are you referring to UCLA? If so I also got the same paragraph in my rejection letter. Have you heard anything from the adcoms about this?

Thats actually pretty cool... usually its the other way around... they tell EMBA candidates to consider full time (::cough:: wharton ::cough::)

sadly this means another round of apps and interviews? I sure hope they can leverage some of your app as is
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I have not applied yet. I did go to one of their info sessions in NYC and spoke to their ad com. I have almost 6 years of experience. In order to be admitted to their EMBA program one must have 8 or apply as a "fellow."

"Fellow" - less than 8 years of experience candidate must have 100% financial support from employer. This is what I was told from ad com people.

Sadly my company is cheap (there is no free water on the floor... yes I know insane) and they only do 10k per year. So I guess I will wait... or get another place of employment.
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I had no idea this occurs either. I am in the same boat as you. I guess it's better than a total ding?

So its not just me, I am pretty sure this event is an exception to the rule. While obviously it isn't getting what you apply for, it wasn't exactly selling the other program, it seemed that a reapplication was not needed, and they would be going off the FT app.

I know not all EMBA/PTMBAs are created equal, but when I looked into it, there was a lot that was desirable, same this, same that, access to career center, and minimal second class citizen feeling. They even help you out with an internship if you so please. So there were a lot of things that made it seem more like just a nights a weekends MBA rather than a 9-5 MBA. Does that make sense? I guess my point is that now that it has kind of been presented in front of me, there is a lot of draw to the PTMBA/EMBA IMHO.... but why is there a perception (me included) that PTMBAs and EMBAs are the "ugly stepsister" of MBA programs?

@kosk

Yes, the general perception is that PT is, as you called, an "ugly stepsister" of the FT MBA. The reasons for the origin of that perception are not hard to fathom. In an FT MBA, you have
- greater access to professors & the school facilities in general
- better opportunities to network with industry contacts
- better bonding opportunities with your own peers and the opportunity to build your own network
- singular focus on your education without distractions emanating from your work
- option of switching functions / industries during recruitment
- mandatory internship that greatly helps you test the waters

And that's not even listing all the potential benefits of an FT MBA...

However that is not to say that the PT MBA is without value. For many individuals for whom many of the above reasons might not be worth sacrificing two years of earnings, the PT MBA is a great option. I know of several people who have done the PT MBA at Booth & Kellogg and have flourished in their chosen careers.

I think PT MBAs get a bad name because
- many schools use it as a money minting business with lax entry barriers when compared to a FT MBA
- people get into a PT MBA "imagining" that they would get great career jumps after the MBA but get disappointed when they are not able to leverage it at all. Such people also complain the most about the value of the PT MBA while not realizing that there was probably a problem in their initial expectation setting
- FT students often do not like PT students because the PT students get almost equal opportunities during the recruiting season (depends on schools). Not that this is an incredibly major factor, but a perceived lack of value of the PT MBA is certainly propagated by FT students.

So all said & done, it is my opinion that a PT MBA from a top 5 or top 10 is definitely worth considering if one is clear and assured that it will eventually help you reach where you want to...
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Now that we are yet a couple weeks deeper into the process, I was wondering if anyone else had experience or experiences to share about this? Still no update from my end...

Full-time and part-time programs are really different experiences, for certain. The name of the school and the professors and even the philosophy may be the same, but the process is entirely different. The full-time b-school experience is a lot about the learning process -- the admissions committees fashion a class of anywhere from 200 to 900 ambitious 26-year olds who will live together, study together, party together, interview for jobs together.... you get the idea. The full-time programs try to molds the student into a certain type of leader, teaching social/emotional intelligence through group participation projects.

The part-time programs can be equally intense, in that students are juggling jobs, and in the case of the EMBA, a possible road warrior commute. And that can create a bonding experience too. That feeling of, "we made it against all odds!" is still omnipresent. But there's always the anchor of the full-time job.

Career options will differ. If you want to work as an investment banking analyst or a top-3 management consultant, you'll have to fight your way in to get noticed. But the part-time programs will present a whole new set of networking opportunities, and seriously, 5 years down the road, is anyone going to ask, "oh, were you in the FT or the PT program?" (And if they do, you are allowed to laugh at them).

So in short, it depends on where you are now and where you want to go.

Let us know what you decide!

Best to you,
Betsy
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Betsy Massar
Founder
Master Admissions
www.masteradmissions.com
Author of Admitted: An Interactive Workbook for Getting into a Top MBA Program
www.admittedmba.com

To PT or FT?

Congratulations. Granted this was for undergraduate, some of my friends received rejection letters from Cornell that guaranteed them admission as a sophmore via transfer, as long as they maintained at least a 3.5 gpa in their first year of undergraduate (regardless of where they went to school, oddly enough). It seems that admissions committees sometimes have weird quirks, but if they desire you as a student enough, they come up with workarounds...