I am currently debating between a part-time and full-time MBA program, mainly between Georgetown and Maryland. My career goals are somewhat unique for most MBA candidates.
By way of background, I'm 29 with 5+ years of experience working in DC for a non-profit in the international development sector. I’ve decided to get an MBA for several reasons: 1) if I stay in the non-profit international development field it will make me stand out and give me skills that others won’t have, 2) I’m very interested in working for a company that’s doing business in Africa, consulting for companies that want to enter African markets, or working in some capacity in the intersection of business and development.
I’ve been accepted into the following programs so far:
-University of Maryland’s full-time MBA (total cost: $33,280. I received a $30k fellowship, as well as a GA for my first year. I'll have to apply for GA for second year)
-University of Maryland’s part-time MBA (approximate cost: $48,000. I received a $19k scholarship and my work place will cover $5250 per year)
-University of South Carolina’s full-time International MBA (total cost: $ 26,142. I received a $7k fellowship and GAs for both years worth $13k)
I'm still awaiting decisions from the following:
-Georgetown University’s full-time MBA (decision given on March 20)
-Georgetown University’s full-time MBA (decision given on March 20)
-Tufts University’s Fletcher School’s Masters in International Business (decision given on March 14)
I'm fairly confident I'll get in to Georgetown and Tufts - I had a 327 GRE score, which converts to a 690 GMAT and a 3.86 GPA, and lots of interesting international experience.
I’m really debating between a full-time and part-time program. The idea of taking two years to focus on studying sounds very attractive, especially since I'm kind of making a transition. I like the idea of being able to try new things out through an internship, consulting projects, etc. But I'm also very debt adverse. My personal finance philosophy is in the "financial independence" camp - I love saving as much money as I can and throwing it into investments. As a result I hate the idea of going $60k+ in debt. It’s exciting to think of the possibility of graduating and not having any debt. Yet at the same time, it seems fairly exhausting to think about being in school for three years while working full-time. I think right now I'm leaning towards part-time. I'm about to get promoted and keeping my salary sure seems nice.
If money wasn't an issue, my first choice would be Georgetown - they have better name recognition and more of an opportunity to pursue my focus on Africa (they just had their first annual Africa Business Conference). I just went to Smith's FT admitted students weekend and was really impressed though - they seem to have a great community. But when it comes to part-time programs, Georgetown's seems much more attractive to me. It's just the sticker price that is a huge turn-off (potentially $120,000, although this is the first year that they are giving out scholarships for their PT program)
I applied to USC's IMBA because it's ranked #1 for IMBA and they have an interesting language immersion program. I recently visited the school though, and felt like it was too much of a regional school - I feel like UMD and Georgetown would open more doors for me.
FWIW, I'm really interested in Tuft's program because it combines my interests, but I'm afraid that an MIB degree won't have the same sway/recognition as an MBA.
I'll update once I get Georgetown's response.
I'd love to hear people's thoughts!
By way of background, I'm 29 with 5+ years of experience working in DC for a non-profit in the international development sector. I’ve decided to get an MBA for several reasons: 1) if I stay in the non-profit international development field it will make me stand out and give me skills that others won’t have, 2) I’m very interested in working for a company that’s doing business in Africa, consulting for companies that want to enter African markets, or working in some capacity in the intersection of business and development.
I’ve been accepted into the following programs so far:
-University of Maryland’s full-time MBA (total cost: $33,280. I received a $30k fellowship, as well as a GA for my first year. I'll have to apply for GA for second year)
-University of Maryland’s part-time MBA (approximate cost: $48,000. I received a $19k scholarship and my work place will cover $5250 per year)
-University of South Carolina’s full-time International MBA (total cost: $ 26,142. I received a $7k fellowship and GAs for both years worth $13k)
I'm still awaiting decisions from the following:
-Georgetown University’s full-time MBA (decision given on March 20)
-Georgetown University’s full-time MBA (decision given on March 20)
-Tufts University’s Fletcher School’s Masters in International Business (decision given on March 14)
I'm fairly confident I'll get in to Georgetown and Tufts - I had a 327 GRE score, which converts to a 690 GMAT and a 3.86 GPA, and lots of interesting international experience.
I’m really debating between a full-time and part-time program. The idea of taking two years to focus on studying sounds very attractive, especially since I'm kind of making a transition. I like the idea of being able to try new things out through an internship, consulting projects, etc. But I'm also very debt adverse. My personal finance philosophy is in the "financial independence" camp - I love saving as much money as I can and throwing it into investments. As a result I hate the idea of going $60k+ in debt. It’s exciting to think of the possibility of graduating and not having any debt. Yet at the same time, it seems fairly exhausting to think about being in school for three years while working full-time. I think right now I'm leaning towards part-time. I'm about to get promoted and keeping my salary sure seems nice.
If money wasn't an issue, my first choice would be Georgetown - they have better name recognition and more of an opportunity to pursue my focus on Africa (they just had their first annual Africa Business Conference). I just went to Smith's FT admitted students weekend and was really impressed though - they seem to have a great community. But when it comes to part-time programs, Georgetown's seems much more attractive to me. It's just the sticker price that is a huge turn-off (potentially $120,000, although this is the first year that they are giving out scholarships for their PT program)
I applied to USC's IMBA because it's ranked #1 for IMBA and they have an interesting language immersion program. I recently visited the school though, and felt like it was too much of a regional school - I feel like UMD and Georgetown would open more doors for me.
FWIW, I'm really interested in Tuft's program because it combines my interests, but I'm afraid that an MIB degree won't have the same sway/recognition as an MBA.
I'll update once I get Georgetown's response.
I'd love to hear people's thoughts!
