When considering an MBA abroad, especially in the UK, potential applicants often miscalculate the true cost and return on investment. In this episode of Business Casual, Pola Lem, Maria Wich-Vila, and Caroline Diarte Edwards tackle common misconceptions about studying overseas. Pola opens with a surprising statistic: many international students anticipate annual costs between £25,000 and £55,000, often inflating their expectations due to London-based expenses and high tuition fees. Yet, this generalized assumption doesn’t account for the diverse range of schools and cities, which can drastically affect actual expenses.

The hosts delve into insights from a Poets & Quants op-ed by Gaurav Jain, which argues that while UK tuition might seem steep, the shorter duration of UK programs—typically one year—means reduced living costs and a quicker return to the workforce. Caroline further highlights that the perceived high costs are offset by the long-term benefits of employability and global mobility, essential factors in evaluating ROI. Additionally, the UK continues to attract a significant number of international students, particularly from India, despite rising costs and tighter immigration rules.

Maria emphasizes the uniqueness of multi-city campus programs, like those at SP Jain, which offer students exposure to diverse cultural and business environments, potentially enhancing their skills and employability. For MBA aspirants, this discussion underscores the importance of thoroughly researching program options and considering all variables—not just tuition—when evaluating the true cost and benefits of an international MBA.

Episode Transcript

Note: This transcript was generated by AI and may contain minor inaccuracies.

[00:00:03] – Pola

Hello everyone, I’m Pola Lem with Poets and Quants. Welcome to our weekly podcast, Business Casual. I’m joined today by my co-hosts, Maria Wikvila and Caroline D’Arti Edwards. Maria is founder of ApplicantLab and Caroline was head of admissions at INSEAD and is co-founder of Fortuna Admissions. So I am back in my home time zone this week, AKA London. Caroline is still holding the fort in California, and Maria, you’re still in Spain?

[00:00:39] – Maria

Yes, I am. After a glorious week in Barcelona, we have just arrived to Alicante and, uh, are getting excited to explore a new— I’ve actually never been to— it’s in the state of Valencia, which I’ve never been to, so A new, a new dialect of Catalan to hear in our ears and a new beach to explore. So we’re excited.

[00:00:58] – Pola

Nice hot beach weather too, right?

[00:01:01] – Caroline

Yes.

[00:01:02] – Maria

That’s the same across Spain, no matter what language they’re speaking.

[00:01:07] – Pola

Great. So this week I bought, and I’m not sure how much of a puzzler it is, we’ll see, but we’ve got £25,000 and £55,000. Any takers?

[00:01:23] – Maria

Hmm, is it related to the topic of the week?

[00:01:27] – Pola

It is related to the topic. Well done.

[00:01:30] – Caroline

Is that the salary range?

[00:01:32] – Pola

Daniel Radcliffe? So that is £25,000 to £55,000, and it ties into our main topic this week, which is international students. So specifically, uh, we’re looking at why students are overestimating the cost of studying in the UK and underestimating the ROI. And I should say, this is tied to a Poets and Quants piece about Indian students, but equally could apply to students from anywhere. And we are talking about the UK, but Obviously these kind of questions apply to anywhere you might go to study that isn’t your home country, right? So, um, so the £25,000 to £55,000 number is the amount in pounds that international students in the UK typically believe that their annual expenses will be while doing an MBA. But that’s anchored in expectations around the highest tuition brackets and also London-based living costs. So basically this op-ed that we’ve got running this week, which is from Gaurav Jain, who is a director at the SP Jain London School of Management, uh, I chatted with him some weeks ago, very nice guy, basically argues that this expectation students have that the degree will cost them between 25 and 55 grand creates sort of inflated baseline that doesn’t actually reflect the full range of institutional fees or the variation in cost between cities in the UK, London obviously being more expensive.

