I'm thinking about pursuing a MBA in the near future but don't want to take on the double whammy of both quitting my job and paying for school. I know a lot of schools are offering weekend MBA and I just wanted to know if any posters have gone that route? Did you find it useful and have you felt your degree cheapened. I also know that schools like UT Austin offers MBA outside of Austin and was wondering if there are any other schools that does the same. I'm currently located in Dallas so I'm wondering what are my options. In addition, information on how much/less competitive it is to get into those programs that are not based in the schools relative to the full time would be great. I plan to retake my GMAT sometime in the next few months (got a 700 the first time but was told by peers that it's something I should build on) and want to get into a top 25 school if possible. However, my undergrad GPA leaves a bit to be desired but I do believe I have good work experience. Once again, any information would be helpful. Schools I'm interested in are UT Austin, Rice (Jones), Berkley (Haas) or University of Florida though I might shoot for one or two reach schools (likely Chicago and Kellogs). The University of Florida also offers an internet MBA. I'm also interested in the experiences of those with an Internet MBA from a physical, well know, and established institution (i.e. non Phoenix though no disrespect, I personally have met successful people with a Phoenix MBA, just don't think it works for me). If anyone went that route knows a little more about it please give me some information.
I'm getting my doctorate in dental surgery right now, and have contemplated doing a weekend MBA as well. Let me know what you choose. I heard good things about Tulane
Was in the same boat as you a few years ago. I decided to go with UT's DEMBA program and graduated in 2007. I was able to partake in the on-campus recruiting cycle and found a job for post-graduation. If you have any questions, hit me up, and I'd be happy to chat with you one on one. I also know the program staff, and they're always asking us for qualified candidates to send their way. By the way, the same faculty that teach the classes down in Austin come up to Dallas, so you get the same instruction as the full-time or evening MBA's down in Austin. You do have to do a lot of work outside of the classroom, but you get the upside of keeping your current job and adding an MBA to go along with even more work experience. Good luck, and hook 'em Horns!
I am doing this MBA program through George Washington University. http://www.mbahc.info/ Positives: 1. 100% online, you never need to go to the campus unlike others 2. GW is a top 50 school with a strong overall rep 3. Don't need to take the GMAT if you have 10 years of work experience Negatives: 1. Very expensive, about 30k a year 2. It's only concentration is in healthcare management, but that's really just for the electives. 3. Very self directed, there is interaction with classmates and the professor but only if you make the effort to participate in the chats. I recommend it but I am also looking to go into healthcare mgmt and my company reimburses quite a bit of the cost.
I am currently posting while in class for Texas' HEMBA program... PM me through the board and I can answer any questions...
i have talked to professors who are professors for both regular MBA and weekend/EMBA programs. They all believed that they just couldn't get the info into the courses that they wanted to with the latter, and they suggested that people only go that route if they were looking for the piece of paper (degree) more than the knowledge.
30,000 a year for an online course? I could be taking 500 courses at ITT tech for that type of money!
Thanks, I've pinged both of you guys through the board. The piece of paper is important, and one of the reason for the MBA is I am looking to buff my credentials. However, as an engineering under graduate, there are skills (management, broad thinking, communication) that I definitely realized I need help on, and those are things I'm hoping to gain in a MBA program. However, I've also seen recent MBA grads getting hired at where I work for positions I was in 2 years ago due to the current economy that made me question the decision of actually quitting work to go back to school. Definitely not ruling anything local out at this point. Thanks, but my quant wasn't even close to where I know I can make it (78th percentile) so I'm making myself give it one more try :grin:
Wizkid - i just responded to all of your questions. Feel free to ask any more at any time. Always happy to help a possible MBA candidate...
Is there anyway to pay for the executive program at UT through scholarships or are all forms of financial assistance through loans?
No scholarships that I know of... Only loans. A lot of the people in the program are sponsored by their company. People like me get loans or pay cash.
I went to UT during undergrad so I think Mccombs is a good option obviously. That said, I travel quite a bit for work and didn't want to commit to a program that required me to be in class. (Weekends at home or with friends outweighed school on the weekends) I researched into my options and ended up starting the Kelley Direct MBA (Indiana University) last fall. Same material, my own schedule, and most importantly with an MBA program- I'll get the school name on my resume (generally ranked in the top 15-20 range). You can take it at your own pace (2-5 yrs), and tuition is about $50-55k for the entire program (UT weekend MBA was $80k when I checked last) Anyways, good luck and hit me up if you want anymore information about the internet MBA from a top tier school (there are a few other options- ASU, UF, etc)
I did the PMBA program at Rice (they have 3 -- regular, PMBA (folks with some experience), and EMBA (folks with more experience)). I don't think my degree was cheapened, but I do think I got somewhat less benefit. Less Benefit: A lot of the student life was in clubs. They do a lot of networking and industry-specific training there. But, as a PMBA, I was cut off from a lot of that. I could access it with more effort on my part to overcome the schedule differences and lack of connections between students in the two groups, but I didn't (wife, kids, job, etc.). So, there were resources the school had that I couldn't partake of that probably hurt me some while I was looking for my post-MBA job. For this same reason, I wouldn't recommend an internet degree or even an off-campus program (like McCombs in Houston or Dallas), where civic life and school resources are even harder to access. Degree Value: The day-timers probably suffered more than us PMBAs. EMBAs were usually people who weren't switching jobs, but trying to advance in their current companies. They didn't compete with daytimers. But PMBAs were mostly dissatisfied with their jobs and wanted more mobility, so we competed with them in the on-campus recruiting. And, since PMBAs had more experience, we mostly won. With the way Rice's programs are built now, I wonder if the daytime program is somewhat devalued as a program for the low-experience guys. And, after the first post-degree job, whether you were a daytimer or a part-timer won't matter. What will matter is how well you did in the job you got after the degree.
