Hey folks,
I went to an info session recently for U of M's part time MBA. I found that they have full access to the school's OCRs and events that full time MBAs have. They also have a weekend accelerated program that you can finish in 2 years.
My quick background: I am in corporate finance and trying to switch careers to consulting or IB. The reason I'm considering the part time MBA is because my company will pay for some of it, I won't have to worry about the opportunity cost of a foregone salary (although the $100k pricetag of an MBA these days cancels that out), and I don't want to retake the GMAT (mid 600s, could probably crank 700+, but I know that would take some time).
I saw some old threads about part time vs. full time, but what do you monkeys think about this particular situation? I'm strongly considering this because the admissions lady said its good for career switchers and you are assigned to a career consultant that will help you break into the respective industry.
Or do you think this is a waste of time and I should man up the GMAT again and apply to FT?
I'm very interested in the route as well, and would be in a similar situation in a few years...(Corp fin to consulting/high finance)
So that's pretty interesting. Never realized that Ross PTers get full access to OCR. That being said, I'm still skeptical of going that route if you want to change careers. I have NO experience with this, but I worked at Deloitte and never heard of someone coming in from a part time MBA (at least not to the Senior Consultant level ,which is the MBA starting position). That doesn't mean it didn't happen, just never saw it myself.
More importantly, I find the whole recruiting process to be a bit awkward, should you go through with it. So, if you do that weekend program, I guess you'd recruit in your second year with those going for full time jobs (assuming you can't recruit for internships as a first year since you still have a job). I guess that works, and then you work or bide your time until you start work the next summer. That sounds feasible (for consulting, which is what I know about), but I would talk to current students. Find someone that has actually gone through that process, and don't just trust what the AdCom lady says who wants your 6-figure check (PT programs are the ultimate cash cows). If you can find people that have done it with backgrounds moderately similar to yours, then it might be worth a shot. I might talk to people involved in recruiting at consutling firms too to get their perspective on how you'd look as a PTer against all the Full timers applying. My assumption, especially because most of the people judging you will have FT MBA's, is that they will view it negatively.
A couple other questions. One is that your GMAT will hurt you for consulting recruiting. I'm not sure you'll get an interview at Deloitte/OW/LEK, let alone MBB with a mid-600s GMAT. That's not a knock against doing the PT program as a whole, but just a downplay on one of your reasons for doing it.
Bottom line is this: part-time will never be better for career switchers than full time. Is it possibly doable in this situation? Sounds like it may be, but it is not better. If you go full time, you can totally rebrand yourself (through your actions, and just by hitting the general reset button that a FT MBA offers). I just don't see the same opportunities to rebrand through things like consulting projects ,action learning, etc. that you would get in full time. That is just my $.02, based on limited research (I read one marketing pamphlet about Ross Weekend MBA).
Curious to hear what you find out after some more research.
Hate to be blunt but it really comes down to:
career switch -> full time move up within company (if they need an mba) -> part time
just as valleybandar said.
BGP2857,
Thanks for the detailed response. I knew that the GMAT score would be a hindrance for MBB and other elite consulting firms. How would it be viewed for an Associate role in IB? The main reason I wouldn't retake the GMAT is because PT doesn't offer scholarships, if at all, so there would be no reason to get that 700+ score (except for recruitment).
And just to clarify, I agree that FT is better than PT for career switchers. I'm mainly considering PT because of costs and not losing my salary for 2 years. I see both sides of the argument, and if I did have $300k in the bank I would do FT for sure.
And I did meet an engineer who did his part time MBA at Ross (took him 4 years) and he ended up at Mckinsey as a Senior Associate. I'm sure his GMAT was astronomical, but this is just one data point, so can't really draw conclusions from this.
And lastly, this is stemming from another old thread I was reading, how would they know I'm a part time candidate? The reason I mentioned the weekend program was that it was 2 years, so naturally people would think you are full time. And realistically, the way people skim resumes, I'm not sure most employers would notice. Thoughts?
They would know you were PT when they read your resume and it showed you were still at your job...
Couple of people in my former non MBB consulting firm somehow got recruited from PT programs (one was Michigan I think). It's possible. Don't know the exact path.
They're going to know your part time. Between your resume and the fact that you interview, it's going to come up...