[00:03:17] – Pola

So I’ve got a preamble with some brief stats first, and then I’ll talk a little bit about the arguments Gorov, uh, makes in the piece. And then I’ve got a bunch of questions for the two of you about how this relates to admissions. So first, some, some very brief statistics. So according to the UK Home Office, Indian students are still the UK’s largest foreign cohort. We’ve got about just over 95,000 sponsored study visas for last year, 2025, from Indian students. So that goes to illustrate that there’s a continued demand for British higher education. Even though obviously we’ve got growing expenses on the one side and then also stricter immigration regulations on the other. So Garov in the piece makes the argument that even though this sort of annual tuition fee for a 1-year postgraduate business program does appear high in isolation, one year obviously is a lot shorter than two, so your overall living expenses are reduced, and then you’re able to enter the workforce sooner. He also notes that ROI is driven by employability and global mobility, not just salary. Uh, so that’s something to, to take into consideration, whether you’re maybe more employable getting a degree here.

[00:04:46] – Pola

Um, same thing I would guess would apply in, uh, other places in Western Europe with, with kind of similar programs. And then specific to SP Jain, they’ve got a multi-city campus, so So they’re arguing that, you know, that sort of exposure to different places strengthens your skills as a graduate. But that’s the piece in brief. To move on to our question round, starting with Caroline, you know, a lot of Indian applicants and applicants from various places assume that a UK business degree is unaffordable. What are the biggest misconceptions that you encounter about the true cost of attendance?

[00:05:29] – Caroline

Right, well, I mean, first of all, as the article mentions, degrees are often shorter in the UK than in some other countries, and that’s true at the undergraduate level as well as the graduate school level. So many undergraduate degrees in the UK are 3 years, whereas in the US it’s usually 4 years. And then master’s degrees in the UK, many of them are 1-year programs, whereas in the US it’s often 18 months to 2 years. So, um, immediately, of course, then you have, um, a big difference in tuition fees, living expenses, and foregone salary. So potentially applicants aren’t fully factoring that into account. And then, as the article mentions, people often associate the cost of living in the UK with the cost of London, right? People might have visited London and experienced that it’s a pretty expensive city, as you know as handpola, as many big cities and very global cities are, of course, expensive to live in. But there are great educational institutions, of course, outside of London. So, looking at business schools, you could go and study in Oxford or Cambridge or Manchester or Warwick, which all have outstanding MBA programs, and then you are not dealing with the cost of rent and and overall living expenses in London, which makes it— it does make it more affordable.

[00:06:55] – Caroline

It’s quite a big difference. And then strong students may be able to access scholarship funding. So, of course, you don’t necessarily— you can’t guarantee that when you’re applying, so you can’t be sure of what your ultimate cost of the program will be. So I do think it’s a good idea when you’re applying to figure out the overall cost and know how you’re going to finance it if you don’t get scholarship support. Ideally, you don’t want to be reliant on scholarship support because that might very much limit your options. So the scholarship could be a fantastic bonus to make it more affordable and reduce the, for example, the loans that you may have to take out to finance your education.

[00:07:37] – Pola

So Maria, Caroline’s already said your sort of slogan of, you know, expect the worst, hope for the best. Similar, you’ve got a spin on that, but effectively that, right? But how much financial aid or scholarship support is realistically available to Indian or non-EU students?

[00:08:00] – Maria

I don’t know this off the top of my head, but I suspect it would be roughly similar. I think a lot of merit scholarships are going to be granted Regardless of where, you know, if you’re a very strong student, as Caroline said, you’re gonna, you’re more likely to get a merit scholarship. But I have also worked with many people who have gone to Oxford, Cambridge, LBS, and they often, it’s, it’s not necessarily as guaranteed. It’s sort of still a crapshoot as, as it is in, I think, any place. So again, like, don’t go into the process expecting that to be the case. Be pleasantly surprised. But it is true that because it many— most of the UK MBAs are 1-year programs, with the exception of London Business School. Um, you know, that those upfront costs are by definition much, much lower, and that can factor into someone’s ROI calculation, especially if someone is, I think, a bit risk-averse and they look at the size of the loan that they would have to take out for any 2-year program, much less one in the US. Uh, I can certainly empathize firsthand with what an eye-wateringly high number that can be, and the moment of panic that sets in when you sign your name on the dotted line for that student loan.

