I have not been here a year and life after Peace Corps is a much-debated topic. In fact, it was one of the first questions I received from people when I told them that I joined the Peace Corps! To explain the meaning of life sometimes feels like an easier question to answer than, “What are you planning on doing after Peace Corps?” I’ll admit, I’m also guilty. I’ve asked this question a million times to other volunteers. Mostly because I’m seriously dying to know if anyone else is in the same undecided boat as me.
However, the feeling of being directionless has faded. I’m a better human being now; I’ve evolved. I’m showing promising signs of “adulting” because I currently possess the answer. I’ve wanted to receive my MBA since dinosaurs became extinct. That is a fact and not a hyperbole 😉 Once I found out I could a master’s in business as a kid, I knew that was my future. It was just always a matter of when. That is how I know it is coded in my DNA- this could be because half of my family majored in either business or engineering.
Regardless, Justin and I were discussing what life will hold for us post-PC? Do we work full-time and go to school part-time? Go to school full-time? Or just do the parenthood role full-time for one of us? Then he said the following magical words, “We could probably get more financial aid doing it immediately after Peace Corps because we currently do not receive a salary.” The heavens opened and the angels sang, “You will probably have less debt.” Thus, my friends, we both decided that obtaining a full-time MBA at the same time after Peace Corps is the best answer. Thus, we began planning our next steps after service.
If anyone wants to pursue an MBA, naturally the first step is to study for the GMAT entrance exam. Some universities do not require the GMAT or may accept the GRE as an alternative; however, most of the universities we are researching require the GMAT to apply. One of the benefits of successfully completing service in the Peace Corps is the Coverdell Fellowship. This fellowship allows Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to continue inspiring change in under-served communities through internships, but locally in the United States. It is a Graduate program with over 90 partnering universities that can provide reduced tuition, financial aid, and internship opportunities.
Many of these partnering universities offer application fee waivers too. At this moment, I’m elated that Justin and I get to save so much money by only paying for a couple of schools’ application fees. I’m so grateful for this because it has opened up the opportunity to apply to universities we would not have otherwise. Application fees for MBA programs can be $200 a piece (or more!), thus, I may have only applied to more affordable, less prestigious universities without our fee waivers. Now, I have the opportunity to apply to some of the best universities in the nation. There are other benefits of being a Peace Corps Volunteer, but the Coverdell Fellowship was the most important to me. Read about the other benefits here.
But here is a predicament that other Peace Corps Volunteers may not face: Justin and I want to go to school together. Why is this an issue? Mainly because we both have to get accepted into the same graduate program at the same university so we don’t have a two-year long distance marriage. This is hard as it is, but you also have to consider we are both applying for the Coverdell Fellowship as well at most of these universities.
So in a way, we are competing against each other and all other returned or current Peace Corps Volunteers. Other volunteers are probably not competing against their spouse and some are not worried about having a long distance relationship or marriage. We have done the long-distance relationship for nearly 3 years and neither of us is interested repeating that path again. In fact, our entire engagement was long distance and the better half of our first year of marriage.
Our primary strategy is to apply to at least a dozen universities. The average number of graduate schools that folks apply to is anywhere between 4-6. Thus, doubling that amount will cast a wider net of possibilities. It will increase the odds that both of us will get accepted into the same university of our choice. I e-mailed each Coverdell Partner university and asked them the maximum number of accepted Coverdell Fellows. Any university that only accepted 1 or 2 Returned Peace Corps Volunteer was eliminated. Most of the Coverdell Fellows are located on the East Coast. This also means that attending a university in California (our home state) is slim. So we will most likely be far away from our family and friends again…
Another predicament that we have is studying for the GMAT. In the United States, if money allows, one could attend a GMAT prep course in person or online. The in-person option is obviously not available for me or Justin during the Peace Corps. The online course is also not available unless we have a strong desire to wake up in the middle of the night due to the time difference. The only option for us is to study with books and an online study service. But here is the thing about our internet: it is not always reliable.
In the two weeks that I’ve started studying, the internet has been slow, unpredictable, or just non-existent. When I returned from Tbilisi on Saturday, I wanted to study for the GMAT. Except, I didn’t have electricity, the internet, or water at our apartment. So instead of studying, I was calling my landlord and waiting for my neighbor to help me out. That is my reality. Studying for the GMAT is much harder in a less developed country, with fewer resources, and less financial support.
But let me be honest, the biggest challenge is combating laziness and relearning all the math concepts we forgot. The intermittent internet is more of an annoyance than a true hurdle. Either way, at least for now, Justin and I have a solid plan: study for the GMAT, take the test by the end of summer, begin applying for universities in the Fall, and finally wait for our life to be determined next spring 🙂 And whenever the internet falls short of my expectations, I simply remind myself that at least I have the privilege and the opportunity to even pursue a graduate degree.