Why More Americans Are Heading To Europe For Their MBAs

A generation of American artists, writers and doctors headed to Paris for inspiration during La Belle Epoque. Hollywood film stars flocked to post-war Rome in search of the La Dolce Vita. And Wall Street bankers made London their second home as the Big Bang deregulation of the 80s and 90s transformed London into a center of global finance.

Now, as my CentreCourt colleague Matt Symonds points out, there is a fresh generation of Americans heading to Europe in search of personal and professional development. They want to go to business school, and see the shorter, internationally diverse MBA programs of the old continent as an increasingly attractive alternative for their resumes and bank balances.

The GMAC Prospective Students Survey 2018 already captures the declining appeal of a US business school education among international students. Less than half (47%) of those surveyed stated a preference to study in the U.S., down from 56% in 2016 (see Four Reasons Why There Are Fewer MBA Applicants In The Pipeline).

‘A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN INTEREST FOR THE TOP EUROPEAN SCHOOLS FROM THE U.S. MARKET’

Among the same group over the same period, those preferring to head to a European business school has increased from 26% to 33%. But it is not just applicants from Asia, Latin American, the Middle East and Africa that are thinking twice about U.S. study plans.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in interest for the top European schools from the U.S. market over the last eighteen months,” explains Caroline Diarte Edwards, co-director of Fortuna Admissions and former Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at INSEAD. “While the rest of the world has reacted to a changing political climate and concerns about visa opportunities in the U.S., a growing number of American applicants are looking to enhance both their personal and professional development with a more affordable international study experience.

Diarte Edwards points to the ROI of the one-year MBA that is underlined in the most recent Forbes ranking. “While it takes Harvard Business School students 4 years on average to pay back their investment, the thirteen European schools in the one-year ranking had a pay back that ranged from 2.2 years to 3.2 years.”

HEC PARIS SAW A 21% INCREASE IN U.S. DEMAND LAST YEAR

Nine of the top ten European business schools take part in the CentreCourt MBA Festival, which through September 2018 brings together 34 of the world’s top 40 business schools to meet with MBA applicants in cities across the US and Canada. All of them are reporting a sharp increase in demand from the U.S.

Benoit Banchereau, director of MBA admissions at HEC Paris believes that the personalized approach to candidate outreach at CentreCourt and other networking events has really made it’s mark with applicants who might feel like just another applicant among the thousands applying to the big U.S. business schools. “The small size of our MBA cohort, limited to 250 students, guarantees a personalized learning experience that prioritizes each individual and their unique goals. But that tailored approach starts with the first connection with our team, and the opportunity to receive feedback and a preliminary evaluation to help you on your MBA journey.”

HEC Paris saw a 21% increase in U.S. demand in 2017, and the trend has continued with a 16% increase in applications in the first six months of 2018. For Banchereau the idea of studying at one of the top 5 European schools is on the radar screen of those who were unable to secure a place at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and other M7 schools, but want an MBA from a globally recognized institution.

AFTER A 35% RISE IN U.S. APPLICATIONS AT INSEAD 18 MONTHS AGO, U.S. CANDIDATE VOLUME REMAINS STRONG

“When U.S. applicants look at the advantages of graduating from HEC Paris, which has ranked #1 or #2 in the Financial Times’ European Business School ranking since the ranking began in 2005, they start to realize that they can transform their career in just 16 months and take advantage of HEC Paris’ privileged access to top companies in Europe and worldwide.”

Down the road at INSEAD, interest for the MBA from Americans and from applicants of other origins based in the U.S. continues to be strong. U.S. News reported a 35% growth in U.S. applications to the school 18 months ago, and MBA Admissions Director Virginie Fougea confirms, “We had an increase a year and a half ago and volumes have remained at a significant level.”

In the INSEAD classes of 2018, Americans represent 8%, closely following the Indians, who are at 9% and preceding the Chinese, French, Spanish, Canadians and Brazilians, who are all between 5% and 6%.