[00:09:10] – Maria

And so the 1-year UK programs do avoid that on a certain level, although it does come with trade-offs, I believe.

[00:09:18] – Pola

You’ve used the term ROI calculation, and in my head, you know, figuring out the return on a degree is kind of more of an abstract thing. But I’m wondering, Maria, have you seen students who actually sit down with an Excel sheet and literally do that calculation, like map out how much it’s costing and the various, various costs? Or is that not—

[00:09:43] – Maria

everyone, it’s business school. They love Excel. Yeah, if they don’t love Excel in the months going into it, they’re going to learn to love it, perhaps against their will, by the time they graduate. So absolutely, the ROI calculation— there are even online ROI calculators specifically for MBA programs. But I mean, people who go to business school for the most part are interested on some level in numbers and value and calculating value. Um, so I would ask— I mean, I don’t know, Caroline, the people that you work with, but I think the vast majority, the overwhelming majority of people going to business school do an ROI calculation.

[00:10:20] – Pola

Hmm. Oh, so Caroline, what percentage would you say of Indian students receive other forms of financial assistance outside of scholarships? I mean, are many of them taking out loans? I guess that’s not quite the same thing, but yeah, I guess I’d be curious to hear how many of these Indian and other international students are having to actually take out loans.

[00:10:53] – Caroline

Right. Yeah. I don’t know what the percentages are. I think, So as we said, some will get scholarships, but ultimately it’s going to be the minority of students who are getting scholarships, right? These schools do not have scholarship portfolios that mean that they can support the majority of students. So that’s just something to keep in mind. So then your options are, okay, there may be external scholarships, but those are also usually extremely competitive as well. And so it will be a small group of students who benefit from those. And then it is personal loans, savings, family support. So the vast majority of these students that we’re talking about, I’m quite sure, are financing their studies through a mixture of their own savings, their family savings, and also perhaps bank loans as well. Bank loans can be complicated when you are looking to study abroad. So I’m not sure what the current situation is for, for example, for Indian students looking to study for undergraduate programs in the UK, but for MBA programs, there are organizations like Prodigy Finance that have been set up specifically to enable internationally mobile MBA students to finance their studies because traditionally, banks have a very, very local model, and so they’re used to lending to people who are living and staying in their local market and don’t quite understand the, um, the international mobility of business school and the benefits of that.

[00:12:34] – Caroline

And so organizations like Prodigy Finance have been set up to fill, fill that gap and, um, and lend money to, to students who might not otherwise be able to get loan financing.

[00:12:44] – Pola

A good one to look out for. Yeah. So beyond tuition, uh, just going back to costs again, Maria, what kind of, uh, hidden costs do prospective students tend to overestimate or underestimate, for that matter?

[00:13:00] – Maria

I mean, I think almost all costs are underestimated when it comes to this. I, I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to people who are like, wow, that MBA was so much less expensive. Like, I, I have so much more money left in my bank account than I expected. Um, I, look, I think a big part of the MBA experience, no matter where you go, is socialization, socializing with your classmates, developing the network, uh, which I assume in the UK involves a lot of time in pubs. And so at a minimum, you’re going to be looking at, uh, the, the costs required to go out on a regular basis. Um, and a lot of times business schools will have international trips that are either officially through the university, or sometimes they’re just sort of unofficially organized by students. Those can easily add several thousand dollars to whatever you were budgeting. Um, and yet I think it’s one of the best investments you can make because those trips are often where friendships can really be solidified, uh, for the years and years to come. So interestingly enough, one of the best investments, I think, of your time in business school does not involve school at all.

