EE business schools are concerned about the loss of students due to the xenophobic wave and the obstacles to visasEE business schools are concerned about the loss of students due to the xenophobic wave and the obstacles to visas
The students do not like Donald Trump. And if they are from outside the United States, still less. They have left it patent, regardless of studying in that country. 75% of American business schools have seen how requests by foreigners to pursue their flagship program, the master in business administration or MBA for two years, suffered a clear setback. In the case of the one-year MBA, the drop was registered in half of the institutions. These are data from GMAC, the organization in charge of managing the compulsory examinations to enter the world's management schools, for the course that has just concluded (2017-2018).
In the rest of the master's degrees to which more foreign students traditionally attend (finance, technology and accounting), the decreases have also affected more than half of the training centers. "Recent political events may provide clues to the decline in demand," the institution said.
And although official education statistics still do not reflect these falls (the latest available correspond to the 2016-2017 academic year), those of study visas have shown a decrease of 17% in 2017. Not only that. American business schools recognize the cut. "There are decreases of up to 20% in the visas of foreign students," admits Mauro Guillén, director of The Lauder Institute at Wharton School. "Decreases that have to do with the fear of the xenophobic wave captained by the president of the United States and also with the obstacles to get a work visa once the MBA is over."
Carlos Murrieta, of Mexican origin and general director of Pemex Transformación Industrial, has decided to continue with his MBA in Spain. But the United States was his first choice when a year ago he began preparing his application process to three prestigious centers: Georgetown, Foster School of Business and Chicago Booth. Then began the threats of the North American president to North Korea, explains Murrieta by telephone from South Korea, a warlike tension that made that the executive made him change his mind and look towards Europe. "It influenced my decision to get to know other European schools." In Mexico, it is natural to go to the United States to receive postgraduate training, although more and more it tends to Europe for the quality of life and openness of its countries. The Mexicans in the United States do not seem to end, "he says. Mexico, but also Brazil or Peru have stopped exporting many students there for the benefit of Europe and Canada.
And, in fact, the migration policy of the most powerful country in the world has no sign of becoming more flexible. Different to. Therefore, international students continue without this destination to train in business administration. Also facing the academic year 2018-2019. A situation that impacts less in the big schools, Guillén appreciates, "although if the trend continues they could be affected", he predicts. Do not forget that international students contribute some 39,000 million dollars to the economy of the country.
The specialized publication in business schools Poets & Quants has compiled the latest data on next year. And insist on this fall. With the exception of the five leaders (Harvard, Stanford, Chicago Booth, Wharton and Tuck School of Business), most of the top 25 management training centers have fallen, especially the Stern School of Business (New York University), which loses almost 10 percentage points. and Columbia Business School, which ranges from 48% to 43% of foreigners in their classrooms. Of the next 30 in the ranking, 19 have reduced their international students, especially Mays (University of Texas), which has lost 40%, or the Terry College of Business (University of Georgia), where they fall by 32%.
, India and Mexico are, for now, the countries that are most reluctant to send students to the United States, but restrictions on visas, says Josep Franch, dean of the Spanish Esade Business School, will affect the recruitment of students from the great American schools in markets like Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Sudan ... And the second derivative, he continues, will be the difficulties of hiring graduates with foreign visas to work in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.
Opportunity for Canada
American business schools are very concerned about the situation created by Donald Trump, Franch adds. The work options for international students are decreasing and the main competitors of the best business schools, London, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona ... are taking advantage of this anti-immigration wave. "Canada is also taking advantage. It is a golden opportunity to attract global talent, "says the director of The Lauder Institute.