APPLICATIONS FROM AMERICANS TO SPAIN’S IE BUSINESS SCHOOL UP 17% 

“Profiles of applicants from the U.S. are very diverse and of good quality,” says Fougea. “In addition, they all have in common the willingness to be part of a global and international network. Some of them have gained varied multi-cultural experiences within the US, others have worked for multinational companies with colleagues from diverse backgrounds.”

It is a similar story at IE Business School in Madrid, which over the past three years has experienced constant growth in applications for the IMBA from the U.S. “For the Fall 2018 intake applications submitted are almost 17% up compared the same period last year,” says Deise Klein Leobet, International Development Director for North America.

So what are the reasons behind the increase? Klein Loebet believes that more and more U.S. MBA candidates are realizing the value added of going abroad for their graduate business studies, especially if they already hold a degree from an American university. “An MBA is and should be more than just a degree. It’s a life changing experience for most students and the fact that they are abroad gives them the opportunity to grow in so many additional ways. Being exposed to different cultures – European MBAs are among the most diverse worldwide – the opportunity of mastering a foreign language, and also being challenged to see problems and find solutions using different decision-making lenses are definitely triggering the interest in going abroad for the MBA in the U.S.”

GLOBAL CITIES LIKE LONDON, PARIS & MADRID ARE PART OF THE APPEAL

Based on her experience working with recruiters from top U.S. companies, Deise also confirms that having an MBA from abroad often puts candidates in a privileged situation compared to the ones that hold a degree from a domestic school. “Recruiters more and more value international experience and cultural literacy as part of the skillset they seek in their future employees.”

Global cities like London and Paris are also part of the appeal, and are home to world-leading Cities like London and Paris, where world-leading companies are based mean opportunities for career progression and change. “London is not only one of the top financial centers in the world, but fast becoming one of the most important technology hubs,” explains Phil Carter, Head of Programmes Recruitment at Imperial College Business School. “Being a part of one of the leading universities for engineering, science and technology, on a par with MIT and Stanford, means that you are surrounded by innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. In London there are investors, employers, and multiple opportunities to network on your doorstep.”

For Alison Lane, who relocated from New York to join the Imperial MBA, the London network events organized by the school were a great place to start the next stages of her career. “I met an alumnus who connected me with another alumnae in his class, who in turn put me in touch with a contact from a large firm. Now they’re the number one company that I want to work for.”

NO BREXIT BLUES AT TOP U.K. SCHOOLS

There are no Brexit Blues for other top U.K. schools, including the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. “We have a strong brand here in the U.S.,” says Amy Philpot, Head of MBA Recruitment and Admissions. “Although the market for MBAs is declining generally in the U.S., it seems the market for overseas MBAs is buoyant for us. We have a number of concentrations that have resonated with American applicants, and have candidates coming with an interest in Arts, Energy, and Healthcare. The much more diverse international intake and one year program appeal to those who want to have an intense learning experience and get back into the market again with a fresh, genuinely global perspective.”

The return to the job market is foremost in the minds of many MBA applicants, and improving economic conditions in Europe are helping to drive regional demand. “85% of our international students stay in Europe after they graduate,” confirms Brandon Kirby, Director of Admissions at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). Graduates can apply for a ‘job’seeker’s’ visa, which allows them to stay in the Netherlands for one year post-MBA while searching for a job. “So we have a very strong success rate of being able to place graduates from around the world in the Netherlands and also in other European countries as well.”

But a growing number of applicants are also looking for a sense of purpose to their next career steps, and RSM is a pioneering example of a European perspective that revolves around the role that business schools and their students play in society. As part of a mission to be a force for positive change in the world, the school is integrating the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified by the United Nations into the MBA curriculum.

“We still firmly believe businesses need to make decent profits to survive,” says the Dean of RSM, Steef van de Velde. “But we are in a part of the world, where the stakeholder is more important than the shareholder. Everyone pays huge taxes and has a base income. The stakeholder’s value is important. The main goal of life here isn’t to be very rich, it’s to be happy.”

Happiness and a force for positive change? Compelling reasons for any prospective MBA to consider Europe.