"Why did you decide to study abroad?" and "Why did you choose Sau Paulo?" These are the two questions that I was asked the most before I left to study abroad and since I've arrived in Sãu Paulo. As such, I thought it would be an appropriate place for me to begin my posts on studying abroad.
"Why did you decide to study abroad?"
Not to be cryptic, but that question is actually answered with another question that I asked MBA Alums when looking at different MBA programs. My question was, "If you could change one thing that you did while getting your MBA, what would it be?" That question almost invariably got two responses; "I would have studied abroad" and "I would have taken more finance classes." I took both of those responsese seriously and when the opportunity presented itself to apply for the study abroad program at UCLA Anderson, I decided that it wasn't an opportunity that I could pass up. The one thing that weighed most heavily on my mind was, How many opportunities would I have to spend 3 months in a foreign country, where I'm not otherwise preoccupied with a hectic work schedule? Before committing to the study abroad program, I did, however, consider the risks and sacrifices that I would have to make to study abroad.
At UCLA Anderson we only have 6 quarters of classes and the first year consists of primarily core classes. If
I chose to study abroad, that would mean that I would be giving up one of my three remaining quarters of electives at Anderson to study abroad. In addition, I wouldn't be able to be part of the professional associations at Anderson, help 1st years with interview preparation, or go to all the tailgating and other social events. Another consideration was my ability to recruit effectively during the Fall Quarter of my second year. If my internship over the summer didn't go as I'd hoped, I had to consider how studying abroad would effect my ability to effectively recruit for highly competitive jobs. Finally, I did have to take into account the additional costs of flying abroad, getting a VISA, and several additional costs. While I did have an internship in Germany between my junior and senior of undergrad, I decided that the opportunity to spend 3 months in a foreign country outweighed the sacrifices that I would have to make at home.
"Why did you choose Sãu Paulo?"
Truth be told, we were actually allowed to choose three locations. My choices in order of preference were:
1) Sãu Paulo (Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Escola de Administracao de Empresas de Sao Paulo)
2) Barcelona (IESE Business School, University of Navarra)
3) Hong Kong (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
We were given a list of schools across the globe that we could choose from, and while there was a specific reason as to why I chose each of these schools, there were a few significant criteria that I took into consideration when picking schools.
1) Location - Where are the places that I've never been, that I have a genuine passion to learn more about, and that I think I will enjoy my time the most?
2) Network - Will I be able to develop a personal and/or professional network for the future?
3) Opportunities - Will the combination of the environment, the network, and other intangible aspects provide opportunities that I might not realize otherwise?
Apparently Starbucks has invaded Latin America as well...
I chose Brazil first because of everything that I've been hearing about it in the news, such as how it's middle class is growing, how it's hosting the 2016 Olympics, and how it is rapidly becoming a more modern country. I finally decided on Sãu Paulo over Rio de Janeiro because I'd heard about the quality of the university in Sãu Paulo and because people described it as the New York of Brazil. Since I haven't lived in a large metropolitan city aside from LA, I thought Sau Paulo would be a good place for me to step out of my comfort zone.
But the best coffee is found in smaller shops
If you're interested in studying abroad while getting your MBA, I hope this gave you some useful items to think about. I've been in Sau Paulo for 5 days now and have some first impressions that I'll share in my next blog post. I'm actually taking a short trip to Florianopolis before classes get started, so it will probably will be a week before my next post, and I look forward to sharing some fun pictures.
UCLA Anderson - International Exchange
http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x7181.xml
Matt
