B-schools remain top choice for international students in 2025

EVEN THOUGHTHE graduate management education (GME) programmes worldwide witnessed a 7% rise in applications in 2025, Indian B-schools attracted a larger pool of global management students with 26% rise in international applications, according to the latest annual application trends survey by graduate management admission council (GMAC), an association that conducts hugely-popular GMAT exams.

- MANU KAUSHIK

“International application growth was particularly strong in India, East and Southeast Asia (up 42%), highlighting the success of their business schools in marketing strategies and reputational gains,” the survey said.

However, the survey pointed out that domestic applications to programmes in India surged as well which means Indian students who appeared for Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) exams were interested in pursuing the management education in India. “This tracks with several years of data from the GMAC prospective students survey, which has found that Indian candidates are increasingly interested in pursuing GME within the country instead of moving abroad,’ it said.