Just wondering but I was thinking of applying to Booth PT in the future. What are everybody background that applied?
Thanks for the advice, guys. I was just making sure Booth PT is not some kind of inferior product compared to the FT program. But it seems the band name and quality of two programs are pretty comparable.
Check GMAT Club for bacground on peeps applying and their results. Slightly skewed towards full-time applicants but if you dig around you should be able to find some good background info. Consensus is it is slightly easier to get in part-time, albeit in the grand scheme of things still difficult.
I was admitted to Booth FT and have done some research on this topic. Additionally, my good friend now goes to a top 3 part-time program and I have some perspective on the value of PT through him as well as about 15-20 friends who go to and/or went to NYU PT, and 3-4 peeps who went PT to GSB in the past 3-10 years. PT students (provided they aren’t sponsored) can participate in all the recruiting events at Booth. However, I’ve heard from students there that they are rarely taken seriously by recruiters. My PT friends do have a lot less debt than if they had gone FT, but their career prospects are only marginally better than they were before. Less debt…but no big networking enhancements through school. They definitely have no shot at landing a legit buyside gig at a Fidelity, Wellington, etc (which DO take a bunch of FT grads each year from Booth). The value in a FT program is the recruiting and networking. You have tons of time to have informational interviews, go to company presentations, meet friends of classmates, etc. If you think you are going to get anywhere near the same benefits in PT as in FT you are sadly mistaken. While you are working until 6 (or later) every day, your FT classmates are going to class, meeting with career services, applying to boatloads of jobs, traveling all over the country…as a PTimer you have no real chance to compete with that. If I were you, I’d go to the best FT program you can get into. Leave PT for those that are a) already established and don’t need to switch jobs/careers or b) destined for 2nd-tier status.
^thanks for the insight. It’s a little disturbing to hear that even at schools like Booth, PT students are rarely taken seriously by the recruiters. Has anyone else heard similar things or had similar experiences? I mean this whole CBF program is designed for kids like me (under 25). I mean, we got our entire career ahead and it’s entirely reasonable to expect some career changes. What is the point of an MBA if it cannot enhance my career prospect and open new doors.
It’s simple, if you want to switch careers and/or recruit out of the program, then apply for the FT MBA, go to the best program you can and don’t look back. Maybe you get into a Booth, maybe not, but honestly I wouldn’t take a Booth PT over some other top 20-ish FT program if my goal were to switch or recruit. If you are happy about the company you’re at, but want the added learning opportunities or upward mobility that a PT MBA provides, then do PT. I’m bearish on the idea that a PT MBA from Booth is some kind of back door into a top MBA program. You have to remember that PT don’t recruit for internships, and the vast majority of firms that recruit on-campus at a place like Booth, want to hire from the intern pool as a first priority. I think recruiters are focused on looking for FT MBA students, which is why they probably don’t take PT as seriously.
Actually, once you think about it, PT programs probably intentionally limit your opportunities to get hired while you are enrolled. Imagine if some company sends its employees to PT business school only to see them get poached by competitors. The company will say “FU, Booth. No more sponsoring people for your program”.
^that’s why if you are sponsored and you want to participate in on campus recruiting, you need to have your employer sign a waiver. My employer limits the amount of reimbursement and I suspect that is the case with a lot of companies now given the economy.
Sorry guys for bumping this old thread. I’m considering applying to booth PT this year so wanted to get more people’s thoughts on this. From talking to friends in the program, although it’s definitely harder to get jobs through OCR, multiple people have had success through networking, going to various events, ocr, etc. You do need to get a waiver from your company once you complete 12 courses in order to be eligible for it.
For someone like myself, who won’t be working a regular 9-5 job and can spend a lot of time going to different networking events, joining clubs, etc., I wonder if it could be worth it. I know PT is not as “prestigious” or fun as FT, but booth is an amazing school, with a lot of resources and a very wide selection of courses. Plus I live only a few blocks from gleacher =)
Oops. Accidentally double posted.
It seems as if you are ready to pay $110-$120K for an MBA at the Booth, you want to continue working, you plan to network. What is your question?
I went there FT and can say, definitively, that PT students are not allowed at most on-campus recruiting events.
With that said, there are some other draws to the program (very good professors for a PT program, some students have had success switching into typical post-MBA career paths).
As my earlier post noted I went there PT and never felt that this held me back in the slightest. I had the same professors as the FT students and was graded on the same curve, with the same assignments. I was able to apply what I learned immediately at work and incurred no debt. I eventually did move to a Wall Street job, which is what I wanted, with a firm that didn’t recruit at Chicago anyway, at least not then. It’s never held me back and there is no “PT” badge on my transcripts. The end result is what matters. I don’t think of my degree as any less because I went part time. Imagine working 80-100 hour weeks and still getting your MBA from Chicago. Hopefully that’s what employers saw when they interviewed me.
I don’t disagree with any of that. Part-time has plenty of merits and is the better option for many people. The education component is largely the same between the two programs. I also met a lot of great part-timers at Booth who already had great jobs and didn’t need on-campus recruiting.
But if you’re explicitly looking to change careers, you do face a different set of opportunities in the PT program vs. FT.
What if you’re working a job with VERY flexible hours, such as a startup for example, and doing a booth PT MBA. In such a scenario the person can take advantage of networking events, go to club meetings in the hyde park campus, etc. Although still not ideal for a career switcher, wouldn’t a booth PT go a long way for that person, provided he works his butt off?
BUMP.
Anyone applying to booth evening MBA program? I know a few people in the program who managed to land interviews at top investment management firms through on-campus recruiting.
Sorry, nope. If my employer would agree to foot the bill, then I would consider it. However since I am located nowhere near Chicago that isn’t going to happen. And as a general rule, I am extremely skeptical of the true value of an MBA education. I haven’t met many MBA students / recent grads whose career I wish to emulate.