Fewer People Are Applying to U.S. Business Schools

Over the past year, demand for a business school education has fallen in the U.S. A recent survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council reveals that about 10,000 fewer people applied to U.S. graduate business programs starting in 2018 than in 2017, with the most significant drop coming from international students.Among the 405 U.S. graduate business schools that participated in that survey, the total number of applications submitted to these schools was 6.6 percent less for their 2018 programs than their 2017 programs. In contrast, the number of applicants to graduate business programs outside the U.S. increased between 2017 and 2018, rising 8.8 percent at Asian programs, 7.7 percent at Canadian programs and 3.2 percent at European programs.Of the 400 U.S. graduate business programs that reported how many domestic and international applications they received, the total number of international applications collectively was 10.5 percent lower than it had been the year before. Domestic applications to these institutions also lessened, but to a less dramatic extent: a reduction of 1.8 percent.Bill Boulding, the dean of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and chairman of the board of directors at the Graduate Management Admission Council, says one noteworthy aspect of this drop in application volume is that it has not only affected mid-ranked B-schools, but also top-ranked B-schools.