In this column, Ayush Dubey, MBA candidate at Yale School of Management, talks about his his semester abroad at London Business School, why he ultimately returned to Yale, and what future students should weigh when considering an MBA exchange.
In undergrad, studying abroad is a no-brainer: a new country, fresh friendships, and months of exploration without much cost to whatever you’re leaving behind. An MBA exchange is different. With only two years, high tuition, recruiting pressure, and an already-formed campus identity, leaving mid-program can feel like stepping away from the momentum you’ve worked hard to build.
That’s exactly why I spent more time deciding whether an exchange program at London Business School (LBS) would meaningfully add to my experience at Yale School of Management or simply interrupt something that was working.
Eventually, I realized the exchange wasn’t a “stay or go” question. it was just another version of the prioritization game we already play every week in an MBA program. We all juggle academics, networking, friendships, recruiting, travel, rest, and personal goals. An exchange widens the menu of choices while keeping the same underlying question: What allocation of time gives me the most learning, energy, and perspective right now?
Framing it this way helped me see a shorter exchange at LBS as a purposeful shift rather than a disruption.
HOW AN MBA EXCHANGE FEELS DIFFERENT
Ayush Dubey in London, courtesy photo
MBA exchanges require a different mindset. You’re not arriving in a group eager to make their first friends. Students at both campuses already have circles, priorities, routines, and limited time. Your own home-school identity is also set by then. This makes hesitation completely normal.
Letting go of the expectation of instant integration actually makes the adjustment smoother. I was fortunate to have a few close friends from Yale with me on the exchange, which helped, but I still knew I’d need to be open to the social dynamic of a new environment. That mindset made the whole experience feel more natural.
Timing plays a larger role than people anticipate. Full term or half term, Fall or Spring, the experience changes with each combination. I didn’t feel the need to relocate for months, so a half-semester made sense. And, Fall in Europe is simply easier with better weather, cheaper travel, and more energy before winter.
Having a return offer helped, but even then, time zones mattered. For those recruiting in their second year, networking notifications could come at odd hours, coffee chats could occasionally run past midnight, and interview slots didn’t always align with classes or weekend plans. It’s important to be honest about whether being even slightly removed from campus might affect how plugged in you want to stay.
Visa rules are another factor to confirm early. Depending on your passport and the host country, some exchange visas don’t permit local or remote work, which can rule out in-semester internships, TA roles, or research assistantships. It isn’t limiting, but it’s useful to know upfront if you’re hoping for those options.
THE LBS ADVANTAGE
LBS complemented the naturally U.S.-focused lens of my MBA at Yale. London brings in speakers from across Europe, Asia, and MENA, and the shift in perspective is noticeable right away. Even in sessions on topics I already knew well, the way speakers framed regulation, cross-border work, and organizational priorities carried nuances I hadn’t seen as much in the U.S. It was easy to walk up afterward, introduce myself, and follow up on LinkedIn – those conversations added both context and contacts I wouldn’t have found otherwise.
If you’re curious – even slightly – about working or interning outside the U.S., an exchange is one of the most natural ways to access that perspective.
What surprised me the most was how much the practical side mattered. Restarting life in a new country for a few months brings an administrative tax – short-term housing, subletting, SIM cards, transportation, banking, and more.
The Schengen visa was another hinge. As someone who needed one, planning ahead made the entire experience more flexible. Once it was sorted, Europe opened up – cheap flights, easy trains, and weekend trips that would never be possible from the U.S. Thinking about all this as project management rather than hassle kept me grounded.
Ayush Dubey, courtesy photo
BUILDING A MICRO-COMMUNITY
Once I settled into the rhythm of LBS, the exchange became one of the most enjoyable parts of my MBA. LBS’s social environment is truly globally diverse – in the first week alone, I met students from INSEAD, IESE, HEC, HKUST, and several U.S. schools.
One exchange student started a casual ‘Tuesday Train Trips’ tradition – weekly day trips to different towns or London neighborhoods. Saying yes to these small, spontaneous plans made it easy to build community for many.
Where you stay is also worth thinking about. It’s easier to join events or group lunches on the fly, meet people organically, and stay connected to what’s happening when you’re close to the campus. Living farther out still works, but it adds a bit of planning that makes saying ‘yes’ less instinctive.
From London, Europe felt ‘weekend-close.’ Ryanair flights and Eurostar trains made trips to Amsterdam and Germany simple and inexpensive. London’s everyday history added another layer, while the English countryside – from Cotswolds paths and the Seven Sisters cliffs to quaint towns like Canterbury – offered a completely different feel.
The MBA exchange, thus, might also be the last stretch in life where you could live abroad with this much flexibility. Therefore, selecting a location that aligns with the type of travel or cultural experience you desire is another crucial factor to consider.
Looking back, the exchange felt like a condensed version of the MBA – a different rhythm, new perspectives, and experiences I wouldn’t have had by staying in one place. It expanded my worldview without pulling me away from the foundation I’d built at Yale. And it reminded me that a meaningful part of an MBA is not just where you study, but how intentionally you design your time.
Ayush Dubey is a 2026 MBA candidate at Yale School of Management with a background in aerospace engineering and digital transformation. He earned his BTech degree in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Bombay before pivoting to finance and strategy. He most recently worked as a senior manager of Digital Transformation at Procter & Gamble. Read his Meet The Class profile here.
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