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• The U.S. and Canada are home to some of the world’s leading business schools. 
• Studying in the region could be a life-changing experience—but it presents unique challenges that prospective MBA students should be aware of.
• Four international students reveal what they wish they had known before arriving.

The United States and Canada are two of the most popular destinations in the world for international students. But for business students who plan to study there, it can be difficult to know exactly what to expect.

With that in mind, we spoke with four students in the region to get their insights about studying in these countries. They covered everything from choosing the right university to the right bank.

Before You Begin

“You have to have tangible goals: why are you doing this?” says Szymon Mackala, a Polish MBA student at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, Georgia. “This is very important at the beginning.” 

Mackala says that you should do an MBA in the U.S. for the right reasons. Focus on what you want to get out of an MBA and how the program will help you achieve those goals. And if there’s a program elsewhere that will better help you, that should be the one you choose. In a country where MBA programs are the most expensive in the world, it’s even more important to make the right decision about studying there.

If you’re sure that North America is the right place for you, your preparation should begin as early as possible. It’s something that Nitin Bishnoi—a current MBA student at ’s Desautels Faculty of Management in Canada—believes will make your first few months in the country that much easier.

“It's important because there are certain things which students are generally stressed about when they arrive in a new country,” he says. “These small things, if we take care of them before arriving, they take a lot of stress away.”

Selecting the Right School

Both Canada and the U.S. have different economic hubs centered on different towns and cities. So where you study will have implications for where you want to work afterward.

“For example, if you want to go into tech after your MBA, it normally makes a lot more sense to go to the West Coast [of the U.S.],” explains Pablo Hoyas, a Colombian MBA student at Emory. “If you want to go into finance, it’s better to go to a school that has relationships with New York and its companies.”

But your choice of location also extends beyond career considerations. In Canada and the U.S., you’ll often have two choices: a campus-based university or a city-based university. According to Hoyas, choosing a close-knit community in a smaller town may hold extra value for international students.

“If you can just hop on the metro in a big city, like Atlanta or Chicago, just after class, people might go and have more of an ‘outer’ life,” he says. “But here, for us as international students, this is our life. This is our community because we don’t know anyone else.”

Choosing a Culture That Fits

It can be difficult to truly understand a country’s culture before moving there. For Yata Baty Mbodj, a Senegalese student at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business in Canada, her previous experiences studying abroad were vital for helping her gain a sense of Canadian culture.

“I had very good Canadian friends when I was in China, and they really became my best friends. I could see that there was something in them. Not just their personality, but the culture of their country or school.”

She points out that the welcoming and inclusive nature of her friends seemed a good representation of wider Canadian society. In Mbodj’s case, that led to a more fulfilling experience when she arrived in the country.

“In other countries, if they see you for example wearing a hijab or wearing a turban, they can see that as a threat to their national culture. But I think in Canada, the culture is more inclusive of those differences,” she explains.

“I know that in my campus, we even have a lot of prayer rooms. And for me, that was insane because I’ve never been in a place where people would accommodate me and would cater to my needs. I think that’s the thing I love the most about Canada.”

Connecting With Students and Alumni

Another way to get a flavor of the culture in your new country is to connect with current students and alumni. However, Mackala cautions to not just contact the “stars” of the school that the admissions team often recommends. Instead, try doing some extra research to get in touch with other students. It may give you a more rounded view of the school and program.

In general, Mbodj believes that the culture of reaching out and connecting with people is more prevalent in North America, describing it as “something you have to keep in mind as international students.” So don’t be afraid to contact people before, during, and after the program.

The culture of reaching out and connecting with people is more prevalent in North America.

Bishnoi agrees that networking is extra important in the U.S. and Canada. “When you arrive in a new country, you need a support system, right? You need to know a number of people personally so that they will help you out in your initial days. So I would say be very proactive —reach out to people and connect with them as much as possible.”

Finding Accommodations

Reaching out to people also turned out to be the key to Mbodj’s search for accommodations in Canada.

