Pros and Cons of Full Time MBA vs Part Time MBA

Any quality MBA programme, part-time or full-time, will demand a significant amount of your time and energy. Finding one that fits comfortably into your life and schedule will be challenging at best. Deciding on going full-time or part-time will be based mainly on your own personal situation; however’ each offers specific pros and cons.

The Full-Time Option (one-year and two-year full time courses)

The most cited advantage of attending a full-time one-year MBA or a full-time two-year MBA is that students can devote as much time as possible to the extraordinary amount of coursework without being stretched too thin by other competing demands.

Immersion and Networking

A full-time program means that you and your classmates are fully immersed in coursework’ group projects’ and out of class activities’ so you get to know them extremely well. Networking among classmates is one of the greatest benefits attending full-time. B-schools generally admit students with significant prior work experience. Consequently’ your fellow students often become invaluable contacts who can help you throughout your entire career.

Internships & Job Opportunities

Two-year full-time programmes (and some one-year full time programmes) also provide an opportunity to gain significant professional experience through summer placements or internships. Through these important programs’ participants can try out an interest in a particular field and determine if it’s right for them. At most schools’ placement services generally focus on helping full-time students conduct their job searches for the often dramatic leaps in job responsibilities and salaries and the unique disruptions that go along with it.

Juggling School & the Rest of Your Life

The intensity of being a full-time student can exact a price. This is especially true for those who have been working for a while and recently returned to school. In addition’ there are competing demands for time for those with families. Finally’ attending business school often entails relocating to a new area and the unique disruptions that go along with it.

The Part-Time & Executive MBA Option

Attending business school part-time has its positives and negatives.  A part-time program can drag on for a number of years’ during which your commitment to an MBA will be tested by professional and personal obligations’ as well as by simple fatigue.

Flexibility

This is the main advantage of the part-time route. Part-time students generally decide whether they want to enrol for any given term. This can help relieve some of the pressure from competing professional or personal demands. Many vary their course load in order to concentrate exclusively on a particularly difficult course and then take a heavier load later with less intensive courses.

Networking

Because of the flexible nature of part-time programs’ enrolment patterns of students tend to vary greatly. This makes it comparatively difficult to develop the same kind of relationships with peers—or to do the same kind of networking—that full-time students enjoy.