Life beyond Expectations at WBS

MSc Marketing & Strategy ambassador, Tanusha, contrasts her expectations before joining WBS with the reality of her experiences in term one.

Before I talk about my expectations and reality at WBS, let me give you some background on myself. After my undergrad, I knew I wanted to pursue my masters in Marketing but 20-year-old me was very confused about where to aim. I spent months looking at all possible options. I read the modules for MSc Marketing & Strategy at WBS and it was love at first sight. The course covered all fields that I wanted to explore as a marketing fresher. I knew marketing from a consumer’s point of view and now it was time I stepped behind the scenes. WBS was the only business school I applied to, it was my only choice – to me WBS was the “one” for me. Gratefully, I was accepted into the programme and I flew from India to the UK in September of 2021.

And thus started a journey of new learnings!

I had heard a lot about the University of Warwick. It is held in high regard in the UK and in India. So I came to WBS with high expectations. Of course, my expectations weren’t only based on a few people’s “oh I have heard about Warwick, it’s supposedly a good uni”. I based my expectations on the words of alumni and people who knew or worked with people who’ve studied here. The modules, the structure of these modules, the professors, assignments, events, student services and the overall experience of being at University of Warwick had such optimistic reviews and provided such positive and quantifiable results in career growth that I drew the conclusion that WBS would be the perfect stepping stone in my career.

So here were my expectations, and the reality of the experience after finishing term one.

Expectation – It’ll be a very tight schedule.
It’s a masters level degree, it’ll be vigorous and there will be a lot that needs to be done in one year. With lectures, seminars, assignments and exams I expected to have no time left for myself.

Reality – Time management is key.
There’s a lot to learn and do. WBS gives us so many opportunities within the programme as well as outside it, but everything is scheduled in a way that if you are just a little disciplined you can manage studying and socialising and even manage some much-needed me-time.

Expectation– Modules will be difficult for a fresher in marketing.
My undergrad only covered a small amount of marketing or statistical concepts so naturally, I was worried that I would struggle to be on the same level as my peers who might’ve had marketing background or understanding.

Reality – Support for everyone.
The programme team provides us with a bunch of pre-arrival material to prepare a base for the course. And, for each module, the module leaders also provide assisted readings, videos, presentations, and links which we can use and refer to anytime to build or revise our basics.

Expectations – I am out of touch with studying, it’ll be difficult to cope. I had a 2-year gap, so I had concerns about being able to get back into the study mode and giving exams.

Reality – Professional and practical.
The modules are structured in a way that give a perfect blend of teaching concepts and frameworks and practical knowledge and case studies. I don’t feel overwhelmed with the material since the class is always discussing and brainstorming ideas, strategies and in-depth analysis of real-life cases. The exams are designed in a way that encourages you to use your understanding you’ve built over the lectures and seminars instead of rote learning concepts or frameworks.

Expectations – Online lectures will not be fulfilling.
 I had never taken online classes, and I had always been of the view that online classes are less interactive and can be distracting.

Reality – The combination of online and offline classes has been amazing.
For the first term we had our lectures online and our seminars offline. Unlike my expectations, the online lectures were very interactive, enabling us to ask questions through chat or on mic depending on what are we comfortable with. Having recorded lectures is a blessing in disguise as we can always go and revise the material and brush up our concepts again. And having seminars offline has given us the in-person experience that one wouldn’t want to miss at any chance, especially as an international student attending in-person classes is a big part of moving to a different country and attending university.

Looking forward

I look forward to my remaining two terms with excitement and a little sad feeling since I didn’t want time to fly by so quickly.

My term 1 at WBS has been way better than my expectations. I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of being here. But if I had pinpoint one time that had my mind blown, it was WBS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Festival. EDI was a day-long event with an amazing line-up of people from industry and the real corporate world talking about their journey as international, disabled, LGBTQ+ and ethnically diverse individuals. It was insightful, inspiring and the perfect peek into the reality of corporate culture.

My note to everyone who will be joining or wants to join WBS – Be ready! It’ll be a journey that will give you memories of a lifetime. This is the perfect place and opportunity where you can allow yourself to grow without any inhibitions. WBS will allow you to take things into control while it guides you on how to get closer to your goals.

Read more about the experiences of our MSc students here, or download our MSc brochure to discover our range of Postgraduate courses.