Jackie DiMonte is a current student at the University of Chicago Booth. In this video she gives some advice from personal experience for choosing a part-time MBA programme.
Jackie says that while she was applying to schools she found a wealth of information on full-time programmes, but needed to develop her own set of criteria for evaluating part-time ones.
Academic quality
The first and most important thing that she looked at was the academic quality of the programme. She wanted to make sure that she had access to the same courses and professors in the part-time programme as if she were taking courses in the full-time one.
Community
The other thing Jackie looked at was the community. She wanted to make sure that she wasn’t just showing up, going to class, and then going straight home afterwards. She wanted to make sure that there were networking events, clubs and groups and seminars that she could take part in as well.
Flexibility
She also looked at flexibility. She is a full-time consultant so having a schedule that fitted around her work was very important to her. Jackie chose Chicago Booth because she could take classes in the evenings or at weekends or any combination of those and really make sure that she could get the most out of school and work at the same time.
Also before choosing a programme, you should think about what you want out of school. How is it going to achieve your goals? Are there alternative options to get the same training or similar experiences? This exercise will help you come to a decision about whether B-school is the right investment for you. Also, you’ll have a better idea of what types of programmes you want to target, as well as a clear understanding of your motivations – this will help you when it comes time to writing those admissions essays!
Check out: How to Choose Schools for MBA or Master’s Programmes?
Good luck with your admission!
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