Is MBA abroad worth it? 11 Pros & cons

In this article let’s take a look at some pros and cons of doing MBA abroad to understand whether doing MBA abroad is worth it or not.

If you are confused regarding whether you choose MBA abroad or in your own country then you should read this article till the end because

I’m going to lay down all the benefits and drawbacks of doing MBA in the foreign country to help you by making your decision easier.

So without further ado let’s get started.

Pros and cons of doing MBA abroad

Pros of doing MBA abroad

Gain new experience & exposure

One of the main advantages of doing MBA or any other education abroad is that you will gain new exposure and experience which can be unique in its own way.

You will get to learn new culture, environment and you will also learn about the new rules and regulations of the country and it can be quite amazing for you because the rules and regulations of countries will differ from each other for example maintaining guns in India is totally banned but it is not banned in America.

Apart from rules and regulations you can also get to learn and experience the culture and festivals the people celebrate there and the history of the nation, the food culture and many more things that people celebrate in that nation.

This can broaden your mind and increase your knowledge and mindset.

This can be new experience and exposure in your life.

Learn new language

Another important benefit of doing an MBA abroad is that you can get to learn new language and this can be a lot of beneficial in your professional life because it can increase your chances of success in your life and

building new connections at the same time learning new language is also very good for your brain as it can improve your concentration and increase your memory levels, improve your problem solving skills and creativity, overall learning new language can be a good exercise for your brain.

You should also know that if you learn foreign language and communicate with foreign people in their own National language then it can help build the connection stronger and it will also help you communicate your messages and ideas properly.

Apart from that learning new language which is the national language of the foreign country for example if you are studying in Germany then learning German can help you in get new job opportunities in Germany itself and

learning new language is also one of the most important reasons why people want to study abroad because there can be no other better motivational source than visiting the foreign country.

Apart from that letting your employer’s know that you also have the knowledge of speaking any foreign language in your resume can increase your employment opportunities and give you a competitive edge over others and it can help you stand out from the competition.

Many studies have been conducted which show that learning new foreign language can increase your salary by 10 to 15%.

This is one of the prominent reasons why you should consider studying abroad.

Grow your network

Another important benefit of studying abroad is that you can grow your network and connections.

This can become more beneficial when you are studying MBA degree in foreign countries because according to a survey most of the people want to study MBA in order to gain business knowledge,

skills or they want to switch their career or advance in their career and building your network with people who want to start their own business in future is a wonderful benefit.

Apart from that in the majority of the foreign universities even the admission criteria is quite tough for example in Harvard Business School the acceptance rate is 5% so only the best of the best students can get enrolled which also gives

you a lot of opportunity to build good network with the best people because of that you can gain lots of new skills, build unique memories, experience and knowledge from your network and friends

And this becomes even more awesome when you are studying MBA degree in foreign countries because obviously majority of the students who visit foreign countries to study MBA get many opportunities in their life and when you are building your network and connections with future businessman and

entrepreneur then it can be nothing more better than that because majority of the students who study MBA have a job and are professional people so the connections you build with this people can help you succeed through various opportunities, word of mouth marketing or referrals, in your professional life in future.

You should know that your network decides your net worth and studying MBA in foreign countries can help you build a strong network with best people in the world who are obviously entrepreneurs.

Improved quality of education

Another big advantage of studying MBA in foreign countries is that it can have better quality of education.

Most popular international universities to study MBA degree are Stanford MIT Harvard London business school Oxford Cambridge yale Copenhagen National University of Singapore and many more.

What is so special about these universities is that, they have top quality teaching faculty infrastructure and curriculum.

Because of better quality of education & reputation & lots of focus on lots of practical learning and real life applications of the knowledge it can give you good knowledge and foundation of the MBA course and it can also help you get many job opportunities in future.

Gain new skills

Because of quality education of the foreign universities for example Harvard is one of the best universities for getting MBA and what makes this university so awesome is that, they focus alot on the practical knowledge and group discussions debates and

application with concepts like case model and dividing the students in different sections with 90 students in each section so that students can learn from each other and grow their network at the same time with proper network and connections you can also move out of your comfort zone and try out new things.

Because of that quality education and good professors and curriculum you can gain lots of Amazing skills like problem solving, planning, critical thinking, organisational, decision making and other interpersonal skills which majority of the employers look for in the MBA graduates like the ability to work with different people and also the ability to take decisions and solve complex problems of the businesses.

Get new opportunities

Another big benefit of studying MBA in foreign countries is that you can get new opportunities to grow in your career.

You can get a chance to get hired and work in a foreign company at the same time you can also get a chance to start a startup and business in the foreign land.

For example if you have taken your MBA degree from Singapore university then you can get a chance to start your own business with your knowledge of MBA and by the way Singapore is considered to be one of the best places to start a startup and business.

