Written by Undergraduate Global Ambassador, Paula Cevallos. 

When graduating high school, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to study. If I am completely honest, I didn’t even have a clear picture of what I wanted to study. I knew four things for sure–I like people, I am good talking with them, I am good in organizing, and I am very creative. A few aptitude tests later, I decided I wanted to study Business. Not everything is for everyone, but Business is definitely a gateway to anything. Whether you want to open your own business, work in a company, work with numbers, or work in the more creative areas; and the great thing is that along the way you can decide what area or areas of business you want to specialize in. If you want to study business and don’t know what university to choose, this blog might be for you.

I applied to many universities, including Indiana University, University of Pennsylvania, and Pace University. I got accepted into all of them. So what were the deciding factors that led me to choose Hult?

International Environment 

I absolutely loved that Hult had such a variety of students from all over the world. Not only because of how interesting their different backgrounds are but because in Business there is nothing more important than connecting with people.  When I arrived at Hult, there were at least people from 10 different nationalities per class and the value was not only one of the interests but an educational one as well. At that moment and even until now, I find myself learning from what each of them has to add to the class: experiences, different ways of solving things, mindsets, core values. All of which have added up to my learning experience that is hard to put into words without experiencing it. It is close to the feeling of having a new kid in your classroom. But not nearly as exciting because this time you don’t know where that kid is from, or if you do, it may differ in some way to where you were born.

Strategic Locations

Hult has their two main campuses in important business centers or metropolitan cities. These being London in the UK, and the other in San Francisco, or if I may say, the Silicon Valley in the US. I am currently on our San Francisco campus and the business opportunities are as easy as walking along Levis Plaza, grabbing a Starbucks, or ordering an Uber. In the Silicon Valley, you never know who you’ll meet along your way. In fact, I’d like to share my friend Rudy’s experience. Just months before graduating Hult he ordered an Uber to his friend’s house. He was sharing that ride with a man who ended up being the CEO of a company in LA, where he works right now. Opportunities are this huge in these types of cities, so in looking for a Business School this was one important requirement I wanted my university to fulfill.

Rotation Plan

Alongside San Francisco and London, Hult has campuses in Shanghai, Dubai, and Boston for our summer programs. As a big traveling fanatic, I loved this about Hult. Traveling and studying had never been so easy and effective. Last summer I was in Shanghai in a culture 360 degrees different than mine. I was learning from everything I saw. For example, people in Mainland China are very conservative and even a little shy. They don’t like to make others or themselves “lose face” (this is to be embarrassed or look bad in a situation), they like everything hot because they believe this helps digest food faster because for them mind and body have a dual relationship, and almost every tradition has a significance. These are just some of the things I learned from walking and interacting, but this wasn’t the only place I was learning. Academically the Shanghai campus was great as well, the professors were mostly American and the classes were the same as in San Francisco or London. I liked the fact that I was enjoying a new culture as well as increasing my academic knowledge.

Dual Degree

This is something people generally start thinking about after finishing their BBA or in other words after finishing university. But this is something I thought about as well. We need to think about our future, even if that direction may change along the way, it is great to know that a university thinks further as well. Hult enables you to get a one-year master degree program and add a second master’s degree in just 9 months or accelerate it to 6 months. This is extremely important; companies want to hire people with greater knowledge and experience and being able to have that in a timely manner and having that option after my BBA was definitely an opportunity that caught my eye.  

Scholarship and Financial Aid

I have always been a good student so I wanted my university to acknowledge my efforts. Some of the previous universities mentioned accepted me without a scholarship or the scholarship that wasn’t fully appealing to me. It is no secret that university is more costly than High School, so one of the things high school graduates look for is a university with a good learning outcome that is not so expensive, or if it is, that in some way, helps their incoming students. Hult met these expectations. I had done IB (International Baccalaureate) for three years in High School and they accepted my credits and awarded me a scholarship. There is no better feeling than knowing your efforts meant something. Even if most of us have our parents to help us with tuition fees, some have to pay it with their own money. So, it is very gratifying to know that either you are a US citizen or an international student, if eligible, Hult offers you both merit-based scholarships or need-based grants.

To conclude, yes Hult isn’t the biggest university neither is the one that has been around the longest, but it is most certainly one that has exploited its potential in ways that other universities haven’t. It offers you the opportunity to study in some of the greatest business centers, share classes with people from all over the world who might in the future become your business partners or your entry to different markets, it offers great academic material with hands-on projects and lectures, it awards scholarships and financial aid, and it has a master degree program that allows you to get double the outcome in less time. Above all, the greatest thing about this institution that I can proudly call My University is that it is always updating, and the best is yet to come.

If you’d like to know more about student life at Hult, get in touch with a student ambassador.

Paula Cevallos is an undergraduate student majoring in Marketing at the Hult San Francisco campus. She’s passionate about travel and outdoor activities. Outside of the classroom, she’s an active member in Hult San Francisco Toastmasters Club, Fashion & Business Club, Hult SAS Big Brother Club, and Hult Running Club. She’s also a Hult Global Ambassador.

Hult offers a range of highly skills-focused and employability-driven business school programs including a range of MBA options and a comprehensive one year Masters in International Business. To find out more, take a look at our blog Why business school? A student’s perspective. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself.