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My experience of education in the UK makes me ask the question: Is it really worth spending so much money and studying abroad with the thought of securing a bright future?"

Having done the GCE 'O' levels and 'A' levels from Thailand, I decided to do my BBA and MBA from the UK as I thought it would be highly recognised in India, if I ever wanted to come back. Otherwise, I believed I would be able to get a good job and settle in the UK. There seemed to be a bright future ahead of me, and as I was a very good student, my dreams soared.

Having achieved distinction, that is 2:1, in both my undergraduate and post-graduate studies, and being amongst the top students, I started applying for jobs in the UK. After filling the never-ending application forms and sending them off to organisations, I was hopeful that something would click.

If you fancy yourself as a globe-trotting executive, it makes sense to start as you mean to go on and hop on a plane to a business school. You can absorb a range of cultural experiences while gaining your MBA - what is more, it can be cheaper than studying at home.

Steve Little, a Briton who recently graduated from Tuck Business School in the US, took some classes in the US and the UK before deciding where to apply. "The energy in the classroom is just at a higher level in the US. You got a real feeling that anything was possible; there is a buzz that I just didn't get in the UK."

US business schools also have a "can do" attitude towards helping students financially. "Once they have accepted you, they really want you and will do what it takes to get you to come," he says.

Most US schools offer financial assistance programmes - loans with favourable interest rates and payment terms. Little was given $40,000 (£21,000) in the first year and $44,000 in the second year of studying at Tuck.

An unforeseen advantage to taking out a loan like this, he says, is that it helps foreign students establish a credit rating in the US, which is invaluable if you plan to stay in the country. Without the two years' credit history, the loan will build, you won't get a credit card or mortgage, Little says.

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Source: -
Krupa Mathew,
Branch Head, Study Abroad,
Published in The Observer of Management Education, Vol. 2 Issue 1 January 2007.