MBA Blog: It's Been Awhile

…since I first met Michael Fronmueller, Dean of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Wisconsin River Falls (UWRF). It was on October 26th, 2016 when the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz hosted a roadshow for the UWRF. I have been a big fan of The United States of America as a travel destination as far as I can think back and I have always been interested in studying in the United States and so I made my way to this roadshow.

Introducing Myself
My name is Thore-Morten Geipel, I am 26 years old and back home in Mainz I am studying Management specialized in International Management and Marketing in a master`s program. I decided to apply at UWRF because I wanted to complement my future German master´s title with some experience abroad in order to be best prepared for the daily work in an international environment. Since I had the possibility to visit the United States in the course of a few travels, I wanted to look at a wider, more business-related perspective and get to know the United States on an international business based level. I assumed the University of Wisconsin River Falls, offering the widely known and eminent MBA program therefore provided a great opportunity. Furthermore, my personal goal and another reason to apply at UWRF was and still is to deepen my knowledge in the English language in order to succeed in an international based business environment.

The Roadshow and Application Processes
Dean Fronmueller presented the MBA graduate program with its outstanding AACSB accreditation, the green campus, various possibilities of recreation and the fact that UWRF is located just a stone`s throw from the twin cities Minneapolis/Saint Paul in the beautiful scenery of the Kinnickinnic Valley! So far so good: I think I was already hooked at that point. :)
After attending the roadshow and making up my mind about a possible application the paperwork started! Everyone who thinks about applying at an American university should consider this. Make sure you take your time and leave enough room for delays, preparation and especially a lot of questions that might come up. Believe me: There will be a lot of questions! For example: You will want to make sure that you meet the application requirements first, that you do have several possibilities of consideration for the classes you already took back home, that your schedule matches with your German finals and so on. All this happens before you start to apply! After making up your mind and preparing the application process starts and the next level of paperwork is reached. Just to name some of the documents you will have to send: Letter of solvency, two letters of recommendation, bachelor`s certificate, resume, personal statement and certification of finances form. Please don’t think you will have to organize all this by yourself. Of course, it will always be essentially your responsibility to take the first step but you will experience generous support from both, the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz and especially the University of Wisconsin River Falls. As soon as all your documents were send your application will be processed immediately and it won`t take them too long to give a feedback. In my case it did take them only two weeks!
Believe me: It is such a great feeling to receive the fun news that you are admitted to the renowned MBA program at UWRF in the United States of America!
As soon as you have received the admission you are able to take the next step: Your visa application. You will want to make sure that you are filling out the forms properly and it will take some time. After paying several fees (approximately $360, April 2017) you will be able to arrange an appointment for your visa interview at the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt. Depending on the season it will take them some time to give you an appointment but it shouldn’t be any longer than three weeks. As the paperwork continues and you prepare for your interview you will probably find a lot of scary stories about unfriendly and bad-tempered officers at the consulate. I can`t confirm any of these as it only took me 25 minutes to go through the whole process. Everybody was kind and willing to help. The officer only asked me four questions concerning my future studies in the United States and my financial background and he even confirmed that my visa was approved right away. After one week, I finally received my visa. This was the last big official step I had to take and after taking it I was kind of good to go :) Good news!
It was so exciting to know that only one flight separates you from dreaming big in the U.S.! I just realized that I will be gone for quite a while when I stood at the gate of Frankfurt International Airport being ready for a new adventure to begin.

Welcome New Falcons!
After almost ten hours of flight I arrived at Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). All international students were supposed to arrive on Monday 28th of August 2017 to make sure that transportation to UWRF can be guaranteed. The welcome was warm and after not even five minutes first connections to other internationals were made. Everything was well planned and so we made our way to our new homes for the next couple of months. By the way: UWRF is located just 45 minutes from MSP International Airport!!
During the first couple of days literally everything was done to make sure that every single student is comfortable in his new environment. You will experience friendly and open-minded staff and OTLs (Organization and Transition Leaders) that will support you learn about campus resources, get connected with other (new) students, find locations of your classes and so on. You will be able to attend a bunch of free and fun events. For example, sport events: All sport events like football, hockey and basketball games are free for all students and most of them take place in the brand-new Falcon Center that wasn`t even officially opened when we arrived. It was partly remodeled and partly built completely new for approximately 63.5 million Dollar. You will find courts for all kinds of team sports, as well as a fitness center, a climbing wall and a rental center where you can rent all kinds of outdoor equipment for free. They even organize events like rock-climbing weekends and kayaking-trips. This guarantees a lot of fun!
Another important event that took place during the Week of Welcome is the Involvement Fair. It is an on-campus fair that gives the more than 150 student organizations room to promote their activities and the students chances to get involved. They do have absolutely everything you are able to imagine spending your spare time on. Boredom is not an option!
After your first day at UWRF you will hold your Falcon ID in your own hands. Just to let you know: The Falcon is the mascot of the UWRF and every student is named a Falcon. My personal highlight of this week was the dinner that was organized for international students and hosted by the university`s Chancellor van Galen. It was a warm welcome, again. Everything seems to be way more personal and emotional compared to German campuses. I heard many emotional and inspiring speeches during my first couple of days on campus and even high-fived Chancellor van Galen twice that week!
Just in case you do have any memories of those American college movies: It is just like that! Do you remember how parents dropped off their sons and daughters for move-in days? Remember how parties at fraternities seemed to explode? Again: It is just like that :)
As a German student who is used to being free, on his own and who was raised to be self-reliant for most of his academic career it was kind of unfamiliar to be part of all those semi-mandatory events but you get used to it and it is definitely useful to make new friends and have a great time!
I really enjoyed the first 12 days on and off campus and everything that happened during Week of Welcome. The campus and all its facilities are absolutely awesome!!!

I can`t wait to explore more of it :)

To be continued!