global approach". At this aspect, I believe that European and perhaps Asian schools are better. That said, I had a course called International Financial Policy, in which we discussed things such as the US Budget Deficit, the Chinese economy, the Brazilian and Argentinian Central Banks, Sovereign Wealth funds, etc.

40% of students were born outside the US at my class (Booth 2010) are, and the number of women is aprox the same (if I remember correctly it is 38%).

09change · Answer

For anyone who doesn't speak the local European language but want to work in the country, you will have a lot troubles finding a customer-facing or consulting job or management positions. Actually getting a local work permit in Europe is not that difficult and large companies don't mind arranging it for you, but they do care if you can speak the local language or at least if you are willing to learn. To succeed in your career in an european country, you'd better reach the level of "fluent speaking and writing" as soon as possible. If you don't have a long commitment to the country, then don't waste time (2 years?) on learning the language that you won't use in the rest of your career.

yenkat2009 · Answer

My estimate is that given a free movement of MBA students to schools outside of their own locality, we would see a sharp increase in the amount of expat students studying abroad. However, the quality of the accredited MBA programs stays relatively similar across the board. The US MBA Schools have prestige and are known for quality. But how can an international school be accredited in the same way if it isn't the same standard?

US Vs International B schools

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