Top Tier Weekend MBA?

Question

Hi Guys,
I live and work in Las Vegas but have decided that I am at a point in my career to pursue an MBA. I love my job and would prefer not to quit my job and pick up and move to an MBA program. I have noticed that several top tier schools offer "weekend MBAs" like Haas, Anderson, Kellogg, and UCGSB. I have several questions for those who have already pursued an MBA about how feasible it would even be to pursue a weekend MBA:
1. Do you know if any (or all) of these programs are okay with students commuting to class?
2. How do you/would you complete group projects?
3. Obviously your ability to network would be affected so would this even be worthwhile considering how little I would be there?

Answer 1

If you have the freedom of time and travel to travel every weekend to one of these programs, then fabulous (and wow).

1) I'm not sure what you mean by the first question - all students commute to class. Some will be local, yes, in fact a majority, but for a weekend MBA program, there will be a few others commuting via air. So long as you get to class, it does not matter how far you are travelling, in reality. Their concern would be your ability to actually get to the classes. But again, if you have the freedom in your life to have time for this type of travel, and can afford it, it should not be a major issue.
2) Group project work is usually done outside of class. You and your group would set up a time to work together. Your times would need to be on the weekends, naturally, but if you're up front about that, you should be able to work things out. In general, there's a lot of work that gets done via email and etc. as well, so as long as your group is good with meeting, say, before or after your weekend classes, you should be okay. And that depends on their schedules.
3) I don't believe your ability to network would be affected. It would be at a similar level to any MBA student attending a part-time program. So long as you make an effort, during the time when you are on campus, to meet your classmates, I think you'll be fine. And know that most of your classmates will also only be on campus on the weekends. In reality, you're all in the same boat. And even if your ability to network is compromised by your commute, the ability to have a name like Kellogg, or Chicago, on your resume more than outweighs that. I'd go for it. If you have the time and the cash, this is an excellent, excellent option to go to a top school without having to relocate. Good for you.

I wasn't aware that Kellogg had a full weekend MBA program yet. I knew they were investigating it. If they have a full weekend MBA program now, great.

Good point, the other poster, about the difference in perception between an Executive MBA and what some employers call a "real" MBA. Some employers do look down on the e-MBAs. I'd avoid those. Get a real MBA, but part time, from one of these schools, and you'll do yourself well.

Answer 2

There's a critical difference between weekend MBAs like Haas's program and executive MBAs like Kellogg's that you need to be aware of while you're researching. The former meet every week, just like evening programs, so you'd need to be local or prepared for regular, frequent travel. The latter often have more online components to accomodate distance students, but you will still have to meet on a semi-regular basis, and they're not always viewed as having the same value as a standard MBA. And even local part-time students often complain that they don't get the same networking opportunities as full-timers, so take that into account when you're deciding.

Answer 3

If you live in Las Vegas and you are willing to travel all that way for class, it would not be realistic. Does UNLV not have a business program?

It wouldnt be worth the time to travel all that way for that. I would recommend looking into the different progarms UNLV has and checking them out to see if they suit you.

Traveling all that way will wear you out, and you will be so tired how can you study and the go to work?

Anderson School of Management is in Albuquerque, and even though its a good school, its not worth the drive to just to it on the weekends. Please look into UNLV.