MBA: Mich, Duke, UVA (Full Time) tier vs. Kellogg, Booth (Part Time)

Fellow Monkeys,

I'm currently applying to Business Schools and am wondering at what point I should just go part-time. My plan is to apply to my top 6-8 schools (which are all top 10-12 programs) in rounds 1 and 2, and then consider adding some safety schools (UVA, Duke, maybe Cornell) in rounds 2 and 3 depending on outcomes at that point.

My question is, at what point am I better off getting a part time MBA from Booth or Kellogg (for finance career) than getting a full-time degree from some of the safeties listed above?

Appreciate any thoughts.

-Spalding

 

Booth part-time is a good idea. The alumni network is heavily involved from what I can see, and that is a big reason for a top-school MBA.

Booth is heavy on analytical finance, it is more quantitative. Kellogg is usually populated with marketing types and the curriculum is geared towards general business. So, what do you want to do with your degree?

 

It really depends a lot on what you are currently doing and what you want to do going forward. The greatest benefits to a full time program is going to be the networking opportunity, the access to on campus recruiting and the opportunity to do an internship. All of those things are either diminished (networking & OCR) or non-existent (internship) with a part time program.

If you're at a company that you like and you just want to get an MBA so you can stay at the company and move up the corporate ladder...bust through the glass ceiling, so to speak...then a part time or executive program might be a good fit. If you are looking to transition to a different company or a different industry or career, you are generally better served with a full time program.

Have you taken your GMAT?

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 

I think full time Darden/Fuqua > Part time Booth/Kellogg if you are a career switcher. I know at Booth, the part time folks have to meet certain eligibility requirements to even participate in OCR, and are only permitted to participate one time during their entire tenure at Booth, so its really a one and done shot.

 
Best Response

Thanks for the input, much appreciated.

I am technically a career switcher, though not making a huge leap in my estimation. I'm currently doing Finance Strategy Consulting and looking to transition to a buy side role. I'm also a CFA level 3 candidate. Ideally I'd like to get a great internship and then transition directly into a buy side role, but I view this as something that would be very challenging from anywhere other than Columbia, Wharton, and Booth (unlikely to apply to H/S based on my perceived low odds). Realistically I may have to do a stint in BB ER or BB IBD before getting where I want to go. Scored 720 on the GMAT, target undergrad with average GPA but D1 athlete and finance accounting double major - I think I've got a solid resume for all these schools but don't expect to be a shoe in anywhere.

Hope that provides more context.

 

From my perspective, you apply to the full time programs and just go back. I think that is your best option for getting to the buy side, even if you have to go through IB to get there.

I realize that sounds a bit crazy for some, but I'm in a similar position. I work for a small PE firm, but we do small, specialized deals and that doesn't translate well into recruiting to larger, more traditional PE shops. I'm studying for the GMAT now and plan to apply to Duke and UVA as well as some 'safer' schools. If I can get a decent MM shop to bite and give me an offer coming out of bschool, then great, if not, I'm fully prepared to go into banking and pretty much intend on interning in IB.

Mentally it sucks because it's generally perceived as a step back, but it is the most efficient way that I can get to where I want to be. Is it possible I could get to the same place by avoiding bschool and jumping around to different shops? Possibly. Is it likely? I don't think so...so an MBA from a good school and a half step "back" looks like the safest, most assured path.

I would be very cautious about doing the part time program because you mitigate the benefits from my previous post. Ultimately you need access to those buy side jobs you want to interview for and that will either happen through recruiters on campus, through head hunters contacting you at your post bschool IB job or through your network. With the part time route, it seems as though that recruiting and job searching would be left up to you and we all know that the best openings aren't often even known about, especially in PE and HF at the more senior levels.

Another consideration is that bschool is likely your last real chance to make a somewhat easy transition in life. If you do a part time program and can't get any traction with jobs later on, what are you going to do? Just stay put forever? At that point you used your greatest trump card but came up short. I realize that sounds a bit dire, but it's a legitimate concern.

