New International Loan Program at Chicago Booth

International business school applicants received more good news last week, when the University of Chicago Booth School of Business announced a new loan program for international students. Launched in partnership with JPMorgan Chase, the program will give these students access to private educational loans without requiring a co-signer.

Under the terms of the new deal, JPMorgan Chase will provide financing to qualified international students for amounts up to the total cost of attendance, minus any financial aid received. Exact terms will be announced later this spring, when students will receive more information on the program.

"Almost 20 percent of our students are from abroad, and they add a great deal of intellectual vibrancy and cultural richness throughout the University and our community," said Kimberly Goff-Crews, Vice-President for Campus Life and Dean of Students, in a release on the school's site. "We have focused our attention on finding loan programs that will meet the needs of this important segment of our student body."

For more advice on applying to Chicago Booth, visit the Veritas Prep Chicago Booth information page, or follow us on Twitter!.

Five Things to Consider When Choosing a Business School

Last week the Bay Area's Contra Costa Times turned to Veritas Prep for insights on what the value of an MBA is in the current economic climate. In the article, we provided some advice for applicants as they choose which business schools they want to attend. As we always do, we stressed that an applicant must look at so many things beyond just rankings when choosing an MBA program.

Adapted from the article, here are five questions you should ask when evaluating how well you fit a certain business school, and how well that school fits you:

• What employers recruit from the school? If you want to switch careers and get a job in banking, but no investment firms recruit at the school, then don't expect your post-MBA job search to be easy.


• How far do the school's reputation and alumni network reach? Many schools provide an excellent education, but only have a regionally strong brand. If you want to get a new job in another part of the world after school, this may make it harder to do.


• What type of programs does it offer? Most business schools offer a full-time, two-year program. If this may not fit your schedule or you don't want to quit your job, see if they offer part-time programs that allow you to work and study at the same time.


• What are its academic specialties? Is the school strongest in one specialty, such as finance or marketing? Or is it a more general management-oriented program? Make sure this strength matches what you want to focus on in school.


• How much will the school cost you? Obviously, half of the return on investment equation is the size of investment itself. If a school offers you a significant grant or your employer will cover the cost of the program, that may tip the scales in that school's favor.

These are only a handful of things to consider, but they are all important questions you need to be able to answer for every school to which you plan to apply.

For more advice on choosing a business school, talk to Veritas Prep's MBA admissions experts, and follow us on Twitter!

European MBA Programs Attract More Americans

Given the turmoil on Wall Street and the overall soft job market in the U.S., it's not surprising that many international applicants have decided not to come to the U.S. to pursue an MBA this year. Even more interesting, however, is that apparently many Americans also also now considering earning their MBAs abroad.

An article in last week's Wall Street Journal describes the trend of more and more Americans deciding to go abroad for their MBA programs. Not only do schools such as INSEAD and IMD provide Americans with an opportunity to broaden their international exposure, but they also offer a nice sort of career diversification in that they tend to attract a more diverse array of corporate recruiters than do most American programs.

According to the WSJ article, at some top European schools, only about 20% of the graduating class lands in finance, compared with up to 60% at some U.S. schools. While this has traditionally been a weakness for European schools in attracting top talent that wants to pursue high-paying jobs, in today's climate it's one reason why more American than ever have sought out these programs.

Another advantage that many European schools offer is that their programs are shorter than most American schools' programs, which, among other things, means that they can be significantly less expensive. While we tend to discourage applicants from choosing based on costs alone, this often significant difference can be hard for someone to ignore when they're still paying off old student loans and are about to leave their job to take on even more debt.

The European business schools aren't content to just let Americans beat a path to their doors -- they've made a point of aggressively reaching out to U.S. students in order to capitalize on this trend. As a result of the macro trend and these recruiting efforts, schools such as Oxford's Saïd Business School have interviewed 60% more American applicants this year than in 2007-2008.

The MBA pendulum has swung towards the rest of the world... Will it one day swing back towards American MBA programs? Tell us what you think!