Studying abroad can add to the desirability of a job-hunting candidate, but not necessarily, points out MIT's Garcia. He suggests not jumping to general conclusions about any aspect of study abroad.

For any students inclined to go overseas, one of the earliest and biggest hang-ups can be the cost. It's commonly believed, mistakenly, that it is always expensive. Costs are sometimes comparable with what students would spend in the US.

But applying for financial aid is also something to consider.

"While amounts and eligibility criteria vary from field to field as well as from year to year, with a thorough effort you can uncover many opportunities for graduate financial assistance," says Patricia Wade, Dean of Student Financial Services, Georgetown University.

For those who want to look at that possibility, she writes:

"Explore all options. Plan ahead, complete forms on time, and be tenacious in your search for support."

Even without financial aid, some MBA students such as Whitaker find the cost of living to be less in areas such as Korea. But many others have not found that to be the case. When it comes to cost, there are no clear answers, and again, educators suggest, MBA and law school students should do some research.

Tuition may be the same but the cost of living plays a part in any decision.

"In general, education and living is more expensive in advanced countries," suggests Kenji Kitoa, a Canadian who studied overseas in Japan.

And how about the quality of the overseas program?

"Especially if you are going overseas for graduate study, you need to make sure that you can receive a better education at the overseas institution," recommends Kitoa.

If you want eventually to live and work overseas, however, international business school experience is almost certainly beneficial. Olie Rollag left Chicago to study in France. "I wanted to learn skills that I didn't feel I could get in the US, such as negotiating on European terms, learning about European trade and labor issues and understanding how the French and other Europeans solve business problems as opposed to the way we do it in the United States," he told The Lantern, the Student newspaper of Ohio State University.

MBA or law students looking to work for multi-national firms might also want to consider the overseas option for several reasons, suggests Alan Follmar, a B-school graduate from Arizona. "Except for students with extensive international exposure and foreign language skills, it should be considered a requirement for those wishing to establish an overseas career," he says.

A minus of studying abroad, however, is that students at the top schools miss out on the educational experience they receive here.

Says Garcia: "Most people who come here want to attend MIT Sloan. They want their education here. If they do a semester abroad, they're really giving up 25 percent of their time. That’s a reality."

And a high percentage, or close to 40%, of the students at MIT Sloan were born outside the United States. "So for many of them, spending a semester in Europe or abroad really doesn't add a lot of value," Garcia adds.

At MIT, Garcia says, more students opt for an exchange program of studying at Harvard then the number deciding to go overseas.

But the bottom line, he says, is that each student has to take a sober look at their situation and make a decision based on what they find.

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