美国商学院加大海外招生力度

U.S. business Schools, faced with a decline in applications from overseas, are stepping up international recruiting efforts to preserve what they say is an essential component of an institution's credibility.

Improved schools abroad, tougher employment prospects in the U.S., and the expense of attending an American school have led to fewer foreign applications at many programs, officials at several business schools say.

Overall, international enrollment at U.S. business schools dropped to 24.8% in the 2009-10 school year, down from 26.5% two years prior, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, an accrediting body.

International enrollments have generally remained steady or increased at top schools, such as Harvard Business School and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Harder hit are lesser-known schools.

At the University of Washington's Foster School of Business, international enrollment is just 16% for the class of 2012, its lowest in more than a decade.

U.S. schools seek high international enrollment because it helps boost the prestige and global credibility of their programs. An international student body helps recruiters portray the school as sophisticated and diverse, and it gives students the opportunity to cultivate overseas contacts.

Only 60% of international students' Graduate Management Admission Test reports now go to U.S. schools, down from three-quarters a decade ago. One reason is increasing competition from Asian schools, such as China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, Nanyang Business School in Singapore and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The Foster School's international applications have fallen since 2007, particularly those from Korea and Japan, where companies have often sent employees overseas to full-time M.B.A. programs, says Dan Poston, assistant dean for master's programs. Mr. Poston cited the global downturn, as well as the school's shrunken endowment for scholarships, as reasons for the decline.

The international enrollment decline has potential to hit the business school's finances.

International students, like all out-of-state students, pay a higher tuition -- $37,419 this year -- than in-state students, who pay $25,101.

In an effort to bolster recruiting in Korea and Japan, the school is sending admissions officers on as many as six trips for its executive-education programs next year, up from two last year. The school has also added recruiting events in three Indian cities: Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi.

It has budgeted more than $26,000 for the efforts next year, including additional trips to send career-services employees to interview promising applicants in person.

At Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management, 35% of applicants for the class of 2012 came from outside the U.S. That's down from 39% for the class of 2008.

John Roeder, Owen's director of admissions, says it has become harder for international students to find a job in the U.S. after graduation, and that has deterred some of them from applying to U.S. schools.

Adeline Chong, a first-year M.B.A. student at CEIBS in Shanghai, says she considered New York University's Stern School of Business, Columbia University Business School and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

But the bad job market in the U.S. convinced the Singapore native she would be better off elsewhere.

'When I began applying to business school, I had to consider the economic climate in the United States,' says Ms. Chong, 30 years old. 'I wondered how fast I would be able to get a job.'

Ms. Chong says she wants to pursue a career in telecommunications mergers and acquisitions, and plans to stay in Asia for at least a few years after graduating.

Owen last year began sending U.S.-based international alumni back to their home countries to meet with potential applicants. So far, they have sent four alumni to countries including Russia, Peru and Germany; it has budgeted about $10,000 a year for the effort.

While there, the alumni conduct presentations for groups of potential applicants. The school has also selected eleven other alumni in countries including Japan, Korea and India to represent the school at recruiting fairs.面临海外留学申请减少的美国商学院正在加大国际招生工作力度，以维持他们所说的院校信誉的核心要素。

几家商学院的管理人员称，国外商学院教学质量的提高、日趋严峻的美国就业前景，以及美国商学院高昂的学费导致许多商学院收到的外国留学申请都有所减少。

根据认证机构国际精英商学院协会（the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business）公布的数据，从整体上看，美国商学院的留学生报名率已从两年前的26.5%降低到2009-2010学年的24.8%。

一流商学院的留学生报名率通常会保持稳定或逐渐增加，例如哈佛商学院（Harvard Business School）和宾夕法尼亚大学（University of Pennsylvania）沃顿商学院（Wharton School）。受打击较大的是那些不那么出名的商学院。

华盛顿大学（University of Washington）福斯特商学院（Foster School of Business）2012年的留学生报名率只有16%，这是十多年来的最低值。

美国商学院追求高留学生报名率，因为这有助于提高其课程的声望和全球信誉。有了国际化的学生群体，招生人员可以向人们展示商学院高水平和多元化的形象，这同时也给了学生们提供培养海外关系的机会。

现在，只有60%的留学生的GMAT成绩单报往美国商学院，比十年前的3/4下跌了不少。一个原因是来自亚洲商学院的竞争增加了，比如上海的中欧国际工商学院（China Europe International Business School）、新加坡的南洋商学院（Nanyang Business School）和香港科技大学（Hong Kong University of Science and Technology）。

福斯特商学院负责硕士课程的院长助理波斯顿（Dan Poston）称，福斯特商学院收到的留学申请自2007年以来开始下降，尤其是来自韩国和日本的留学申请，这两个国家的企业经常会将员工送往海外就读全日制MBA课程。波斯顿谈到留学申请下降的原因时，提到了全球经济衰退，也提到了该院捐赠奖学金的减少。

留学生报名率下降有可能使美国商学院的财务状况遭受重创。

像所有外州学生一样，留学生要比本州岛学生支付更高的学费──今年该商学院留学生的学费为37,419美元，而本州岛学生的学费为25,101美元。

为了改善在韩国和日本的招生情况，该商学院明年将分六次派出招生人员前往这些国家进行高管培训班招生，而去年只派出了两次。该商学院还在班加罗尔、孟买和德里这三座印度城市增加了招生活动。

明年该商学院的这项工作预算超过26,000美元，包括派出就业指导服务人员面试有希望的申请人所增加的差旅费。

2012年，申请就读范德比尔特大学（Vanderbilt University）欧文管理学院（Owen Graduate School of Management）的人中有35%来自美国以外的国家，和2008年的39%相比有所下降。

欧文管理学院的招生总监罗德（John Roeder）称，留学生毕业后在美国找工作变得更加困难，这也导致某些留学生不再申请美国商学院。

30岁的艾德琳·庄（Adeline Chong）是上海中欧国际工商学院（CEIBS）的一年级MBA学生，她说她考虑过纽约大学（New York University）斯特恩商学院（Stern School of Business）、哥伦比亚大学商学院（Columbia University Business School）和芝加哥大学（Columbia University）布斯商学院（Booth School of Business）。

但美国糟糕的就业市场让这位新加坡学生确信去其它地方上学会更好。

庄说，当我开始申请商学院时，我必须考虑美国的经济环境。我不知道自己多快能找到工作。

庄说，她希望找一份电信业并购的工作，并计划毕业后至少在亚洲待上几年。

欧文管理学院去年开始安排在美国工作的留学生校友回母国与有意申请者见面。迄今为止，他们已安排了4位校友前往俄罗斯、秘鲁和德国等国家。这项工作的预算约为每年10,000美元。

在这些国家，这些校友对有意申请者们发表了演讲。该商学院还选出另外11位日本、韩国和印度等国的校友代表该商学院参与招生活动。