Despite the Downturn, MBA Spring Break Lives

International Intrigue
This year, Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business decided to join the numerous schools that offer this spring break international experience. One trip, to China, will take students to eight different companies in 10 days, and participants will spend time at the China Europe International Business School, which participates in an exchange program with Tuck.
Given the world economic problems and poor hiring climate for MBAs, the associate director of Tuck's Center for International Business, Lisa Miller, initially worried about the interest level for the trip, which she is leading. She expected perhaps 10 students to sign up, but 17 did. She says these students will benefit not only from the opportunity to learn more about the global business climate and region, but they can also use the trip to look for potential job opportunities. And if they already have a job? Well, the experience could still be valuable to those interested in relocating to China at some point in their careers. "Let's say they have a job already and think, 'I'd love to do a foreign assignment.' Maybe they have a chance to meet with their employer while there," Miller says. "I think the common thread is they all believe China will be practical to their business lives."
For some students, spring break isn't an either/or proposition. One Chicago University Booth School of Business student polled a handful of second-year classmates on their spring break plans and found that many are forging a compromise. "The most common answer by far is: 'I'm still going somewhere for break, but I didn't plan a big trip like last year,'" says Sunil Suri. "They intend to use it as a break, but are doing smaller things on their own, like going home to see their families or hanging out with friends in this area."