Drop in Kelley MBA applications reflects national trend

Applications to the IU Kelley School of Business MBA program are down 30 percent this year, reflecting a national trend toward decreased interest in the MBA degree, said Terrill Cosgray, director of the MBA Program at the Kelley School of Business.\nA recent application trends survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council found that traditional full-time, two-year programs have seen the most declines in application volume. Seventy--eight percent of the programs reported a decline in application volume from last year. Only 48 percent of part-time programs had fewer applicants.\nThe business school has earned "the distinction of being one of the foremost graduate business schools in the nation," Director of Admissions and Financial Aid James Holmen said in a letter on the Kelley School of Business Web site.\nDespite this honor, the school was not immune to the national trend.\n"We knew going into this application cycle that it would be a difficult year," Cosgray said. "We heard about the declines in applications from business colleges at other schools."\nAfter extreme increases in applications a few years ago, Cosgray said the drop is not a surprise.\n"People are reluctant to leave jobs at a time when the U.S economy is experiencing shifts," Cosgray said. "Recently MBA students have been facing fewer job offers than in years before. A few years ago it was a job seeker's market. Students could get five or six offers before graduation. Now it is a job hunter's market. People are only getting one or two offers and they are coming at around graduation time."\nIU-Bloomington had about 1,300 applicants this year and accepted about 200.\nAt the program's high point in 2001, the number reached 2,300 applicants. Cosgray attributed the decline to the lengthy downturn in the U.S economy.\n"One of the great things about this bad news is that the quality of the applicants are actually better than last year," Cosgray said. "Quality is not being compromised despite the decrease in applications."\nAccording to the applications trends survey, applications among international students fell more sharply than applications among domestic students.\n"This is not just associated with the state of the U.S economy," Cosgray said. "There are other things in play. People are telling us that they don't see the U.S, given world politics at the moment, as a friendly place. Also, many people are saying they do not want to be associated with U.S politics. This is the first time in my experience that I have seen this sentiment come through."\nAccording to GMAC's Global MBA Graduate Survey of 2004, international MBA graduate students chose to study in the United States because they would have better career opportunities in another country, the quality of the education is better than in their own country, the value of the international degree is higher than one from their own country and international education would broaden their international and cultural experience.\nCosgray said it is possible that the better economic conditions in China and India are making more jobs available to potential international applicants from those countries.\nDespite the declines, Cosgray said the MBA program is not worried to the point of implementing new recruiting programs.\n"We have always had a very active admissions recruiting policy," Cosgray said. "We have a lot of personal contact with people. The most effective strategy is a one-on-one interaction. We do a lot of relationship building with respect to prospective students."\n-- Contact staff writer Karen Yancey at kaeyance@indiana.edu.