Families and Business School

Are you married and considering business school? Are you nervous about how you will raise your kids while you are in school? Don’t worry, you are not only. Given the fact that most business school students are in their late twenties, many have already gotten married and some have even started having their own families. Anecdotally, you should expect about 20 to 25 percent of your classmates to be arriving at school with a significant other. For those with families, one of the big question marks is what will a spouse or children do while the student is in school? Or, should I even try to juggle school and family? People often joke that business school was where you went to ruin your marriage or family or where one partner realizes the other might not be as great as they previously thought. So let’s discuss some ways to make sure that your relationship survives your business school trip.

For starters, one of the most important things for a successful relationship in general is good communication. Here, communication is vital to the decision to even going to school. Business school is a big personal commitment and your spouse and family will be making it with you so bringing your partner into the process early and often is a good first step. Discussing what the expectations are of business school students and where your dream schools are before you even start studying for the GMAT is a good idea. Is your spouse on board with moving to a new city? Leaving his or her job and family? You’ll want to get an idea of this before you start the process because you don’t want to be so focused on applications that you forget to work out any issues with your significant other.

Once you get to campus, one of the best features of business school will kick in. The Partners Club. Or the Family Club. This will be the first place for support while you are in school. They can help you find suitable housing for a family, introduce you to local service provider and hold social events for families and spouses when the student is in class.

In order to continue their own career journey, many spouses will be looking to work while you are in class. In that case going to a school in a large city will obviously present more career options for your spouse. But, even if you end up at a smaller school, you can pretty easily find a job on campus. The Partners Club will be another great resource here to help find work.

Know that business school will be a great two years for you both personally and professionally. However, it will definitely challenge your relationship with your significant other. So make sure they are involved in the process and you have an idea of what they will do with their time during those years so they are happy and can contribute to your success.