Thinking of going to school abroad?  You’re not alone! Applications are up sharply at European B-schools, according to Business Week. It’s part of an upward trend worldwide, but the increase is particularly high in Europe, where many institutions say apps are up 10 percent or more. The Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in Belgium has doubled its class in the past year, while Switzerland’s St. Gallen has grown its part-time program 100 percent. The trend is also ramping up competition in many places–Westminster Business School, in the UK, has had to wait-list full-time MBA candidates for the first time in the school’s history.

The piece attributes the growth largely to career changers and young people looking for a recession safe haven that will bolster their resume. European schools are also increasingly attractive to international students who plan to return, thanks to easier visa requirements and widely dispersed alumni networks.

If you’re in the market for an international GMAT course, check out our new London offerings, as well as our Live Online classes. And if you just want to take a trip to Europe, the dollar’s getting stronger, so a Big Mac will only be $8 or so.

We’ve all heard various things about getting into business school. Is it true that only quant types get into Wharton and marketing types into Kellogg? Do alumni recommendations matter more than others? Is the third round really the dead zone in terms of getting into a selective school?

Well, if you want to know the real scoop on these and other issues, our admissions consulting partner mbaMission is holding Mythbusters events in Boston and Philadelphia next Thursday, March 18th, and online on March 23rd! All events are free and conducted by an experienced Admissions Consultant from mbaMission. Thanks to them for dispelling MBA Admissions myths everywhere!

Businessweek recently hosted a chat with admissions officers from Kellogg, one of the most popular business schools for our students. We thought we’d pass the link along, as it’s always great to get insight directly from the people who will be reading applications. (Also, they mention that they just care about your highest GMAT score, so don’t fret if you didn’t knock it out of the park the first time!)

The New York Times blog, “Bucks”, recently published two in-depth articles about a recent court ruling that has made MBA tuition tax deductible provided that you can prove that an MBA can enhance your career. There are some subtleties to the ruling; for example, you cannot deduct the cost of your MBA if you use it to switch careers and in some cases, you might have to provide written proof that the specific classes you took to earn your MBA are directly relevant to your established career. It’s worth giving both articles a full and thorough read, as this new ruling has the potential to save you a significant sum of money.

New York Times: When You Can Deduct the Cost of Your M.B.A.

New York Times: More on M.B.A. Tuition Reductions

If you live in DC, LA, or Chicago, we invite you to attend a Long Term Planning workshop led by our friends at mbaMission this Thursday, January 28th. The workshop will teach you how to create an admissions timeline, accelerate your personal goals, and weigh the differences between various MBA programs, along with other useful tips. We’re very excited to be able to host these events for our community. Keep in mind, however, that while these events are free, space is limited, so select your location below and register today!

For those of you who do not live in the cities above or who miss the event, mbaMission will be running more Long Term Planning Workshops in the coming weeks. Two will take place online, one in Philadelphia, and one in New York. View our full schedule of events to register.

Thanks to mbaMission for putting these events on!

From the Wall Street Journal, Bschool tuition apparently was tax-deductible for at least one MBA student.  Whether this changes the scenario for MBA students everywhere is still open to question.

The New York Times recently published a very widely read article about how some business schools (Stanford among them) are looking to provide more broad-based training concerning how to synthesize and address complex issues as opposed to more functional skills such as finance or accounting (the University of Chicago is presented as representing more of a traditional MBA program).  Yet another reason to home in on what sort of business education you want for yourself, as prominent business schools are beginning to diverge in terms of educational philosophy and curricula.

The New York Times has a very interesting discussion up of whether MBA students should be considered ‘customers’ (i.e. have their input/feedback taken as gospel) as opposed to students.  The debate is based upon a recent Chicago Tribune article about the same topic.

It might be a good idea to decide yourself how you feel about this, and perhaps apply to schools that agree with you!

Our good friends at mbaMission, one of the top Admissions Consulting firms anywhere, are generously hosting a free online event on Thursday night, December 10th, at 8:30 EST.  Jeremy Shinewald, the Founder and President of mbaMission, will discuss what you can do to help yourself if you’re applying for Business School next year.  After all, you have 10 months or so.  What should you prioritize?  What should you do first? For answers to these questions and others, go ahead and register.

Thanks to Jeremy for hosting the event!

Looking for advice on evaluating your practice exams? Be sure to check out this article too.

First Steps

If you are just beginning to look into the GMAT, we recommend reading through The GMAT Uncovered before continuing. The same information can be obtained by attending our in-person or Live Online GMAT Open House Sessions. You can read more about these programs here.

If you feel like you have a good understanding of the exam, then it’s time to take a practice test! Until you’ve taken a full practice GMAT, there’s no way of knowing exactly how much you need to prepare for the exam. Fortunately, ManahttanGMAT makes this easy by offering a free computer adaptive exam that will serve as a useful diagnostic tool. Before you continue to structure your prep program, it is important to take a full exam. Additionally, in the scope of your business school application, it’s important to know the average GMAT score of the schools you are applying to. Here is a list of the top business school programs and their associated GMAT scores to get you started.

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