By: Annabelle Low, GMBA class of 2018 (and many other members of the GMBA family)

This is the second in a new series of columns entitled Yay or Nay. Each issue, the Gateway team will speak to current students to understand their perspectives on various opportunities related to the GMBA program. This issue, we look at Exchange programs. The GMBA program offers two types of exchange programs- Semester and short-term exchange. Semester exchanges take place in the first semester of the second year, while short-term exchanges take place either early in the year or during the summer. What are the considerations one should make? For international students, does it make sense? We talked to our classmates to find out more about how they chose to spend their third semester.

YAY

Wang Nei, Class of GMBA 2018, exchange to IE Madrid, Spain

I wanted to travel! It was a good break for me after the grueling first year. I probably will not have such opportunities to travel like this again once I start work, so this was my chance.

Kirin Xiao, Class of GMBA 2018, exchange to Bocconi, Italy

I wanted to immerse myself in a new culture. The second year for me was relatively more relaxed as I had finished most of my credits in the first year. Going on exchange and being away from China would give me time to clear my head and plan my future.

Kirin Xiao

Jason Luan Zheng Yu, Class of GMBA 2018, exchange to Stanford, USA

I had already studied in the US previously. In addition, I have a family to take care of. Autumn is peak hiring season, and I wanted to focus on applying for jobs. I chose to apply for the Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program (STEP) as it is only two weeks during our winter break.

Jason Luan ZhengYu

NAY

Paolo Scroccu, Class of GMBA 2018

I chose to stay in China so that I can focus on learning the Chinese language. I wanted to discover more about China, so I used this time to travel to different regions in China in order to learn more about Chinese culture.

Jiayi Leong, Class of GMBA 2018

I want to get a job in China, so my focus was getting an internship here. I did a six-month internship with a consulting firm. Fall is the peak hiring season for most international companies in China. Did not want to miss the peak hiring season. I had already attended the Coca-cola marketing course in Atlanta.

Jinyoung Rhee, Class of GMBA 2018

I was determined to stay in China to learn Chinese and explore China. Besides, there are many opportunities to gain overseas exposure in the program. I did not go on exchange but I did go on a study trip to India in January 2018.

Jinyoung Rhee

Bruno Chan, Class of GMBA 2018

I came all the way to China because I want to be in China! It did not make sense for me to go on exchange. I got an internship, which and got a full-time offer from that.