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The United States remains the top international study destination for two-thirds (66 per cent) of prospective students across the globe, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council's 2015 mba.com Prospective Students Survey Report.
The remaining locations among the top 10 preferred study destinations are the United Kingdom (six per cent), Canada (five per cent), France (three per cent), India (three per cent), Hong Kong (two per cent), Germany (two per cent), Singapore (two per cent), the Netherlands (two per cent) and Australia (one per cent).
With respect to Indian students, about 53 per cent Indians prefer studying in the US, 21 per cent and seven per cent showed inclination towards India and the UK, respectively. But, with regard to the US, the current figures are a decline from 73 per cent of candidates who had listed the United States as their preferred study destination in 2010.
The survey - of nearly 12,000 registrants to GMAC's mba.com website and conducted throughout 2014-provides insight into the business school decision-making process for MBA and specialised business master's degree candidates (such as a Master in Management, Accounting or Finance).
According to the survey, when students listed their top five consideration criteria for actually selecting a programme and a study destination, rankings didn't rank. The study destination distinction is important as more than half of prospective students (52 per cent) seek to study outside their country of citizenship, up from 40 per cent in 2010 (and noticeable among the Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern citizens).
The survey showed that published rankings have influence in candidates' school consideration but places rankings overall as the third most consulted information resource for prospective students, finishing behind school websites and friends and family.
"Given the degree to which school rankings dominate the discussion, it is interesting that as their decision making progresses, students themselves say that rankings fall in importance," said Gregg Schoenfeld, GMAC's director of Management Education Research.
The 2015 survey report also explores regional and generational differences regarding prospective students' career goals, programme preferences, decision-making time-lines and top study destinations among others.
Here, about 28 per cent of survey respondents indicated that they plan to start their own businesses compared with 19 per cent just five years ago. Respondents in Africa (45 per cent), Latin America (44 per cent) and Central and South Asia including India (43 per cent) led this segment.
