ksc1940, that's probably not going to be an issue -- provided, of course, that you properly explain your new decision to go for a P/T program instead. Yes, they'll want to see your thought process for how you'll be able to better meet your goals in this different format, with the added responsibility of maintaining your job simultaneously -- but frankly, sometimes people are rejected from a F/T program because they're not the right fit, yet they are a better match to P/T or EMBA. Sure, they know that people bump to a next-step strategy like you're proposing when they don't make it in to the F/T track. However, most P/T programs get significantly fewer apps than their F/T counterparts, and the adcoms are happy to see qualified candidates who are interested in their P/T MBA opportunity.

We often see people have success with this strategy. You're right to be aware of the possible skepticism on the adcom's behalf, but if you offer a good explanation or rationale behind the decision, it should be a non-issue in your app.

Let us know if you have other questions on this and GOOD LUCK!!

EssaySnark

essaysnark wrote:ksc1940, that's probably not going to be an issue -- provided, of course, that you properly explain your new decision to go for a P/T program instead. Yes, they'll want to see your thought process for how you'll be able to better meet your goals in this different format, with the added responsibility of maintaining your job simultaneously -- but frankly, sometimes people are rejected from a F/T program because they're not the right fit, yet they are a better match to P/T or EMBA. Sure, they know that people bump to a next-step strategy like you're proposing when they don't make it in to the F/T track. However, most P/T programs get significantly fewer apps than their F/T counterparts, and the adcoms are happy to see qualified candidates who are interested in their P/T MBA opportunity.

We often see people have success with this strategy. You're right to be aware of the possible skepticism on the adcom's behalf, but if you offer a good explanation or rationale behind the decision, it should be a non-issue in your app.

Let us know if you have other questions on this and GOOD LUCK!!

EssaySnark

EssaySnark, once again thanks for the thoughtful response.

My GMAT expires in november, so i will retake it in october with hopes of getting a higher score. The risk-averse part of me wants to apply to booth PT in september and if accepted, defer entrance for a quarter while applying to full-time programs in round 2 and see if i get in.

Hmmm... new information often changes the picture.

The fact that your GMAT score is so dated tells us these things: 1) you're older, thus might naturally be seen as a better fit to EMBA or P/T programs (we already said that but now we have more to go on to believe it was a factor for you); and 2) your GMAT score being dated means it maybe wasn't very competitive when looking at the ever-increasing scores that people are pulling nowadays. Even when a GMAT score is technically still valid we sometimes suggest that people retest if the original score is marginal - it helps the adcom see that the candidate is serious and it gives a recent datapoint about the person's abilities. It's a case-by-case thing, it's not an automatic requirement with an older score.

Anyway the main reason we're replying to your follow-up actually is to caution you on the strategy of asking for a deferral. Few top bschools allow deferrals except in extreme circumstances (sometimes not even then!). Maybe they are more accommodating with the P/T programs but many of these schools have a blanket policy of not granting them ever - unless you come down with some awful illness or something horrible - only because they don't like being played in exactly the way you intended. So, there could be some risk with that.

EssaySnark

essaysnark wrote:Hmmm... new information often changes the picture.

The fact that your GMAT score is so dated tells us these things: 1) you're older, thus might naturally be seen as a better fit to EMBA or P/T programs (we already said that but now we have more to go on to believe it was a factor for you); and 2) your GMAT score being dated means it maybe wasn't very competitive when looking at the ever-increasing scores that people are pulling nowadays. Even when a GMAT score is technically still valid we sometimes suggest that people retest if the original score is marginal - it helps the adcom see that the candidate is serious and it gives a recent datapoint about the person's abilities. It's a case-by-case thing, it's not an automatic requirement with an older score.

Anyway the main reason we're replying to your follow-up actually is to caution you on the strategy of asking for a deferral. Few top bschools allow deferrals except in extreme circumstances (sometimes not even then!). Maybe they are more accommodating with the P/T programs but many of these schools have a blanket policy of not granting them ever - unless you come down with some awful illness or something horrible - only because they don't like being played in exactly the way you intended. So, there could be some risk with that.

EssaySnark

Yes, you're correct that i'm older (graduated college in 2003). I'm not at all opposed to booth PT ( i live just a few blocks away but more importantly it's a great school, amazing breadth of coursework-especially in finance, and you get access to a lot of resources). Of course, i'm under no illusion that PT is equivalent to FT; it's obviously not.

