International exposure - Is it valuable?

[mjjking]

Hi Stacy,
thanks for your advices first of all!
Secondly, I'd like your opinion. I'm trying to gain admittance to a medium-ranked MBA (Willamette, LSU, Baylor). I'm an italian stdent, and I'd like to know if having had international exposure will help my admission request - and my job hunt in the future also!

I was born in a border town between Italy and France, and I've always been in contact with these two different cultures and way of life. I've travelled a lot for tourism, which brought me visiting as many as 30 different countries so far (I'm just 24 y/o). Travelling - and being an anthropology student! - helped me understanding different cultures and different values, from Western Africa to East Asia.

Furthermore, I've done volunteering for about 14 days in Romania (construction of a orphanage) and I participeated in a homestay program in a rural village in The Gambia. Furthermore, I've studied as exchange student in Finland for one academic year, and I've studied english in Canada for 6 weeks.

Do you think these international experiences would help me gain some points in the admission process, and do you think they would help me finding a job in International Busienss/Finance once graduated? I'd like to add I speak fluently Italian, English and Spanish (I have TOEFL certifications and I passed a university exam stating my knowledge of Spanish); I speak a moderately good finnish (level 3 out of six certification) and I speak basic mandarin chinese (two years course) and Indonesian.

Thanks Ms. Blackman for your help!

Roberto CUsato

[Stacy Blackman]

International exposure is not uncommon but is certainly a good thing! It will be one part of your application but you cannot rely on it as your main selling point.