Tuition – check
Insurance – check
Flight booking – check
Visa – ch… What do you mean I have a dodgy passport?

I can’t say I was all that surprised when I first received the visa refusal notice from the UK Consulate here in Shanghai – after all, Filipinos are notorious for playing hide and seek with border control officials in… well, everywhere.

1 in every 8 Filipinos live overseas; Filipinos make up 15% of the population of Qatar! Tropical, pacific islanders preferring to live in the middle of the desert, just so that they can get away from the country! If I were the consulate officer I probably wouldn’t give myself a visa.

Still, if the door’s closed, you just have to try the window. I immediately got in touch with the CCMBA Program Managers and was thoroughly impressed with the way everyone just rallied to this cause. Overnight, I received emails from a lot of people in a lot of different departments across 3 different time zones, sending me documents and “supporting evidence” saying that I am not an illegal immigrant.

It was like an NCLB drive for MBA students.

Suffice to say, what sold me on this program – Team Fuqua – it isn’t just hot air. It’s real, it’s there and I came out of this bureaucratic maze not only with a healthier respect for proper English decorum (Stiff upper lip there! Give it to them straight!), but a profound feeling of humility and pride to be part of such a helpful, supportive Team.

I just hope I don’t flunk that Fin Acc test.

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