The reason that last point can be an issue is that networking is priceless in finance. In my opinion, a part time program will leave you at a networking disadvantage, on a personal level. You won't get the opportunity to know as many people and you won't get to know them as well. Presumably the people in the part time programs are attempting to break through that glass ceiling I mentioned in my previous post, not transition. They are also probably older and more likely have a spouse and a kid or two. That means making friends with you will be way down their list of priorities. Lastly, they will all be local, so your bschool network will be great in Chicago, but given that many may not transition to other jobs across the country immediately following school, it will probably stay that way for a while, maybe forever. That won't be the case in full time programs.

Furthermore, that lack of personal connection could hamper your ability to get recruited to the buy side. I don't think it's talked about specifically, but your professional network will likely be an important consideration to any PE firms that are interviewing you. Obviously they will be looking at your technical capability for the work you will be doing immediately, but they will also consider whether or not you would be a good fit to be a more senior person at the firm, whether or not you could potentially bring some LP money to the table (assuming you are looking at "smaller" funds) and whether your network can be leveraged to source unique deals and/or find experts that could provide advice about certain industries that the firm may target or operate in, etc.

I'm not sure what the cost or time difference between a full time program and a part time program is, but I assume it's isn't significant (outside of the forgone salary). Because of that, I would weigh whether that additional money and two more years experience at your current firm (assuming the PT program takes 2 years...sorry, I'm lazy and didn't look it up) is going to do a better job positioning you for a PE role than going to business school FT would. My guess is the additional experience at your current job isn't going to be greatly beneficial, else you could probably just lateral sans MBA.

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 

Great points, CPHBravo.

I think you're right in terms of worst case scenarios - the worst case scenario coming out of Booth PT is that i have the same job. This is realistic. Worst case coming out of Duke / UVA / UM FT is that I'm at a BB with a network that I can leverage over the subsequent 2+ years to make my move to the buy side (i also plan on leveraging my CFA network). The one complicating factor for me is that i'm biased towards Chicago location wise. Ignoring location Columbia is basically my dream school, but given that I want to be in Chicago and avoid getting sucked into the big apple, this could pose a difficult decision for me down the road.

How big is your PE firm exactly? I'm interviewing with a MM shop right now and interested to hear your perspective on what is small.

 
Spalding Get Your Foot Off the Boat:
Great points, CPHBravo.

I think you're right in terms of worst case scenarios - the worst case scenario coming out of Booth PT is that i have the same job. This is realistic. Worst case coming out of Duke / UVA / UM FT is that I'm at a BB with a network that I can leverage over the subsequent 2+ years to make my move to the buy side (i also plan on leveraging my CFA network). The one complicating factor for me is that i'm biased towards Chicago location wise. Ignoring location Columbia is basically my dream school, but given that I want to be in Chicago and avoid getting sucked into the big apple, this could pose a difficult decision for me down the road.

How big is your PE firm exactly? I'm interviewing with a MM shop right now and interested to hear your perspective on what is small.

Yeah, as Brady points out, these firms recruit almost exclusively through schools, which makes it very, very difficult to get in otherwise.

My firm is sub $200mm and my inability to get traction with larger PE firms has more to do with our focus, which is very niche, not so much the size of the deals we look at because deal work is tends to be pretty scalable...just add a zero or two, right? LOL.

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 

I'm also looking at booth PT as well but not entirely sure. In my case i'm currently working on several part-time projects with very flexible hours, so i can take full advantage of the resources available at booth, including student clubs, networking, and OCR after i complete 12 classes. That's probably the main reason i'm actually considering it, but there definitely are major cons as well. It's a tough call.

Going back to what cph said, I think for industries like consulting, banking, and PE, which go through structured MBA hiring (mostly by converting summer internship offers) and are very network dependent, you are better off going to a place like darden/fuqua rather than booth part-time.

 
Brady4MVP:
I'm also looking at booth PT as well...

Blasphemy!!! LOL.

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 

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