xfixing

[xfixing]

On another note

I started drawing again.

We’ll see how long that hobby lasts this time ^^’

[xfixing]

Campus visit to IUJ

So, you’ve got your eyes set on a particular university for your degree, you’re considering applying, or maybe you’ve already started the process. Now, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that you pay the place a visit, if you can, before you bind yourself to the university for 2-3 years. Most universities will be more than open to campus visits, as long as you contact the place well in advance. 

I happened to be in Japan during Christmas 2017 and decided not only to go to an information meeting for IUJ, but also to pay the place a visit. Even if it was a 1.5 hour Shinkansen ride away from Tokyo. And I’m really glad I did. Before the visit, nothing had given me the impression that the university area was as rural as it is, not even the information meeting. The staff was very good at choosing photos of the university that did not show the surrounding mountains and rice fields to be all there was to the area. Nor did they show the old, grey concrete dormitory buildings.  Yes, beautiful campus-surroundings, but even a beautiful area can become a prison if there is little to no way to get out, to get to a station, a supermarket, a café or the cinema. The only way we could get to the station was with the school bus, which did not run in the evening. Or on weekends...  Compared to Tokyo, Urasa has nothing. It’s quite the culture shock, especially for students who’s never been to Japan before. And time and time again, I heard my fellow students say “I never knew it would be this rural. They told me the university was in Niigata.” Unfortunately, Niigata is not the city in which International University of Japan is located, Niigata is the region. And Urasa is located juuust on the border between the Niigata and Tokyo region. Which means it takes as much time to get to Niigata City with the Shinkansen as to Tokyo. Between Urasa and Niigata City there is no bigger cities either, most of it is farmland.  At least, after the campus visit, I knew what I was walking into when I accepted and paid for my MBA program at IUJ. Or well, I thought I knew. Because the environment at IUJ was much more than just mountains and rice fields. Since I grew up in a rural town, I’m used to nature. And at IUJ, those very mountains and rice fields became my escape and the only place I could breathe. 

So, if you find yourself interested in a particular university, before accepting their invitation for a study program, pay the place a visit. It most definitely is more (or less) than what the photos you can find tell you. 

[xfixing]

Busy

Hey, sorry for the lack of posts recently. Thing have been quite hectic on my end with social get-togethers, appointments and job searching. I should be back now to continue posting about my 2 years in Japan. :D Oh, and this is my new obsession, please bear with me.

[xfixing]

To-do-list for an MBA degree in Japan

..Or elsewhere probably too, I guess many of the same rules apply for most countries. I’d like to just quickly give you guys an overview of all the paperwork, I had to get in order before I could say I’d successfully completed my MBA application process: 1st phase:

Visa application: - Certificate of eligibility - Proof of university admission - Passport photo

University application: - An online application - Personal Statement (Letter of motivation) - Research Topic (and why you wish to pursue this research) - Passport photographs - College Certificates; and these must be the original versions, at least for Japan. Here, I had to include an application for return of my documents, because *cough* your college certificates are pretty darn important.  - 2 Letters of Recommendation (from previous professors or employers) - A pledge form (”I hereby swear to behave”) - GMAT test score - English Test Score (unless English is your mother tongue) - Pay your application fee - Application for Scholarships; this includes an application to the university itself, for the scholarships that they provide, and all the applications you wish to send out to private companies and organisations - A Copy of your Residence card (what you’re given as you enter Japan on a long-term student visa) - Passport Copy As you can see, there is a lot of things to work out as a privately-funded student. However, take it one step at a time, as well-ahead of schedule as you can manage, and this will be far from impossible. Honestly, once I’d sent everything by mail in a big, fat envelope, all I had to do was wait for a reply.

The observant reader may ask the question “but how am I going to apply for a visa without proof of admission to the university, and how am I going to apply for the university without proof of residence in Japan?”  Very valid question. What I did here was to send everything but the copy of a residence card to the university during the application process. I emailed the university concerning this, to make them aware of the dilemma, and there were absolutely no issues. Because, luckily, the admission staff are not daft and they’d realised the dilemma before me. Instead, I sent a copy of my visa, as soon as the Embassy had issued one to me, and gave them a copy of my residence card after I’d arrived in Japan. Which is... kinda the only option, you have ^^, 2nd phase:

All you have to do here is to send the university’s documents back with a signature, proof of tuition payment for the first semester, and possibly some more letters, depending on your university. What you do know at this stage, is that you’re accepted. No way anyone is gonna deny you entry to the university of your dreams now. Except maybe your wallet. But hopefully, you’ve got that settled before this stage... I hope this overview helped you out there, with your dreams of applying to an international graduate or undergraduate program. I’d like to underline to you all: It is not impossible. With just a bit of perseverance and scheduling, you’ve got this in the bag, no problem.  The same goes for funding of your university tuition; it seems like an awful lot of money, something which seems impossible to pay for a student on a tight budget already. Don’t worry, there are so so many organisations you can reach out to, who will be happy to help. Even the university itself will have a handful of scholarships you can apply for, and it often requires little more than a very motivated letter and proof that you need help. Because the university needs the students. They need you, for funding and for publicity.  If there is anything you’re still in doubt about or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to drop me a message. I’ll be happy to help (:

