An International Education

That’s how David Wilson, president and CEO at the McLean, Virginia–based Graduate Management Admission Council, describes the climate U.S. business schools have endured over the last six years. “The dot-com bubble had burst, 9/11 hit, and then we slumped into a recession,” Wilson says. “People weren’t thinking about getting their MBA at that point.”

Wilson, whose organization administers the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) used by more than 1,700 business schools, says the number of MBA applicants declined significantly between 2002 and 2004 in the United States. More than 162,000 GMATs were taken in 2002; by 2004 there were about 25,000 fewer test-takers.

"MBA programs need to be taught with more outside perspective, perhaps by a more diverse staff of internationally experienced faculty."

A similar pattern emerged internationally, and between 2002 and 2004, about 46,000 fewer GMATs were taken by MBA candidates worldwide. The number of MBA applicants looking to study at U.S. schools also waned during that time. Tightened national security made student visas increasingly difficult to obtain for many international students.

Indeed, the business-education landscape of 2006 has been permanently altered by the past few years. The cultural, political, and financial fallout of many major world events, including the war in Iraq and ongoing terrorist threats, has had lasting effects on business schools around the globe. In addition to the GMAT applicant slump and the U.S. government–imposed student-visa restrictions, other inopportune factors include increasing anti-U.S. sentiment in some countries, the far-reaching effects of ethics scandals at major U.S. corporations, and competition from foreign business schools.