A new article posted yesterday on asia.nikkei.com acknowledges what we have been seeing here at ARINGO since the last US elections.

More and more Asian applicants are choosing to apply to Asian business schools as oppose to applying to the traditional top ranked US MBA programs.
New data released by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is showing the exact same trend. The majority of all U.S. full-time two-year MBA programs have seen a drop in application numbers from international candidates this year, while 74% of full-time MBA programs in the Asia-Pacific region reported an increase in applications as of March this year in comparison to last year. These changes can be explained by U.S. President Donald Trump’s new immigration policies, which has tightened rules on work visas and is expected to continue doing so. Among international applications at US MBA programs, Applicants from India represent one of the largest application groups, and according to GMAC, 8 from 10 candidates from India say the ability to obtain a work visa after completing their education is a “very important” consideration.

Another reason for this change is the fact that business programs in Asia are improving, becoming more international and climbing up the rankings; Business schools in Asia have improved their standards by forging close links with top universities in the U.S. and Europe, offering courses in English, expanding their range of full-time and part-time programs, and receiving accreditation for their programs by international bodies. The US MBA tuition and cost of living remain much higher than in the Asian universities which is also a big factor supporting this trend.