After recently completing
my studies, a friend of mine said: "you really managed to do this masters
thing under the radar, hey!" Well it was all intentional to be quite honest,
partly because I was nervous about whether I'd make it to the end (silly
self-esteem) and partly because I didn't want to count my chickens before they
hatched! But hatch they did, and I can now count all my chickens with the
greatest of pride! Hello Meg, the Hen!
After doing terribly
in my first attempt at GMAT, I threw in the towel and decided to resume my
studies with CIMA with intentions of starting with level two of three. During
this period, my employer at the time announced that they would be closing down
the investment banking division of their Africa business. There were ten of us
in the division at the time, only one survived and it wasn't me. All this
commotion forced me into some serious introspection, and I had to admit to
myself that actually, neither Management Accounting nor an MBA were my perfect
fit. However, I still wanted to study further. Almost a year later, I finally
decided to enroll for an MCom in Development Finance.
The pre-beginning...
The decision was now
made so I went ahead and made the application. Only after I was accepted did I
tell my boss. She was immediately supportive but there was still some lobbying
that had to be done internally. This meant that I had to pay the acceptance fee
out of my savings in the interim and to show my commitment, I did just that.
Now that I've seen the journey through till the end, I've put together some tips that while specifically constructed for those wishing to enrolling
for an MCom at UCT (and things I wish I knew before I started), could be applied for other masters programmes pursued
part-time.
Tip 1...
Before you start, you
need to be mindful that fees are largely on 3 parts:
i.
Application fee
ii.
Acceptance fee
iii.
Tuition fee
Therefore, it is
important to look these up beforehand and perhaps even compare them across
different institutions and gauge which institution would give you the most
value for money for comparable academic programmes
The beginning...
In March 2018 the
journey began. At this point, I had managed to get some partial funding from
work. The balance, including flights, accommodation, books etc. would be on me.
I therefore had to dip into my savings once again. I was fortunate enough to
have one of my girls host me for the three weeks while I was in Cape Town for the
three separate blocks which we were expected to physically attend classes. But wait for
it, not only that, but she also dropped me off on campus every morning and even
shifted her gym schedule to fit in with mine! Every morning we'd wake up at 5
am for the gym before my classes. God gave me the cream of the crop from the
friendship pool!
Tip 2...
If you're not based in
CPT, you're going to need a place to stay! The first win is on campus, so if
your employer can cover this, let this be your pick! The second option is
Airbnb as close to campus as possible. Lastly, if you are fortunate enough to
have friends/family in CPT, stay with them but make sure that they understand
that you're there for studies so minimization of distractions is NB!
The during…
Let me tell you
something about working and studying, it is difficult, but not impossible. Time
management is key! I remember I once had to work on an assignment while work
was peaking. We were executing a transaction for a client and I was the
originator on the deal so had to accompany the client on a roadshow to meet
investors in South Africa and Namibia. This meant back to back meetings all day
and client dinners or drinks in the evenings. I would get back to the hotel
each night and try squeeze in as much as I could while also trying to get
enough sleep so I wouldn't be nodding off in the meetings during the day.
Tip 3
Amid
"life-ing" always remember you are a student. Block out at least one
hour every night and triple that on weekends, to focus on your studies. Apart
from two, two-week vacation breaks I took in 2018 and 2019, I always made sure
I did something that had to do with my studies every day, whether it was
reading academic articles, working on an assignment or studying. Time was
prioritised!
Tip 4
Get a study group! I
was fortunate to have the most amazing study group! Although welcoming, we were
also very strict on membership. I was even once appointed to formally dismiss a
prominent member for slacking. It was messy but necessary! We met every single
Saturday morning to either work on individual assignments through sharing ideas
and group discussions (sometimes debates) or studying for exams. We'd allocate
chapters based on strengths then teach/feedback during our sessions.
The beginning of the
end…
After a grueling 12
months, we finally put our pens down! The course work was done. What was left
was the mountain that not many summit…on time, the dissertation. I thoroughly
enjoyed this period. I generally do love researching things in general. Anything.
A quick 5-minute google search of a very simple question can turn into hours of me
digging the why behind the why and the how and next thing I'm in a deep dark hole
and having sleepless nights wondering if there's more. Yes, I make a solid “30
Seconds” teammate.
Tip 5…
Pick a topic you enjoy
so that the research becomes more of a journey of discovery rather than a
mundane task at the bottom of your to-do list
Put a lot of effort
into your proposal so that you have a solid foundation and you never have to
change your topic. Make sure that the data you will need is available – check
and double-check, don't just assume!
Work on it every day.
Keep an open channel
with your supervisor. Make sure you engage with them at least once a week. This
means that you need to put in some work so there is something to discuss and for
them to provide feedback on. This means you're progressing every week.
The end…
This was the part
where I write about my graduation. The excitement of the build-up, the pride in
my mom's face when I walked across that stage and the pride inside of me
knowing that I finally did it. But this is not that kind of ending. The year is
2020 and the world is facing a pandemic called Covid-19. The world is cancelled
and so is my graduation. I am however grateful for all the warm congratulatory messages
I’ve received, and I do of course still have the degree at the end of the day!
I take neither of the two for granted #foreverblessed
