Simmons School of Management student Noelle San Jose shares her story on how she made the decision between the full-time and part-time MBA program by choosing both. San Jose writes in the Simmons student blog:
“At the School of Management, prospective students are given the opportunity to transition from part-time to full time as a means of accelerating their degree. I am one of those students who started in the spring when this track is available. All spring-start students start with a part-time load, but have the option to accelerate in the fall by indicating this preference in the application.
As someone who hadn’t been in school in quite some time, I was nervous about being a student again. I knew however that an MBA would enhance my career prospects and I didn’t want to be off of the job market for too long. After careful discussion with my admissions representative at the SOM, I decided the part-to-full time track was the way to go.
While being a part-time student may seem like it’s half the energy of a full-time track, that’s definitely false. There is a steep learning curve in the MBA program–time goes by quick and taking anything for granted is a big mistake. In order to offset some of these challenges however, the SOM introduces business school to each new cohort with a course called Foundations of Business, which is held the week before the semester starts. This course exposes students too business school culture and expectations, while also giving helpful hints and recommendations for getting everything done
As the semester built momentum, not only did I get used to sitting in class for three hours after a full day’s work, but also was able to participate, adding to the discussion and asking questions when I had them. It was definitely exhausting as weekends were spent preparing for the following week’s classes, but by the time finals came around fifteen weeks later, it had become the norm and paid off with great grades! The summer was a continuation of the part-time schedule since classes are usually condensed and it’s not recommended to take a full-load at that pace.
Knowing that I would be doubling my load at school, I did the math (and made it work), and left my full time job. While I had butterflies about being a full-time student I reassured myself that the past two semesters hadn’t been a fluke! I understood my learning style and knew exactly what I needed to do to succeed; I spent two semesters going to the tutoring center, talking to Student Financial Services, establishing supportive study groups, and finding opportunities to enrich the possibilities of my future!”