Back to School: Grown Ups Edition

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