[xfixing]

GMAT and GMAT preparations

I graduated with a BSc in Business and Asian Studies in June 2017. I’d just been in Japan for half a year as an exchange student, and I knew that I wanted to take my Master’s degree overseas. If I could get accepted to a program in Japan, I could continue to study the language and culture, which was deepest passion at the time. I quickly realised, however, that I would have to apply for an MBA, given the difference in university degree systems between Denmark and most other countries outside Scandinavia. To apply for an MBA, a GMAT test score must be included in your application documents.

A GMAT is, in short, a test one has to take in order to apply for most MBAs internationally. The test includes a verbal, quantitative and an integrated reasoning part, as well as an analytical writing test. Having just finished my undergraduate program, I did not understand the importance of a GMAT test, and I certainly wasn’t motivated to study for another exam, right after I’d finished my undergraduate thesis. I was exhausted. Furthermore, the GMAT appears to be an American invention - I was going to Japan, not America - and the test was expensive, which made me reluctant about the ordeal before even beginning preparations.  

Should you look up GMAT test online, you will come across many books offered for the preparation of the test. I’d signed up for a test in late July, to get ahead in completing the application documents required of a self-funding student, which gave me little time to study. Since I hadn’t studied math since high school, I knew that was were my weakness would lie for the test. Instead of buying an expensive book to teach me to study for the GMAT specifically, however, I buried myself in studies of Algebra, Statistics, Geometry and all the other required math topics, which I knew would appear in the GMAT test.

I studied math intensively for a month. And got a measly score of 400 on my GMAT test.

The test is probably one of the most stressful exams, I’ve ever experienced. Almost all of the math problems, I knew how to solve, but not within the crazy 2 minutes that was given for each question… A score of 400 doesn’t sound so bad, but like all other things these days, you have to distinguish yourself, and I quickly learned that a score below 550 would not get me very far. I had to take the test again.

For anyone, who’s in a situation where you have to take a GMAT test, I advise you to buy a GMAT test book. I got a Kindle version, and I very quickly learned that the trick to a GMAT test is actually not being good at math. It’s all about being good at backwards thinking and finding a solution without actually calculating anything. For many of the GMAT math problems, the trick is to eliminate the obviously wrong answers, and utilize very basic math knowledge for the rest.

For the verbal part, knowing English grammar and spelling is a little more necessary than being a genius at arithmetic, however, often the best idea is, again, to eliminate all obviously wrong answers and take it from there.

I took my second GMAT exam on February 2nd 2018. Ahead of that, I’d been studying every day for two months to learn the tricks to gain a high GMAT test score. The deadline for my university application documents were in April, so I only had that second chance before it would be too late to improve my 400 points score.

After about three hours of stress, I received my results. With a score of 6.0 in analytical writing, 35 points in verbal and 31 in quantitative (math), I’d successfully improved my score to 550. And close to tears, I could proudly send these results to all universities I planned on applying for.

Never again. This was probably the worst part of my MBA experience in its entirety, and that says something.

I would like to emphasize that a GMAT test should not scare you away, if you dream of an MBA. However, do take the tricks and GMAT study books seriously, even if it is glaringly obvious that the GMAT’s main purpose is to generate money for the organisation inventing it. If you have a deep desire to get an MBA, to lead your own teams and become a CEO, to be confident enough to pay the GMAT organisers little to no attention, the price of a GMAT – both monetary and your time – is pocket money, compared to what you’ll likely earn in your future (; And don't be afraid to take the test several times. Practice makes perfect.

[xfixing]

Within me, there is something stronger

I finally saw my friend this weekend after several months of weird, obnoxious circumstances getting in the way - Covid-19, mold in her apartment, a part-time job at a faraway island - and she gave me this quote, neatly written on a piece of paper. A quote which made me nearly tear up, and which would probably have made me cry just six months ago.

“In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that in the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there is something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” (Albert Camus)

I think I shall now tell you guys the story, which inevitably inspired my friend to give me these words. If my experience and experiences can, in any way, motivate, encourage, support or advice just one person, it shall be my pleasure to write it all down here, in parts. As neatly and organized as I can muster, I plan to take you through the years between 2017 and 2020, while I was preparing for and undertaking my MBA studies at International University of Japan, 浦佐 (Urasa) - which was definitely nothing like Niigata, which the university promoted was the location of the university. Right, Pinocchio.

Those 2 years in Japan taught me much more about myself and about the world than it did business and corporate finance.

The summer of 2017 is when it started.