Given that my gmat quant wasn't that great last time, i'm studying like a demon right now. Busy juggling several part-time projects as well. I do have very specific career goals which are MUCH better thought out and genuine than my last app. So the way I see it, if my gmat retake goes well, I might just roll the dice and apply FT at booth/columbia/sloan, MAYBE wharton. I think out of those schools, booth is the "easiest" to get into because of columbia's ED and rolling admission and MIT sloan's 12% interview invite for round 2. I think wharton and sloan are the most GMAT heavy while i know a decent number of people with low stats who got into booth because of really good essays, interesting work/extracurriculars, etc.

Regarding deferral, adcom made it seem like that getting one for PT is pretty easy. You just have to tell them and pay a fee. Since booth evening PT accepts applications 4 times a year, they are a lot more lax on that.

Good to know that Booth P/T does allow the deferrals! It's worth the gamble of possibly losing the deposit to do that and try at those other schools. Would hate to live with the "what if...?" feeling if you didn't give it a good shot - and it sounds like you're putting your all in, and definitely doing the legwork required. Keep us posted on how it goes, would love to see you turn this into a success story after all!!!

EssaySnark

Sorry for the bump. Still SUPER torn on whether i should bite the bullet and do booth round 2 full-time. There's only 3 schools in the world i would take over booth (only applying to 1 of them), and i absolutely LOVE the school. But i'm deathly afraid that if i get dinged, i would not be able to attend there part-time, if that's the only option available.

Also, i'm assuming that a PT career goals essay and why booth would need to be fundamentally different from FT? The booth PT essays are very similar to the FT essays, minus the powerpoint.

Dude. If Booth is your to-die-for school (and you live a few blocks away!) then go for it! Try the F/T Round 2 app. If it doesn't work out, you can give the P/T program a shot. It's *always* easier to get in on the P/T tracks - there just aren't as many local candidates like you to fill the class so they are more flexible in many aspects of admissions.

If you only apply to the P/T program and you breeze straight through, you will be KICKING YOURSELF for not trying for F/T first. You can't exactly put that on deferral and try for F/T later; the only possible sequence is trying for F/T and then trying for P/T if you don't make it.

And your backup plan could be Kellogg P/T right? Obviously not quite as convenient geographically but still feasible, no?

In terms of how the apps would be different: We wouldn't say "fundamentally different" - after all, it's still you - your background, your goals, your reasons for an MBA - how could that standard pitch change just because of the different track you're interested in? But yes, you do need to make adjustments to how you present, as we described upthread.

This doesn't seem like such a hard decision to us - but then again, other people's quandries never do, do they?

Keep us posted and let us know how it goes!
EssaySnark

essaysnark wrote:Dude. If Booth is your to-die-for school (and you live a few blocks away!) then go for it! Try the F/T Round 2 app. If it doesn't work out, you can give the P/T program a shot. It's *always* easier to get in on the P/T tracks - there just aren't as many local candidates like you to fill the class so they are more flexible in many aspects of admissions.

If you only apply to the P/T program and you breeze straight through, you will be KICKING YOURSELF for not trying for F/T first. You can't exactly put that on deferral and try for F/T later; the only possible sequence is trying for F/T and then trying for P/T if you don't make it.

And your backup plan could be Kellogg P/T right? Obviously not quite as convenient geographically but still feasible, no?

In terms of how the apps would be different: We wouldn't say "fundamentally different" - after all, it's still you - your background, your goals, your reasons for an MBA - how could that standard pitch change just because of the different track you're interested in? But yes, you do need to make adjustments to how you present, as we described upthread.

This doesn't seem like such a hard decision to us - but then again, other people's quandries never do, do they?

Keep us posted and let us know how it goes!
EssaySnark

Actually, Kellogg PT campus is near my apartment as well, so location is not an issue. But I'm not too keen on their PT program for a number of reasons. I've been very impressed with Booth PT and would actually take it over full-time programs at schools such as stern/yale/fuqua/ross/darden.

Aside from the powerpoint, the Booth essays don't seem that bad, but it seems like a really risky move, and i'm a pretty risk-averse guy.