[00:14:03] – Maria

But yeah, if those were the— those are the two off the top of my head that I think, uh, tend to be very expensive. And also finally, for students who, who may be coming from countries, uh, with different medical systems, there sometimes may be a, a change in the, uh, insurance cost. However, I believe in the UK, I would assume that whatever it is in the UK, it’s got to be less than it is in the US. But I do know that sometimes students from other countries, when they come to the US, are a little shocked at how much health insurance costs.

[00:14:28] – Pola

Oof. Yeah. On that pub point, is getting pints at a pub tax deductible? I’m asking for a friend I have.

[00:14:39] – Maria

This is not legal advice.

[00:14:43] – Pola

We take no responsibility. Uh, so Caroline, I think you mentioned London Business School, right, has a 2-year program. How would you advise students to compare the cost of a 1-year master’s or MBA with a 2-year program at LBS or elsewhere?

[00:15:05] – Caroline

I would advise candidates to really look at which program is going to be the best for them career-wise. And then, um, so that means looking at the, um, the, the whole experience that you’ll be getting, not just the of the program. So look at the curriculum, look at the community, look at the alumni network that you’ll be joining. Spend some time digging into the recruitment statistics so that you understand which program is going to be the best platform for you to land your desired post-MBA role and achieve your longer-term career goals. And LBS is the most prestigious MBA program in the UK. So for someone looking to study in the UK, then it may well be worthwhile investing in that longer program rather than going for a shorter program. LBS does also have accelerated options, so you can graduate after 50 months or 80 months, I believe, if you want to do the program more quickly. And if you have already done a Master’s in Management, so if you’ve already done one of those 1-year programs, which are quite popular in Europe, where you often go straight into that program after coming out of your undergraduate program, do 1-year Master’s in Management, and then go out and get work experience, you can come back to LBS and get the MBA in 1 year.

[00:16:28] – Caroline

So, that’s also a fantastic option for someone who’s done the Master’s in Management, which is a very popular path, particularly in Europe. So, I would say, first of all, start by looking at which program is going to be best for you career-wise. And then work backwards from there. And if you look at the, the recruitment statistics at London Business School and the, the salaries that the graduates are commanding, then I think you see that quickly, that a potential additional cost of doing a slightly longer program can, um, can be recouped quite quickly. But it really depends on, on what career you’re, you’re looking to target.

[00:17:08] – Pola

Sure, actually tell me a little bit more about that. So how does the, the career affect, um, the, the school you choose, Caroline?

[00:17:18] – Caroline

Yeah, well, so I’ve been— I was looking at, um, for example, consulting careers. I’ve been working on an article that will be coming over to P&Q shortly on which MBA programs you should target if you’re looking to go into consulting. And in Europe, they’re basically 3 programs where, um, the the major consultancies, including McKinsey, Bain, BCG, recruit in large numbers, and that’s London Business School, INSEAD, and ESA. And, and so if you’re targeting a job in consulting post-MBA, which is the most popular career path post-MBA, then if you’re looking to study in the UK, then LBS may well be your best option. Because those firms will be coming on campus to recruit. They’ll be looking to recruit, um, for several, um, offices probably across Europe as well as beyond. Um, so it can be a great platform for international recruitment into, um, into some of these companies, as well as you’re not tied to staying in the UK post-MBA. And LBS also has amazing recruiter relationships with, um, a lot of the big finance firms as well. So historically, LBS was very well known for being a platform into finance, and now it is much broader than that, but it still retains incredibly strong relationships with the top financial institutions and benefits from the proximity to the City of London, which is still, despite Brexit, a very important financial, global financial center.

[00:19:00] – Caroline

And that means that It has great opportunities for student networking, bringing speakers into the student clubs, adjunct professors coming in who are teaching, who have, you know, real experience of working in these institutions and can convey the cutting-edge practices to students. So, you know, you have tremendous access that gives you a great springboard into a financial career or consulting or a lot of different things. So, it’s definitely worth spending some time digging through those career statistics because there are some quite stark differences between MBA programs.

