Donald Trump
While many people in the United States and abroad are unhappy with the results of the 2024 presidential election, prospective business students should keep in mind that Trump intends to implement an entire program of pro-business policies that promise to benefit any student attending and graduating from a U.S. business school over the next several years.
Here are five reasons those planning to attend business school — and B-schools themselves — should embrace the second era of Trump:
- A new era of high economic growth
The expectation of lower inflation and looser regulations in a Trump administration will be a boost to the job market. Businesses will be more confident to hire, especially in industries sought-after by MBA graduates. CNBC’s Jim Cramer, in fact, specifically called out Big Tech, which happens to be one of the top 3 industries for post-MBA careers. Bottom line: more disposable income for those interested in graduate education and more job opportunities for MBA graduates.
In addition, Trump wants to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US and will be giving corporations incentives to do so. If successful, this will also spur job growth,
and encourage labor force competition which, in turn, will likely create more educational opportunities for workers as companies seek to retain and develop talent to meet the demands of growth.
While Trump’s plan to rapidly increase oil production is controversial due to concern about climate change, the reality is that the move will not only bring down domestic oil and gas costs. IT WILL CREATE JOBS, cut supply chain cost of goods, curb inflation, and result in LOTS of revenue to the US. All these factors will contribute to economic growth and more income to workers (which can be used for upskilling, through MBA programs or other more relevant educational opportunities). If successful, this will be an enormous boon for the economy.
The optimism in the business community because of these policies is reflected in the performance of the stock market in the past few days. After the election, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 3.57% while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite grew by 2.53% and 2.95%, respectively. This is a sign that Wall Street is optimistic about the impact Trump’s policies will have on economic growth.
- Favorable conditions for entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is consistently cited as one of the long-term career goals for MBA hopefuls. More favorable economic conditions, such as a lower corporate tax rate, will benefit MBA hopefuls who dream of starting a new business. Take note that billionaire investor Kevin O’Leary recently delayed a planned business trip to Geneva, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh until after the election to reassure global investors that America’s 21% tax rate is here to stay. O’Leary added that a stable, predictable tax rate makes America the smart choice for investments, particularly in a world facing rising costs and inflation.
- Lower cost of living
In addition to tuition, MBA students incur considerable costs from food and housing, not to mention travel expenses where a lot of valuable networking takes place during the program. These costs have increased substantially in the past several years due to high annual inflation rates, with some staples seeing increases of 75%, even as high as 176% in some instances. Trump’s pro-energy policies will lower the cost of living.
“You can’t run an economy without energy,” O’Leary says, and lower energy costs will lower transportation costs impacting groceries and other consumer goods as well as the travel sector.
- Legal immigration isn’t the issue.
There is widespread fear that the U.S. will be less welcoming to foreigners, but it’s important to recognize that changes to immigration policy are centered on illegal entry rather than legal migration. We saw this in Trump’s first term when he allowed the same number of legal immigrants into the U.S. per year as former President Barack Obama.
Business schools rightly strive for international diversity in the student cohort and the potential to achieve international diversity won’t change. If you still have doubts, look at the international student numbers for the full-time MBA program at Stanford Graduate School of Business, as one example. With the exception of the global pandemic, they have remained steady, regardless of the president in office:
| Graduation Year | Admissions cycle | # of Countries in Cohort | Percentage of International Students |
| Class of 2018 | 2015-2016 | 40 | 62% |
| Class of 2019 | 2016-2017 | 61 | 41% |
| Class of 2020 | 2017-2018 | 63 | 42% |
| Class of 2021 | 2018-2019 | 66 | 43% |
| Class of 2022 | 2019-2020 | 66 | 35% |
| Class of 2023 | 2020-2021 | 63 | 47% |
| Class of 2024 | 2021-2022 | 56 | 37% |
| Class of 2025 | 2023-2024 | 36 | 55% |
| Class of 2026 | 2024-2025 | 72 | 39% |
- A broader definition of diversity.
Finally, the 2024 election revealed America to be highly polarized ideologically. The distance between the left and the right illustrates the need for greater integration on both sides — and this is where business schools can play a key role in expanding dialogue. It would benefit the next generation of leaders to have a better understanding of different ideological perspectives.
While there is strong support by graduate business schools to expand diversity in classrooms, the topic of ideological diversity is notably missing in their marketing initiatives. I’ve never seen, for instance, a blog about a current student or successful alum working for a conservative cause or political leader
You can’t run a successful business without understanding all of your customers, and I’ve wondered if courting greater ideological diversity in the business school classroom would have prevented, for instance, Bud Light from losing $1.4 billion in beer sales last year and $27 billion in market capitalization. The decision maker, who happened to graduate from a top 3 business school, appeared to project her own personal biases onto the entire customer base. If she had a real understanding of the full spectrum of political views, and really understood that half the population held views that differed from hers, she might not have made this mistake.
Some of my clients have expressed concern about revealing any connection to conversative causes in their resume or application essays. One of my former clients, for instance, won a prestigious award from former First Lady Melania Trump that he did not cite in his application narrative, for fear of it hurting his chances for admission. Business schools might feel that they have created an environment that is open to the full spectrum of political views, but the fact is that many conservative students feel they risk rejection if they reveal their political leanings. If these students can be made to feel they are entering an environment that welcomes and values diversity of political viewpoints, this will help prepare all students to be better managers and could help the business school community be a catalyst for neutralizing political polarization.
Barbara Coward is the founder of 360 MBA Admissions. She has worked in the business education space for more than 25 years, bringing the perspective of a former admissions director, business school marketing consultant, and industry thought leader. She works with clients across the globe in both the public and private sectors, representing a diverse range of industries.
