Admissions Advice for Foreign B-School Applicants

Visa hurdles, financing woes, and a weak labor market have made it tough for foreign MBA applicants. Clear Admit's Graham Richmond sorts it all out

There is no denying that international MBA applicants and students face tougher challenges than ever before if they want to study or work in the U.S. From visas to co-signer required loans, enrolling in a U.S. business school and sticking around after graduation seem more formidable than getting through the admissions process. But there is hope, says Graham Richmond, co-founder and CEO of the admissions consulting firm Clear Admit, who spent two weeks speaking with admissions directors at several top-10 U.S. business schools about the international application volume, visa, and loan situations.

Things have changed in the last six months since the peak of the economic crisis, wrote Richmond at the start of a recent BusinessWeek chat. "The good news is that today's news is much more positive than the headlines of this winter for loans, student visas, and post-MBA employment visas," he said. Richmond went on to field questions from the audience and BusinessWeek reporter Francesca Di Meglio. Here is an edited transcript of their conversation:

FrancescaBW: We have a couple questions from those who could not join us today. Here is the first: "I am a software professional from India. What are the scholarships and loans available for international students after getting admission to Harvard Business School (Harvard Full-Time MBA School Profile)?"

GrahamRichmond: There are a number of opportunities for international students admitted to HBS. First, the school offers a fair amount of scholarship dollars to many of its admits. Beyond that, on Apr. 15, Harvard University announced a new partnership with the Harvard University Credit Union to provide private educational loans that don't require a U.S. co-signer to its international students, including MBA students at HBS. Here's the URL for information on HBS's loan offering: http://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/creditunionloans.html

FrancescaBW: How much can an international student expect from scholarships?

GrahamRichmond: The top programs I spoke with mentioned that they don't typically treat international applicants much differently than domestics when it comes to scholarship dollars. In fact, one program in particular stated that they have been working to offer more scholarship packages to admitted internationals in an effort to help them matriculate.

FrancescaBW: Yes, but isn't it difficult to get scholarship money for graduate business school?

GrahamRichmond: Of course, MBA programs typically offer less "free money" than PhD programs and other non-professional graduate degrees. The reason is that the starting salaries for MBA graduates are typically more than ample when it comes to paying off tuition loans. But my point was merely that of the scholarship dollars that are out there, the schools are giving them to both domestic and internationals.

On a related note, keep in mind that any international who graduates from a U.S. MBA program can work in the U.S. for one year under the OPT [Optional Practical Training] laws.

FrancescaBW: Here's another question from someone who couldn't join us: "I graduated in December 2007 and have been working in the U.S. for the past one and a half years. I am planning to go back to business school for my MBA in 2013, which will put me in the Class of 2015. I want to get a sense of whether companies' policies regarding H-1B will relax as these challenging years go by or will it just get tougher?

GrahamRichmond: Well, one actual benefit of the economic slowdown is that the allotment of H-1B visas was not exhausted in April 2009 (H-1B visas operate on an April-April year), which makes it easier for employers to hire and sponsor international applicants. I would expect this to continue given the relatively slow pace of recovery. Further, a large number of TARP-financed firms have returned the funds to the government and are once again free to hire internationals.

Business Exchange

Track and share business topics across the Web.