Dear shaselai,
These are all good questions to ask, but really you have to be the one to determine what type of program is best for you. If you really analyze the costs, you might find that it is really not more expensive to go to school full-time. I encourage you to do some research on the differences between a full-time and a part-time program, and then consider those in relation to why you want to go to business school and what your ultimate career goals are.
There are certainly ranked schools that do not have part-time programs. Usually, these schools are not in metro areas, so there is not a market for a part-time program in their cities. That does not mean a school with a strong full-time program, which has a part-time program that is not ranked, is a poor choice for part-time. You need to really look at the rankings and review their methodologies. All of the rankings are flawed and the journals require the programs to meet certain criteria to even be included in the assessment. Thus there will be some great programs that are never ranked (both full and part-time) because they do not meet the journal's criteria.
I would encourage you to do your own research using multiple sources and not use the rankings as a way to make a decision on where to apply. You can use rankings as a way to identify potential programs, but your own research should be what you use in determining where to apply.
Regards,
Lisa
These are all good questions to ask, but really you have to be the one to determine what type of program is best for you. If you really analyze the costs, you might find that it is really not more expensive to go to school full-time. I encourage you to do some research on the differences between a full-time and a part-time program, and then consider those in relation to why you want to go to business school and what your ultimate career goals are.
There are certainly ranked schools that do not have part-time programs. Usually, these schools are not in metro areas, so there is not a market for a part-time program in their cities. That does not mean a school with a strong full-time program, which has a part-time program that is not ranked, is a poor choice for part-time. You need to really look at the rankings and review their methodologies. All of the rankings are flawed and the journals require the programs to meet certain criteria to even be included in the assessment. Thus there will be some great programs that are never ranked (both full and part-time) because they do not meet the journal's criteria.
I would encourage you to do your own research using multiple sources and not use the rankings as a way to make a decision on where to apply. You can use rankings as a way to identify potential programs, but your own research should be what you use in determining where to apply.
Regards,
Lisa
