For many aspiring b-schoolers, the decision to pursue a graduate management degree on a full-time or part-time basis is an easy one to make. Various work and life factors make the choice clear from the start and there is not much brain-wracking to be done. However, for many others, this decision is extremely complex.
As advisors, your guidance on this matter has likely been plied innumerable times before and we would greatly appreciate hearing your stories. In the mean time, let us offer some thoughts and experiences to get the conversation going. After all, our GMAT team does more than simply teach the GMAT. Since many of us are either b-school veterans or currently in the trenches, our instructors often give counsel on myriad issues surrounding business school, including attending full-time v. part-time.
Right off the bat, creating a sound financial argument, particularly in the short- to medium-term, for choosing to quit a job and go to b-school full-time is extremely difficult. While all who aspire to get an MBA count increased salary potential as a reason for going to grad school, this increase is certainly neither guaranteed to be significant nor immediate. As mentioned in a discussion on our website, those who choose to go to school full-time should expect to incur significant debt as a result. Nonetheless, the post-MBA salary numbers are encouraging and will definitely buttress confidence in a long-term return on investment. Let’s move beyond dollars and cents, though, and look at some other considerations.
A full-time program means that everyone in the cohort is fully immersed in coursework, group projects, and the countless and varied out-of-class activities that accompany any established b-school curriculum. Part-timers—even the most available among them—will find it comparatively difficult to develop the same kind of relationships with peers that full-time students enjoy.
However, part-time students can choose what and how many courses in which they will enroll in a given semester, or even whether they will enroll at all. This degree of flexibility is valuable when balancing work, life, and school. Still, full-timers do enjoy a different type of flexibility; one that allows them to take advantage of many opportunities, both scholastic and professional, that can only be found and exploited while within the hallowed walls of an academic institution.
Many part-time students relish in being able to apply class learnings to their professional efforts in real time. The part-time option is often particularly attractive for those interested in continuing in the same field and/or company that they work for during the degree pursuit, and subsequently cater their coursework accordingly. This can allow for a continuous feedback loop through direct application and experience.
Yet, such a perspective is not afforded only to part-timers. A major facet of the full-time experience comes through internships. An internship usually begins after two semesters of core curriculum and then continues through the end of coursework. Further, internships can pave the way for many things: career changes, a foot in the door at a coveted company, or simply the opportunity to do something different for awhile. For a part-time student, internships are not a viable option.
And the list of considerations goes on… At this point, we would like to turn it over to you. What are some of the major concerns you see coming from your advisees? How do you help those seeking advice? While the decision to go to school full-time or part-time is very much person- and situation-specific, learning from the experience of others and obtaining sound advice based on such experience can be invaluable for those struggling to make the choice. Let us and your colleagues learn from you!
