MBASchooled Guide: Travel: Start early, pay it forward, and navigate “opportunity overload”

Business school gives you a great 2-year window to travel the world. Whether it’s through a school sponsored trip visiting startups in a foreign country, studying abroad for a term, or traveling with 100 of your fellow classmates while being guided by other classmates who once resided in that country you will have countless opportunities to travel the world and see new places. The only constraints are your time (and money!) Kerry Rigley, a recent graduate of UNC Kenan-Flagler is an example of someone who took full advantage of business school to travel the world. Despite her globetrotting, she still managed a full courseload and significant involvement in student activities. In this section, she shares advice for how you can make travel work for you while still taking advantage of other business school opportunities.

Name: Kerry Rigley

School: University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)

Year: 2015

Company: PwC

Here’s what you need to know

The opportunity to travel on a school schedule as a young business professionals is unique to full-time masters programs and expressly encouraged when attending an MBA program. Many students acknowledge international travel as a key component of their MBA experience. I capitalized on the opportunity to travel throughout my two years as an MBA student making it to ten countries across three continents – and I am confident that this number would be rivaled by many of my globetrotting classmates!

While the time to travel is a luxury in business school with a handful of built-in breaks, study abroad opportunities, and time before and after your internship, thoughtful consideration on your choice destinations, travel companions, and budget are key to maximizing this unique experience to see the world.

Advice

Start the Travel Dialogue Early – You have likely heard numerous times that business school flies by – and this is true! Spread the word among classmates about your choice destinations to quickly identify potential travel companions and others who may be able to provide advice. You might find your travel soul mate by simply asking “Where are you hoping to go this year?” Following your business school experience, you likely will not be surrounded by an extensive group of people who have the same schedule/time off, comparable budgets, and similar travel preferences.

Select Your Travel Companions: It’s no secret that traveling can be tough, especially with a large group. It’s important to be realistic about who you would enjoy traveling with, but also opened minded to travel with classmates you do not know very well. I went to Copenhagen on a Doing Business In (DBI) course with six classmates I did not know very well – the trip is undoubtedly in my top three business school experiences because of the relationships formed during that week. Strike a balance between traveling with classmates with similar styles and also people you have not formed a relationship with.

Be Mindful of Partners and Family: Open the travel dialogue with the people who are important to you outside of school – ask your partner or other family members about their expectations for their own travel and time with you during the MBA experience.

 

In my case, my boyfriend who is also a business professional loves to travel but did not have the luxury of a student schedule. We set aside three weeks prior to the start of my internship to travel through Southeast Asia. This was critical because he knew when he should schedule his vacation time early-on and I had the flexibility to plan trips with classmates to destinations outside of Southeast Asia on other breaks.

While I was eager to jet-set any chance I had, it is also important to acknowledge family who may value spending time with you during school scheduled breaks. While school breaks are a prime opportunity to see the world, they also provide an opportunity to spend time with friends and family that may not live locally. You can take advantage of an MBA student schedule by both traveling internationally and visiting family without the burden of tracking your paid time off (PTO) during this time. An open dialogue on expectations will help with early planning and inclusion of your family on this adventure.

Navigating Opportunity Overload: Opportunity Overload – another phrase closely associated with the business school experience and especially relevant to international travel. MBA Programs offer formal international opportunities ranging from 3-days to full-semester study abroad programs. The formats range from attending short-term courses where most of your time is spent in the classroom to immersions where you have the opportunity to visit companies and experience local traditions. Consider the following tradeoffs when assessing if a program is right for you.

• Short-Term Courses (e.g., DBIs): DBI’s and other short-term, intensive courses are a great way to earn credits in a condensed period. However, the schedule requires you to spend a significant portion of your time in the classroom, potentially limiting your opportunity to sightsee. If there is a course being offered on a subject matter that interests you, it is worth spending your time in a classroom while abroad. I thoroughly enjoyed my sustainability class in Copenhagen, but may have felt restless if I had foregone my opportunity to explore a new city for a class I was not passionate about.

• Immersions: MBA Programs offer immersions where the itinerary is pre-planned to include both academic and cultural activities and logistics. My classmates raved about their experiences on these trips as they are truly planned by experts and you may gain access to experiences you would not have had otherwise. On the other hand, you may forego the experience of traveling on the fly.

• Study Abroad: Study abroad opportunities provide the in-classroom time over a quarter or semester and provide frequent opportunities to country-hop on the weekends. The greatest tradeoff is foregoing the time, experiences, and courses offered at your home institution. In addition, when planning study abroad, be sure to establish a budget that allows you to explore outside of your home city.

• Budget – The school organized trips range in costs. Consider your budget not only for the trip in question but for your planned travel over the course of your MBA experience.

Pay It Forward: Your international classmates will likely be eager to help you craft an itinerary or even personally show you around their home country. I am grateful for my peers who served as personal travel consultants. Keep in mind, many of your international classmates will also be exploring cities around the U.S. – provide the same level of guidance on your favorite hotspots and sights in the domestic cities you are familiar with.
Bon voyage!