Mid-career professionals moving to US for MBA
Many top US colleges too, prefer applicants with some years of work experience to add diversity to their classrooms.
By Ishani Duttagupta, TNN |
For young and mid-career Indian professionals, taking a break to join an MBA course in the US seems to have become a very attractive option. Besides getting an MBA degree, the career move also helps in moving to the US and, in many cases, finding job opportunities. There’s always been a large percentage of Indian students heading to the US for MBA courses.
While this trend has not changed, there’s a degree of difference in the profile of students. In fact, Indian students are increasingly going to the US at the mid-career level, after gaining a few years of work experience. Many top US colleges too, prefer applicants with some years of work experience to add diversity to their classrooms.
The recent QS Applicants Survey carried out globally by analysing responses from thousands of worldwide MBA applicants, showed that India had the largest number of MBA applicants at the World MBA Fair — a well-known global roadshow. The survey also found an MBA was seen as a viable option for aspiring Indian leaders to improve careers and salaries. That — combined with the fact that only 26% of Indians consider pursuing their MBA at home — suggests that many future managers are being tempted overseas by higher salaries and career possibilities.
"There’s an increased awareness among Indians about working for a couple of years before applying to US colleges for MBA degrees. Hence, there has been a rise in the number of mid-career professionals rather than only freshers applying," says Luna Das, educational advisor at the US Educational Foundation in India.
"However, many prestigious schools such as the Stanford Graduate School of Business do not insist on work experience. They are happy to select very bright young freshers from India, who they feel will bring diversity into the classrooms,” she adds.
"Most Indian students have some full-time work experience beyond their UG studies. Very few apply directly from an UG level,” says Anika Davis Pratt, assistant dean, MBA admissions at New York University’s Stern School of Business, which had about 10% Indian applicants for it’s full-time MBA last year.
Roughly 5% of students in the first year incoming MBA class at Stern (identified by citizenship only, not including Indians who are US citizens or permanent residents) were from India. At Duke University’s Fuqua business school, too, most Indians in an MBA have at least two years of work experience. “There are 90 Indian students in the Duke MBA. This represents approximately 10% of our student population,” says Fuqua’s assistant dean of daytime MBA programmes Liz Riley Hargrove.
While this trend has not changed, there’s a degree of difference in the profile of students. In fact, Indian students are increasingly going to the US at the mid-career level, after gaining a few years of work experience. Many top US colleges too, prefer applicants with some years of work experience to add diversity to their classrooms.
The recent QS Applicants Survey carried out globally by analysing responses from thousands of worldwide MBA applicants, showed that India had the largest number of MBA applicants at the World MBA Fair — a well-known global roadshow. The survey also found an MBA was seen as a viable option for aspiring Indian leaders to improve careers and salaries. That — combined with the fact that only 26% of Indians consider pursuing their MBA at home — suggests that many future managers are being tempted overseas by higher salaries and career possibilities.
"There’s an increased awareness among Indians about working for a couple of years before applying to US colleges for MBA degrees. Hence, there has been a rise in the number of mid-career professionals rather than only freshers applying," says Luna Das, educational advisor at the US Educational Foundation in India.
"However, many prestigious schools such as the Stanford Graduate School of Business do not insist on work experience. They are happy to select very bright young freshers from India, who they feel will bring diversity into the classrooms,” she adds.
"Most Indian students have some full-time work experience beyond their UG studies. Very few apply directly from an UG level,” says Anika Davis Pratt, assistant dean, MBA admissions at New York University’s Stern School of Business, which had about 10% Indian applicants for it’s full-time MBA last year.
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Roughly 5% of students in the first year incoming MBA class at Stern (identified by citizenship only, not including Indians who are US citizens or permanent residents) were from India. At Duke University’s Fuqua business school, too, most Indians in an MBA have at least two years of work experience. “There are 90 Indian students in the Duke MBA. This represents approximately 10% of our student population,” says Fuqua’s assistant dean of daytime MBA programmes Liz Riley Hargrove.
Not surprisingly, MBA courses seem to be providing the biggest numbers when it comes to Indian students in the US. "The number of Indians applying for an MBA overseas is up by over 100% in the last couple of years. Earlier, technology courses used to be on top,” says Mumbai-based education consultant Karan Gupta.
The QS Applicants Survey found that about 40% of Indian MBA applicants were from the IT sector, and only 18% said they wanted to continue in the same industry after an MBA. Further, a large percentage of IT students going overseas for an MBA were likely to switch to consulting, banking and financial services jobs. “Most business school applicants from India in the US have at least three years work experience these days. There has been a decline in the number of Indians applying straight after graduation for an MBA. People are beginning to feel they need work experience in order to apply for an MBA at a premier school. BBA courses, on the other hand, have not seen a significant growth as compared to the MBA courses,” Mr Gupta says.
Cynthia D Shum, assistant director of international admissions and student recruitment at California State University, San Bernardino, too feels that a couple of years of work experience is more common for Indian applicants. “Most of our international applicants have a few years of work experience. In the US, however, students usually apply for an MBA straight after their graduate courses. Our university, however, doesn’t make it mandatory for them to have work experience,” she says.
Similarly, many other colleges are also finding more Indian students putting in a couple of years of work before applying for an MBA. “Students from India in our MBA courses often have a couple of years work experience in diverse industries and sectors. Courses such as the MBA/MA in international affairs are very popular and draw students from India with work experience in a big range of sectors,” says Sonja Steinbrech, assistant director of graduate admissions and marketing, school of international service at American University in Washington DC.
A reason for Indian students to cheer is that financial aid and scholarships are now available for MBA courses at many US institutions. “Often, waivers, freeships and scholarships depend on the merit of the student and are decided on a case to case basis. The profile of the applicant, GMAT scores, business essays, the job profile and responsibilities held during employment are all factors that could help students in getting financial aid,” says Ms Das.
"All of NYU Stern’s admitted students are considered for merit awards. Applicants must meet our first round deadline of November 15 to be considered for merit awards,” says Ms Davis Pratt. Others, such as the Duke MBA, have an automatic review process for merit-based scholarships.
"All admitted students are reviewed for merit based awards regardless of citizenship. Each year about one-third of the entering class will receive some type of merit-based aid. The awards range from 1/4 of tuition up to full tuition. As funds are awarded on a first come, first served basis, applicants should apply for admission no later than our round two application deadline. There is no separate application required for merit based awards,” says Ms Riley Hargrove.
The Fuqua School of Business, in partnership with Sallie Mae Service Corporation, has also established the expanded MBA loan programme to make loans available to all international students in equal dollar amounts to what domestic students can borrow. For this, international students don’t require a US citizen sponsor. They can apply for funds equal to the total cost of attendance for the academic year. This amount may be increased for approved miscellaneous expenses.
Increasingly, well-known Ivy League business schools offer scholarships ranging between 10% to 100% of tuition fees to Indian students. “They want to target the best students and hence offer lots of incentives to bring them to their campus. There is also tremendous competition between business schools now,” says Mr Gupta.
The fact that the bridge year requirement — whereby Indian students with a three year bachelors degree had to put in an extra year for their MBA — is being relaxed, is also a cause for relief to Indian students. While the relaxation is often done on a case to case basis, more and more colleges are recognising both 15 and 16 year education systems (10 +2+3 & 10+2+4) to get bright international students into their campuses. “All three-year bachelor’s degrees from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are sufficient to apply for our MBA courses,” says Ms Davis Pratt.
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