Unable to take all the classes I wanted this term, I decided that rather than take any old class, I would have a reduced course load. The indirect result of this is that I will be left with four subjects to go for next term, just enough to be considered "full time" study.
I decided I will undertake these subjects on exchange.
Now the problem is: where to go? The list of MBS exchange partners is long (about 30 schools). However, I can eliminate over half of them because you are not allowed to go on exchange to your "home country" which for me includes both the U.S. (by citizenship) and Canada (having completed a degree there). Most MBS students go to the U.S. on exchange, with NYU being the most popular. Few go to Europe and fewer still to Asia so it is unlikely I will not be accepted to my top-ranked school.
Choices
Deciding where to go on exchange is typical of most of the hard life decisions one makes. There is a lack of good information and, fortunately, all the choicest seem good; I'm not forced to choose between the lesser of two evils.
Cape Town currently ranks highly on my list. The weather is great, I've been told that the business school is in a fantastic location and Cape Town has natural beauty that is missing in Melbourne. Scandanavian and some other clean, orderly European cities are also appealing: Vienna, St. Gallen, Copenhagen, and Oslo. Rotterdam is a candidate, but seriously, they are not doing anyone any favours with their promotional video (see bottom of the page).
Tel Aviv is also appealing. While I don't like Tel Aviv as a city, I do have friends and family in Tel Aviv and around Israel and they do have subjects related to technology and entrepreneurship that interest me.
East Asian schools have a certain draw. Singapore might a nice place to spend a couple of months, but its low diversity means I may stand out a bit more than I'd like to. (Then again, that could be an opportunity for personal development.)
The deadline is this week, so I'll need to make a decision shortly…
