International students make up 5% of the 20 million undergraduate students in the U.S., according to the Washington Post, pumping more than $35 billion into the economy. At top business schools, MBA programs are comprised of between 30% and 40% international students; at some mid-tier schools, the MBA candidate population is closer to half — or even over the 50% mark.
Which U.S. schools attract the most international MBA candidates, as a percentage and in total? According to Poets & Quants, UC Irvine’s Merage School of Business has the distinction of having the most international students, where more than half — 53.2% — come from overseas. Wharton, at the University of Pennsylvania, had an astounding 514 international students (30.1% of total full-time MBA candidates) enrolled last fall. So although it is a lower percentage of the total student body, Wharton has extremely strong international student representation.
Among the top 50 schools, 30 see their U.S. graduates make an average salary that is more than their international peers — often by negligible amounts, but sometimes, as in the case of MIT Sloan (more than $28,000), Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management (nearly $19,000), the University of Maryland Smith School of Business (nearly $19,000), or Washington University’s Olin School of Business (nearly $18,000), by considerable ones.
Conversely, international graduates from 19 schools in the top 50 make more than their U.S. classmates, ranging from the tiny advantage — just $99 at NYU Stern — to more than $20,000 at the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business ($95,917 to $75,636). Interestingly, though U.S. grads dominate the pay wars at all the most elite schools: HBS, Wharton, Stanford, Chicago Booth, MIT Sloan, Northwestern Kellogg, etc.
| School Name | 2016 FT International Students by Percentage | Number of FT International Students | Mean International Base Salary | Mean U.S. Base Salary |
| California-Irvine (Merage) | 53.20% | 92 | $98,452 | $95,170 |
| Rochester (Simon) | 50.50% | 103 | $100,093 | $96,772 |
| Columbia | 48.00% | 372 | $124,711 | $131,559 |
| Michigan State (Broad) | 43.10% | 62 | $108,973 | $99,805 |
| Pittsburgh (Katz) | 43.10% | 66 | $95,917 | $75,636 |
| Purdue (Krannert) | 40.10% | 59 | $90,359 | $91,196 |
| Stanford | 40.00% | 167 | $133,355 | $143,773 |
| Penn State (Smeal) | 39.20% | 49 | $110,000 | $101,669 |
| MIT (Sloan) | 38.60% | 312 | $99,328 | $127,926 |
| Duke (Fuqua) | 38.30% | 343 | $116,638 | $123,763 |
| Maryland (Smith) | 37.10% | 73 | $82,631 | $101,319 |
| Yale SOM | 36.90% | 256 | $118,149 | $119,677 |
| Washington U. (Olin) | 36.60% | 98 | $89,925 | $108,556 |
| Illinois-Urbana-Champaign | 36.60% | 49 | $99,494 | $91,228 |
| University of Washington (Foster) | 36.40% | 92 | $106,448 | $114,276 |
| California-Berkeley (Haas) | 36.30% | 182 | $117,798 | $125,361 |
| Indiana (Kelley) | 36.20% | 134 | $111,211 | $109,071 |
| Iowa (Tippie) | 35.50% | 39 | $88,700 | $85,704 |
| Harvard Business School | 35.00% | 331 | $131,581 | $135,216 |
| Northwestern (Kellogg) | 35.00% | 166 | $108,048 | $126,850 |
| University of Chicago (Booth) | 34.90% | 414 | $126,462 | $127,207 |
| Georgia (Terry) | 34.30% | 35 | $64,750 | $95,288 |
| Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) | 34.10% | 146 | $122,724 | $115,235 |
| Boston College (Carroll) | 33.90% | 59 | $87,708 | $99,783 |
| Georgetown (McDonough) | 33.70% | 184 | $102,804 | $110,299 |
In most cases, the differences in pay are quite small, and may be accounted for by different market conditions for international students returning to their home countries, where salaries are lower than in the U.S.
In these uncertain and turbulent political times in America, business schools and business school students are banning together to form stronger support networks. A diverse range of opinions, cultures, and backgrounds is critical to look for in the class that you enter. If you hope to be surrounded by a group of elite international peers during your studies, you may want to take the diversity of the class into account as you form your school selection strategy.
If you would like help in thinking through your school selection strategy or other important elements to look for when applying to business school, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Info@TranscendAdmissions.com.