“Before we started the program, we had a Facebook group and I introduced myself, telling people where I come from and my experience,” she recalls. “And one of my classmates reached out to be my roommate and she did everything: house hunting, all of that. She really managed everything, so I’m very grateful to her.”

Bishnoi was also able to find housing before arriving in Canada. He believes it’s possible to get it sorted early if you do the research. “I actually spoke with a couple of people who are currently living in this building,” he says. “And I also did online research based on reviews and things were really good. It’s all about how much effort you are willing to put in that direction.”

Most schools, including Goizueta and Smith, will offer help and resources to students who need accommodations. But how do you decide which one is right for you? For neighbors Hoyas and Mackala, finding out where the rest of their classmates were likely to be living has added an extra social dimension to their experience.

“About 40 percent of my year lives in two blocks around me,” says Mackala. “You don’t know when you might need other people: like doing your homework, explaining something, or just spending time together.”

“When you do that, you get your community closer to you. So right now, it feels like living close to your family,” Hoyas adds.

Sorting Out Healthcare

Healthcare can be complicated in the U.S., which has a different system than most countries do. And that can lead to a bumpy transition period. Mackala advises that you should make the most of the healthcare in your home country before jetting off to the U.S.

“In the last three weeks before my flight from Poland to the United States, I was going through different doctors just for check-ups. I felt healthy, but I would just go to them and double-check.”

Make the most of the healthcare in your home country before jetting off to the U.S.

For Hoyas, who has taken ADHD medication from a young age, he recommends stocking up with any necessary medication before leaving—particularly if you have a specific condition like he does. “If you come from a country where you have handled it all your life and then suddenly have to change, it’s difficult,” he says. “Those things are somewhat a priority and might be harder to find than you might think.”

In Canada, healthcare tends to be a little more straightforward. “For international students, it’s mandatory to have health insurance,” explains Mbodj. “But the university basically did everything because when I paid my tuition fees, they also took a part of it to pay for the insurance.”

Leveraging Local Knowledge

When you arrive in a new country you become part of the international community—but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to integrate into the local community. So you should take any opportunity you can get to source their expertise.

In Mackala’s case, it was as simple as an American friend guiding him around the best supermarkets to visit and the best products to buy. For Mbodj, it was connecting with a Canadian who could help her navigate the local housing market. Hoyas learned that the Bank of America was the only bank that would give him a credit card—vital for building a credit history in the country.

You will inevitably have domestic students in your program, so don’t be afraid to tap into their knowledge about the local area—no matter how trivial it may seem. Figuring out the smallest details can make your overall experience so much smoother.

Differences in the Classroom

You’ve traveled abroad to study, so it’s worth thinking about how the classroom experience might differ in the U.S. and Canada. Mbodj says the content at her school in Canada is “way more practical” than it was in France and China, where she previously studied. She also believes the connection between student and teacher is a little different.

You can expect to have close contact with professors and be able to reach out to them whenever you need to.

“I think I’m closer to my professors here,” she says. “I can speak to them during breaks. I can send emails to them and I’m comfortable doing that. We even had some video calls when I did not understand some things, and that’s something pretty rare that you would not get elsewhere.”

Mackala has had the same experience in the U.S. He says, “You are not anonymous here.” You can expect to have close contact with professors and be able to reach out to them whenever you need to.

As for the MBA itself, the first few months are likely to be a whirlwind. Hoyas says there’s no real settling-in period during the program, which makes managing the day-to-day logistics even more important.

“The recruiting starts pretty fast,” he explains. “Nobody tells you how fast it really starts. For consulting and investment banking, two of the main places where people find work after the MBA, it starts right away—maybe even before business school.”

Bishnoi adds that speaking to current students and alumni in advance will help you “mentally prepare” for this new way of learning. “You’ll understand what is being expected of you from day one.”

Right now, the first semester of an MBA program might seem like a lifetime away. But if it’s on your horizon, there’s no time like the present to start preparing. “If you’re thinking of studying in 2026, start preparing right now,” says Mackala. “And if you’re thinking of studying in 2025, you should start preparing yesterday.”