In the shoes of an international MBA student

Rufaro Andrew Hozheri, MBA ’26

“I am pleased to inform you that the Admissions Committee has recommended your acceptance into the…” Reading these words usually marks a critical moment in every prospective candidate’s journey. For me, as an international student, it marked the beginning of a new reality: studying abroad.

As you continue to read that acceptance letter, even more thoughts start to race in your mind. Will I be able to secure a study visa? Should I tell my family and friends? Is this the right time to hand in my resignation notice at work? How am I going to finance my studies? Where will I be staying, on campus or off campus? What’s the plan after graduation; will I be able to secure employment abroad or will I want to come back home? All these questions are unleashed on you all at once. Before you realize it, the unknowns temporarily replace the excitement of the program acceptance news, as they demand answers before you can properly plan for your next journey.

Although experiences vary from student to student, at this moment you are likely to get into a cognitive dissonance state. You know that stage where soon after purchasing something you start to ask yourself if you really needed to make that purchase. Trust me, at this point all you need is affirmation. You need someone who has done it before to tell you that all will be fine, and as you start to find satisfactory answers to that army of questions, you will start feeling better.

One thing for sure is that this is not the end of your journey, but a type of beginning. The months following your decision to attend an MBA program abroad are usually more hectic than you would expect. Back-and-forth emails with the university will become a new routine. A series of webinars with universities will start to pour in, and this will be your first clue that you might have to adjust to a new time zone. Because let’s face it, changing time zones isn’t just about resetting the clock, it is about reprogramming your entire internal clock.

During this time, you are probably spending more time on the internet than a digital marketer, learning about the country, the state, the school, and the culture. Depending on your level of enthusiasm, you are probably following the school on the social media pages at this stage, and the countdown clock is not stopping.

Eventually, the day comes when you have to say goodbye to your home country. As you close your eyes to take off from the airport, you probably feel like Sir Isaac Newton, who was looking for a smoother pebble, whilst the great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before him. But remember, even Newton got hit on the head with an apple before he figured out gravity, so the process might not be smooth, but well worth it.