Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56529
Headlines Who's Getting Admitted to B-School? A Helping Hand for International Students International students will have an easier time finding loan money through a program developed by a consortium of organizations experienced in man- aging student loans. The Interna- tional Student Loan Program, which will provide loans requiring no co-signer, was originally conceived under the convening authority of the Graduate Management Admis- sion Council. It was developed with the involvement of other organi- zations—such as Deutsche Bank, Liberty Bank, Access Group, and Moehn and Associates—as well as the Chicago Booth School of Busi- ness at the University of Chicago, which signed a participation letter with the ISLP this spring. The program will make education- al loans available to international stu- dents who are not eligible for federal assistance and cannot qualify for stan- dard private loans because they do 10 BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 not have a U.S. co-signer. Under the agreement, Deutsche Bank, as initial investor, expects to purchase notes, the proceeds of which will provide financing to international students. The loans will have terms comparable to private loans available for students with U.S. co-signers. The transac- tion remains subject to completion of required documentation and regula- tory approval, if any. At Booth, about one-third of the students enrolled in the MBA pro- gram come from outside the U.S., says Rosemaria Martinelli, associate dean for student recruitment and admissions. "With some traditional avenues closed due to the weak economy, we have gone to great lengths to find creative alternatives so our international students can finance their education," Martinelli says. The ISLP program also is open to other select MBA programs in the U.S. For more information, contact Kevin Moehn at 703-242-3591 or Kevinmoehn@aol.com. One of the most marked trends in recent MBA admissions is the admission of younger students. In fact, according to a survey of MBA admissions offi- cials at top U.S. schools, 47 percent of respondents say that the number of students admitted to MBA pro- grams straight out of bachelor's pro- grams has significantly or moderately increased compared to five years ago. The eight-week online survey was conducted by Veritas Prep, a GMAT preparation service and admissions consultant. "Business schools seeking to capitalize on the shift toward a younger demographic should consider rolling out integrated programs similar to the HBS 2+2 Program or Yale's Silver Scholars, which are especially meaning- ful to younger applicants because they synthesize professional and classroom experiences," says Scott Shrum, Veritas Prep's Director of MBA Admissions Research. Other findings from the survey indicate that when admissions offi- cers review applications from MBA candidates, 50 percent of respon- dents rank analytical skills as the most important student selection characteristic, followed by interper- sonal skills (25 percent), leadership ability (19 percent), and maturity (6 percent). When weighing the importance of student experiences, 63 percent of admissions officers say professional experience is the most important factor, far above standardized test scores, community service, or extracurricular activities. The full report is available for download at www.veritasprep.com/ AdmissionsOfficerWhitepaper09.pdf.