As for IBD, I have no idea. I think if any population is going to question why you aren't taking the standard path, it would probably be banks.Just a guess there. Ross does place much better than expected at banks considering its consulting reputation and relative ease of getting in to. Someone from that industry can probably weigh in better on your chances. It may also depend on how reputable and relatable what you're doing in your current corporate finance role.
You're obviously super risk averse and don't want to forfeit the income to do a two-year degree. Definitely don't fault you for questioning that debt/loss of income. However, I don't think you have all your options laid out to make this decision right now. I would go back and take the GMAT and sell out on verbal. If you take it a third time and still can't crack it, then maybe Ross PT is your best option (better than a third tier full time program) to make a career change. If you improve and get a 720, and everything else about you is solid, going back for a top 10 MBA (Ross or better) might seem a whole lot less scary.
I just worry that you're talking yourself into this part time program because you either don't want to take the GMAT again, or don't think you can do better. That test is a bitch, and having had friends that took it three times, I have seen how much more miserable it gets each retake. But do it. You're struggling with the easy part. Some people don't have the brain power to get the quant in the time they give you, or don't speak english as their first language. You have both (not that anything I'm saying helps you learn how to do a CR passage). Good friend of mine just took it a third time, and after going 680 and 660, pulled a 750. Anything is possible.
I guess I am very risk averse. But I know I can't be alone. I'm also picking from the lowest hanging fruit, so maybe that might not taste the best.
I still have some time to decide and to retake if necessary. My original plan was to apply for 2015 matriculation for a full time MBA (still have some time), but I saw the part time and started considering it especially because my employer does pay for some of it.
Any other thoughts?
How much does you employer cover? Won't that mean you have to stay a year for every year or reimbursement you get? AKA on-campus recruiting is worthless?
We haven't heard much about your background. How old are you? How many years experience? Long term goals (after consulting, should you make the move). What's your family/debt situation like, since that's obviously important for considerations of further debt. What is your approximate salary/bonus right now (essentially impossible analyze your decision without this
Basically, I think there's consensus here that you should go full time, so long as you can get in somewhere worthwhile. Might be helpful to know more about you though.
I'm 25, worked at a startup for a year, and have been in corp. fin. for 3 years. Not sure about long term goals, but have been thinking about non-profit or corp. dev. My company will not take a non-consultant/non-IB for corp. dev. It is always good to rebrand yourself after a non-target debacle (isn't that what most of us are doing here).
Never had debt, and would prefer to keep it that way. I think I can save the majority by fall 2015 (my original plan to apply to FT). Just thought I could take a shortcut and not have an opportunity cost to deal with.
For the record, I agree with the FT ordeal, just thought that maybe a part time with full access to OCR and other activities sounded relatively appealing, especially because the barrier to entry (their avg. GMAT is 640, and my company is a big feeder to the program) is very low compared to full time.
Maybe I'm just validating the approach that I'm taking, but I really think you're taking a shortcut here that you absolutely don't need to take. You're 25 and have no debt. With your current job, odds are you've saved a decent amount of money (I think you indicated that as well). Not wanting to retake the GMAT and not wanting debt are, to me, excuses. You seem like a really solid candidate if you get a 700+. Moreover, you are really going to struggle to get consulting jobs with that GMAT as is, so if you have to do the retake, that eliminates one of your reasons for not going FT.
As for the debt, it shouldn't be a deterrent. The ROI's of top programs are huge (see link), especially considering that you want to do consulting. Assuming you make around $75k right now, your salary will jump to $130k with bonus in consulting. Could you possibly do that with the PT program and have no debt? Apparently, but I still think it's significantly less likely.
One other point that I haven't raised is that if you're interested in start up Corp. Dev. (based on your previous experience) or non-profit work, business school will be huge for your network in that regard. Odds are, the PT program is going to have many entrepreneurs, it just doesn't make sense. It will be mostly corporate guys with steady gigs that are just looking to advance up. That could be good for your network in certain areas, but since, as you said, most of the jobs you're interested requrie banking/consulting experience, and just about everyone in those industries has an MBA, you probably won't meet the people that are doing what you want.
I would take the GMAT again and reassess. I think you need to anyway (even if you go PT because of your career goals), and I have a feeling that you may change your risk-averseness if you realize that you can get into a Top 10 school.
http://poetsandquants.com/2011/06/14/mbas-that-return-more-than-3-milli…
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