[00:19:45] – Pola

Well, Maria, I was going to ask you what metrics applicants should focus on beyond starting salary, but I think Caroline has just answered that question. I mean, Maybe you could tell us how quickly do graduates typically recoup that educational investment into the MBA?

[00:20:05] – Maria

I mean, if you just go by the raw numbers, you usually recoup it within a couple of years, depending, you know, assuming if you go into a typical post-MBA type of role. Of course, that’s not factoring in living expenses and taxes, but just on a very raw high level, you know, it costs X amount to get the degree and my starting salary when I graduate is Y. It can be within a couple of years. You know, frequently people might not pay back their loans in that time. They might try to, you know, spread it out depending on the interest rate or refinancing or whatever. But usually paying back the loan is not necessarily a huge, a huge issue for most people who go to top quality MBA programs. Of course, there are, if you go to a lower quality program, that I can’t say that with as much confidence. But if you’d go to a top program anywhere in the world, you’re bound to have a solid ROI.

[00:20:57] – Pola

Any kind of final thoughts as we’re talking about this in the context of EU/UK degrees, Caroline?

[00:21:06] – Caroline

Something else that is important for candidates to be aware of are the visa paths. And you mentioned that it has got more difficult, but it is still possible. So, from what I understand, graduates from UK programs have the Graduate Route Visa, which enables them to stay in the UK. I think it’s currently 2 years, but it’s switching to 18 months. And you don’t have to have a job offer to get that visa. And then when that expires, you can transition to a Skilled Worker Visa, where you need to have, you need to demonstrate certain things like having a minimum threshold of salary, and most graduates from the programs that we’ve been discussing would meet those criteria. So although there is no guarantee of being able to stay in the UK longer term, there is a pathway. And I think that most students who are targeting that and who are graduating from the programs we’ve been discussing are able to do that if, if that’s what they want to do. And then of course, these programs like London Business School, as well as the other top MBA programs in, in the UK, provide a great springboard to other countries as well.

[00:22:23] – Caroline

So LBS graduates are not just staying in London, but they are going and working in offices across Europe as well as in the Middle East and many beyond that as well. So, whereas if you, of course, if you study at a US school, you’re most likely going to get recruitment opportunities to stay in the US. That is quite different if you go and study at one of these top UK or other European schools, that you’ll really have the opportunity to go and work in other places as well. You’re not tied to that local domestic market.

[00:22:58] – Pola

Sure. Any other parting words of wisdom, Maria?

[00:23:03] – Maria

I just think everyone needs to do their own research and build their own spreadsheets and really look carefully at those numbers. Like, yes, the, you know, the London UK-based programs— excuse me, the UK-based programs are shorter for the most part. Uh, but they also have much lower salaries sometimes compared to what you can get from a US program. So someone graduating from a 1-year program, even at Oxford or Cambridge, in US dollars, the starting salary might be even a little bit around half of what you can get if you graduate from an M7 US school. So yes, there can be arguments made for, well, it takes less time and it’s less expensive, but on the other end of things, your salary may not be quite as high. And so I do think that people should, should look very carefully at, at those risks and whether or not, you know, there’s going to be risks either way. At least right now with the US, you still get 3 years of OPT, uh, essentially guaranteed. Most, most MBA programs now are STEM certified, so you can get 3 years. And as Caroline mentioned, the UK is changing, so hopefully you can get that skilled worker visa, but if you don’t, you’re only guaranteed 18 months.

[00:24:13] – Maria

So, um, really I urge everyone to, to, to look at this with a, you know, the, the MBA is one of the biggest investments you’re ever gonna make. Um, so definitely do a lot of research and crunch a lot of numbers.

[00:24:26] – Pola

There you have it. Make your own spreadsheet. We are out of time today, but short and sweet. But please come back next week if you liked our discussion today, and of course check out poetsandquants.com. Thanks very much to my co-hosts Maria and Caroline, and thank you everyone for listening.