The point I am trying to convey is that not every country will be suitable to start a business or grow because of different rules and regulations and if you consider studying in foreign countries for MBA then because of different rules and regulations you can get new opportunities to grow in different countries.

Good average salary & job growth

Another benefit of studying MBA in foreign land is that because you can get a chance to work in many multinational companies in foreign country you can get good average salary compared to your own country.

Let’s take the example of Harvard business school which is one of the top 10 best business and management schools in the world and the average salary of the MBA graduate from this school is around 150 thousand dollars per annum and the average salary of MBA graduate from Stanford University is around 218000 USD per annum.

At the same time if you graduate from the top business schools like Harvard or Stanford because of the reputation and ranking of these colleges you can get a chance to work in many multinational companies like Google Microsoft apple Accenture and McKinsey and also get the campus placement as soon as you complete your MBA degree.

And because of the fact that you hold MBA degree from top business schools in the world it can also build a lot of trust and credibility on yourself and on your skills for the employer.

And because you have got quality education in your university and you have the skills required such as solving complex problems and leadership skills which majority of the employees look for you can also get into higher positions of the company get promotions and bonuses frequently

and advance in your career because at the end of the day your skills and knowledge is what going to change your life and career and there is no other thing better than studying MBA from the top foreign university because it can give you the strong foundation and teach you the skills properly and give good start in your career.

These are all the advantages and benefits of studying MBA in foreign land.

Cons of doing MBA abroad

It can be expensive

This is a no brainer, in most cases quality education and network comes at a cost.

For example if you want to study in American Harvard University school which is one of the top 5 best business schools than the average cost would be 73440 USD and

the total fees of studying in Harvard including all the fees of tuition, health, books and materials, food, hostels and living expenses of students can cost around 111 542 USD.

You should keep in mind that this is only for one year and MBA degree is two years long.

Thankfully you can get scholarship for MBA from hbs if you qualify for it and the average scholarship fees is $40,000 per annum and the scholarships are awarded based on the merit of the students.

In order to get the scholarship from Harvard you need to submit some important documents like your income tax reports, your assets and your socio economic background so that

you can qualify for the scholarship and another beautiful thing is that you can apply for the scholarship and get the result within three to four weeks irrespective whether you belong to America or any other foreign national.

You can check more frequently asked questions of scholarships and financial aid to study in Harvard for Mba by clicking here.

And in some other cases you might have to take loan if you don’t qualify for the scholarship.

If you visit the foreign land for education of MBA even if it is two years long you should include all the expenses apart from college fees and education such as your health fees, living and hostel expenses, food expenses, transportation fees and many more.

Because you should know that every country has its own rules and regulations, different tax rates and laws.

Homesickness & loneliness

Another important thing you should consider if you want to study MBA in foreign land is that homesickness and loneliness feeling.

A survey was conducted in 2016 and results were that more than 70% of first-year students frequently experienced homesickness.

In one study, 94% of students reported experiencing homesickness at some point during their first 10 weeks of college.

Homesickness and loneliness feelings occur when you cannot properly adjust, adapt the different culture, environment and people of the foreign country and when you are missing your friends and parents of your country.

Because of homesickness and loneliness feeling it can lead to many serious disadvantages like it can affect your sleeping pattern and mental health and give you lots of anxiety and depression as well, it can also affect your concentration and self esteem, etc.

At the same time it is also seriously affect your physical health with frequent headaches and lack of appetite and stomach problems.

Over the period of time some students either recover from this homesickness feeling or some students do not recover and get back home.

Tough to get admission

Another disadvantage of trying to study in foreign university is that it can also be quite tough to get admission into.

For example some foreign universities which offer MBA degree have strict admission guidelines for instance take example of Stanford University which even though does not require any work experience to get admission into the college but

you need to have 4 years of bachelor’s degree and also pass the exam of IELTS to prove your English proficiency and Applicants securing admission to the Stanford MBA have a GPA of 3.8 (92-93%), the average acceptance rate is 6% of Stanford.

Apart from that you also need to have the F1 visa to study in America.

Currently, the Stanford MBA class of 2022 has a student population of 436, out of which, 35% are international candidates.

You should keep in mind the fact that the acceptance rate is only 6% in the Stanford University and admission rate will depend upon different college and University and also upon the admission criteria.

Difficulty to get employment back home

This can also be a disadvantage in some countries if you get your MBA degree from foreign university.

And if you want to work in your home country after getting your degree from the foreign university for some reason then you can sometimes face some challenges to get employment like the employers cannot understand the foreign university and their curriculum of the university.

The domestic employees do not attend foreign universities to recruit students as well.

Most other firms hesitate hiring foreign graduates on grounds of lack of awareness of their capabilities as measured against their home-grown peers.

there is also the issue of validity of foreign degrees under an existing domestic education system.

These are all the benefits and drawbacks of studying MBA in abroad.