<p>Hello all! As I near the end of my junior year of undergrad, I am questioning the next step(s) of my life. Here is my resume condensed into a few bullets:</p>
<p>3.5+ GPA from a very small, seldom heard-of undergraduate in the U.S. with bachelor's in Small Business Administration
Great recommendation letters from a few professors
Recently completed great internship with a local Chamber of Commerce (strong recommendation from boss here as well)
Involved in a few on-campus groups/clubs, but not anything outstanding
3+ years of summer work experience working in a real-estate office (licensed Realtor since the age of 18)</p>
<p>Basically, this is my dilemma: My dream is to enter an MBA program in the U.K. directly after undergrad, possibly get a few years of work experience there and travel a bit, then return to the states and pursue a career.</p>
<p>I am not particularly interested in finance or marketing, so I am leaning toward management or a few unique programs such as Corporate Social Responsibility and International Business have caught my eye as well - and I have not completely disregarded an MSc in something business related. Who knows - I can't decide, that's why I am here! I have spent tons of hours researching different schools in England particularly, and the general consensus I have gathered is that pursuing an MBA without some previous work experience is foolish. I am worried that if I stay in the states for too long and try to get work experience that I will end up tied down and never pursue my dream of studying in England and exploring Europe. I don't really count my real-estate experience as too much other than beefing up my resume because it has been very part-time and not too extensive so far, although I plan on getting a little more into it this summer. I understand that I could probably get into a really sub-par grad program in England without work experience and end it at that but since my undergraduate isn't very well-recognized, I would love to get into a grad. program in England that is at least somewhat respected internationally.</p>
<p>Should go for it and apply to a bunch of grad. schools in England during senior year, or should I wait it out and try to find a job here after graduation? If you think I should jump right into grad. school, do you have any suggestions of great / unique programs in England?</p>
<p>Your responses are appreciated!</p>
<p>Why do you want a British MBA when you want to work in America? I believe the general consensus is that US MBAs are better, and insurmountably better if you intend to stay in the US to use one. Most reputable MBAs do require work experience, yes. Not to mention an MBA might not improve your employability if you take it straight out of college.</p>
<p>Why can’t you just yknow go to Europe? Travel, teach English, just hang out?</p>
<p>I agree with vienneselights.</p>
<p>I think you need to decide what is more important to you 1) getting an MBA or, 2) getting a prestigious post-graduate degree from a prestigious British university.</p>
<p>It may be that you won’t be able to do both.</p>
<p>If 2) is more important to you, you should be looking at other fields in which to get your next degree. Many people in the UK do say, as vienneselights mentioned, that American MBA’s are generally considered better to UK MBA’s. So if “international respect” is something you are looking for, look at a different degree than an MBA.</p>
<p>But if your dream is just to live in the UK, have a look at other ways that could be possible just with the qualifications you have now.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the responses, greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Vienneselights:
I guess the idea of getting a British MBA wasn’t very well thought-through. Perhaps I should look into traveling and getting some valuable work experience in Europe for a few years then coming back home and applying to US MBA programs. Any ideas on how to go about that? I’m really unfamiliar with work permits and all of that, definitely something I’ll have to research further. It’d be awesome if I could land a decent job abroad, gather my experience then come back and apply to an MBA program in the states. You definitely changed my thought process a bit, thank you!</p>
<p>TheRealKEVP:
I guess now that I look at it from that perspective, getting an MBA isn’t even very important to me. I’m really just pursuing it because it seemed to be the next logical step in my education/life progression - which probably isn’t the right way to think about if I want to get the most out of the program. I might just be more in love with the idea of really old, historical British universities and a unique experience than the actual degree. Sounds foolish, huh? I’m interested in what you mentioned about other fields of degrees in the UK - any ideas? I know I’m leaving this really open-ended - thank you for your time!</p>
<p>Re work permits: you’ll need a company to sponsor you and send you a visa invitation. It is technically possible to get an EU company to sponsor you, but idk that’s hard. However, I assume you are a US citizen, therefore you can easily get a schengen visa and I dont believe you need a UK visa at all. You can also teach english or whatever in Europe. It all depends on where you are in your education process.</p>
<p>Re fancy english uni: study abroad, brah?</p>
<p>Wish my school offered study abroad haha.</p>
<p>Alwex, I don’t think your dreams sound foolish at all. They are YOUR dreams, and you should pursue them. And you can achieve your dreams if you don’t get distracted.</p>
<p>If you are, as you say, “in love with the idea of really old, historical British universities and a unique experience” then then you should begin getting information from the British universities you are interested in, that’s really easy now they all have their own websites. Find out what programs they have, and see what interests you and whether you have the qualifications. Also remember you always have the option of getting ANOTHER Bachelor’s degree if you are not qualified for any postgraduate programs they have.</p>
<p>Getting employed in the UK is another way to live in the UK. If you want to go this route, you probably will need the job offer before moving to the UK. Many many American companies have offices in the UK, London is very much an international center for business and finance. You may even be able to find work with a UK company.</p>
<p>…and then there is always the option of being an illegal immigrant.</p>
<p>Don’t ever feel that you are any obligation to take the “logical” next step, that will just distract you from your dreams.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
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<p>Depending on your exact definition of “really old” that might only encompass about 4 of the 120 or so universities in the UK (the vast majority of UK unis were founded in the 1960s or later, and I think only Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and St Andrews are really ancient).</p>
<p>US citizens don’t need a visa to visit the UK, but definitely DO need one to work here. However, there are some schemes such as BUNAC which help arrange work-travel and/or internship visas for young people in the the UK.</p>
<p>[US</a> Home page | Work Abroad, Volunteer Abroad, Gap Year, Internships and Visa Services](<a href=“http://www.bunac.org/usa/]US”>http://www.bunac.org/usa/)</p>
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<p>Why Durham? It’s not that old - a few of its buildings are ancient but the university itself isn’t. Durham is the 9th oldest uni in the UK, after Oxbridge, five Scottish unis, UCL and KCL.</p>
<p>Ewwww don’t go to Durham. It’s the Amherst of England.</p>