Why I chose a UK MBA programme

Despite having so many MBAs on her doorstep, MBA student Cynthia Halatyn chose to up sticks and move to Scotland to study. Here she explains some of her reasons.

When I began my MBA I was asked a lot by my fellow students about why as an American with access to such amazing MBA programmes would I choose to study elsewhere? There’s no denying that the US has many of the best MBA programmes in the world. The opportunity to study in Scotland was alluring, but that wasn’t my only reason for deciding to get my MBA overseas. These are a few key reasons I chose a UK MBA over a US programme.

Globally Diverse Network

The great (great!) state of Texas has a lot of good MBA programmes, but half of what you pay for with any MBA is the network, and my programme opens a lot more doors for me globally then the ones back home could wherein I likely would have known everyone already by three degrees of separation. My MBA class of 30 has students from 15 countries all over the world. Even if I never want a job in South Korea, I now have friends there and learning about my classmates’ cultures has been eye opening and will prepare me better for a more globally connected world.

12 vs. 24 months

You don’t need to be good at maths to see that’s half the time (and half the money)! Yes it is exhausting, but I didn’t want to take a lot of time off work for graduate school. As we say in Texas: git ‘er done!

The NHS vs. Private Health Insurance

Unless you’re young enough that you can stay on your parents’ insurance, or you have a spouse with benefits you can remain on, you need to factor in the cost of monthly private health insurance if you’re considering graduate school of any kind in the US. In the UK I paid a one time annual fee for my Immigration Health Surcharge that was far less than what I would pay for a monthly premium. We can debate the pros and cons of the NHS, but generally I’d argue that not going bankrupt when you get sick is a good thing, and the care I have received here has been top notch.

Finally, I Love a Challenge

As members of my family can tell you, I never take the easy way out. Believe me, if I spoke better French, I’d have enrolled in a French MBA programme (I actually looked into it, albeit briefly). I like to move outside my comfort zone. Attending a programme in a country not my own is an opportunity for greater self-discovery and to push myself further to see how much I’m capable of.

This article first appeared on Cynthia’s own blog page which you can find here. Find out more about the Strathclyde MBA here. You can connect with Cynthia via Linked In

About Cynthia Halatyn

Cynthia Halatyn is a student on the full time MBA programme at Strathclyde Business School.