Thinking about combining your MBA experience with an international one? Imagining yourself meeting with your study group in the coffee shops of New York or the cafés of Paris?

Getting your MBA in a new country can be an exciting proposition. But before you start packing your bags, spend some time thinking about a few things that could make or break your international experience.

Every year, we survey thousands of MBA students all over the world, asking them about their MBA decisions and experiences. According to our most recent survey of MBA students, 25% attend a school outside their countries of citizenship. Historically, their main reasons for seeking a degree internationally have been—

• to get a better-quality education than was available in their own country,
• for better career opportunities,
• to broaden their international experience/exposure,
• to gain exposure to different cultures/ways, and
• because the school they attended has an international reputation.

If some of those reasons sound familiar, you might be interested in studying internationally, as well.

To make sure you will be happy and successful studying in another country, you should make sure you understand something about the country’s educational style and culture. Are you expected to participate in group projects? What about class participation? Are you comfortable being challenged in front of your classmates? How are grades calculated?

There is no right or wrong answer to any of these questions, but you may be surprised to find yourself in a classroom where the style of teaching is very different from what you expected. For example, in many U.S. MBA programs, the students are expected to express their ideas even if they do not agree with those of the professor. In some cultures, that would be considered disrespectful.

To determine whether a school is the one for you, you need to look at more than just the percentage of international students in a program. What countries do they represent? What resources does the school provide for international students? Can the school help you with visa requirements? Can the school put you in touch with alumni in your country who attended the school? Is the school willing to be flexible if you have special dietary or religious needs? 

Job placement may be more of a concern to you than cultural considerations. Many students start an MBA with the intention of remaining in the same country after graduation. Our most recent survey of graduating students found that over half of the students who attended MBA programs outside their country of citizenship plan to work outside their country of citizenship after graduation.

Of all the students who indicated plans to work outside their country of citizenship, 44% had received job offers at the time of the survey. However, past research on hiring practices for foreign nationals has found that corporate recruiters prefer to hire people who already have the required work permits to work in their country.

Bottom line: It may be difficult to get a job outside your country of citizenship, particularly if you don’t already have the required work permits, so make sure you have realistic expectations of international study and post-MBA employment.

Get Answers from the Schools

You should investigate in detail what the school placement office can do for you if you are a citizen of a country other than the one in which you will be studying. Even the best schools might have a significantly lower placement average for their international graduates than for others.

Things to ask: How many companies that come to interview on campus are willing to hire international students? What kinds of industries are willing to hire international students? Are summer internships available to international students? You need to ask very specific questions to find out what you need to know.

You may come from a culture where family and personal relationships are very close, or you may never have been very far away from home before. Are you prepared to spend a year or two without hearing your language spoken or eating your favorite foods?

Where you choose to attend school can have a big impact on your life. A school in the urban center may have a larger expatriate community than a more isolated, rural campus. Checking with your country's embassy or consulate can be a good way to find out if there might be other expatriates in the school location you are considering.

Visa issues have become much more complicated in recent years. The best place to get accurate information is from the schools you are considering. They can usually send you to the correct government agency for student visas. You should be advised that getting a student visa in some countries can take a long time, so plan ahead.

Networking is very important in the business world, but to prospective international students, networking is also important before you choose where to study. The best way to find out if a particular school or city is right for you is to talk to people from a similar background who currently attend the school or who graduated recently. See if the school admissions office can put you in touch with any alumni in your area.

You should also investigate some of the online resources for connecting with other students. Ask some specific questions about what it is like to live and study at the school you are considering before you can make the decision that is best for you.