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shaselai
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 13:41
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I am currently in middle of no where rome,ny (1hr from syracuse). The closest good business school is probably Cornell and that is like 3-4 hour drive. Basically I will need to either quit my job and relocate in this economy OR go for a great online degree. If I do the former then i really need to get accepted first, then if I could take a semester break to find a job in the area (not sure how that would turn out...). If I do the latter I can stay at same job and life goes on. Is it better to find the "best" school with online degree or i pretty much need to relocate?

thanks!
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 14:34
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It all depends....

1) Do you want to change careers?
2) If not, are you planning on staying with your current company?
3) Why do you need an MBA? Just to "punch a ticket" for your current position?

The only time I can see an online MBA being sufficient is if you are working at a job where you need an MBA, just any MBA, to move up the career ladder.

If you plan on changing careers or you work in an industry where a a top-quality MBA is a requirement, you'll need to an on-campus part-time MBA at the very least.

RF
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shaselai
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 15:33
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refurb
It all depends....

1) Do you want to change careers?
2) If not, are you planning on staying with your current company?
3) Why do you need an MBA? Just to "punch a ticket" for your current position?

The only time I can see an online MBA being sufficient is if you are working at a job where you need an MBA, just any MBA, to move up the career ladder.

If you plan on changing careers or you work in an industry where a a top-quality MBA is a requirement, you'll need to an on-campus part-time MBA at the very least.

RF
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I want to climb the ladders basically. I am right now a programmer but would like to move into financial field involving some programing as well.
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 16:05
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shaselai

I want to climb the ladders basically. I am right now a programmer but would like to move into financial field involving some programing as well.
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An online MBA will likely not get you where you want to go.

RF
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 16:10
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Have you considered a PT MBA where you would drive/fly-in for the weekends?
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 16:28
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shaselai
refurb
It all depends....

1) Do you want to change careers?
2) If not, are you planning on staying with your current company?
3) Why do you need an MBA? Just to "punch a ticket" for your current position?

The only time I can see an online MBA being sufficient is if you are working at a job where you need an MBA, just any MBA, to move up the career ladder.

If you plan on changing careers or you work in an industry where a a top-quality MBA is a requirement, you'll need to an on-campus part-time MBA at the very least.

RF

I want to climb the ladders basically. I am right now a programmer but would like to move into financial field involving some programing as well.
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Sounds like you want some kind of analytic work - maybe at a quant hedge fund or something. An online MBA is (very) unlikely to open those doors. I'd consider a PT program where you can just travel somewhere for weekends. A hassle to be sure, but people do it.
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 17:42
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You mention "in this economy" as a reason not to leave your current job. While I understand the need for security, but if you don't have any family to support or mortgage to pay off, right now seems like the best time to me to leave your job. If you want to make a transition to finance, I'd recommend not only doing it on-campus, but to also try to get into the best full time program possible.

You basically take yourself out of the job market for awhile, but if the economy is slow in turning around, you may not be missing out on much in terms of advancement. Take two years off, get the best full time degree, and then re-enter the job market with the hopes that this thing will have turned around by then.
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 17:53
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ACNguy
You mention "in this economy" as a reason not to leave your current job. While I understand the need for security, but if you don't have any family to support or mortgage to pay off, right now seems like the best time to me to leave your job. If you want to make a transition to finance, I'd recommend not only doing it on-campus, but to also try to get into the best full time program possible.

You basically take yourself out of the job market for awhile, but if the economy is slow in turning around, you may not be missing out on much in terms of advancement. Take two years off, get the best full time degree, and then re-enter the job market with the hopes that this thing will have turned around by then.
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i see your point. So if i do leave my job I pretty much have to do it after getting accepted then find a job around the area?
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 18:01
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shaselai
ACNguy
You mention "in this economy" as a reason not to leave your current job. While I understand the need for security, but if you don't have any family to support or mortgage to pay off, right now seems like the best time to me to leave your job. If you want to make a transition to finance, I'd recommend not only doing it on-campus, but to also try to get into the best full time program possible.

You basically take yourself out of the job market for awhile, but if the economy is slow in turning around, you may not be missing out on much in terms of advancement. Take two years off, get the best full time degree, and then re-enter the job market with the hopes that this thing will have turned around by then.

i see your point. So if i do leave my job I pretty much have to do it after getting accepted then find a job around the area?
Show more

Here's how it goes, in my eyes:
1). Apply
2). Get accepted (this is the big decision point, obviously)
3). Accept offer (another big decision point)
4). Work a few more months/Look into financing options
5). Leave job
6). Go to school
7). Graduate/Get new job

This is obviously over simplistic. However, my plan is to simply finance it through loans and hopefully some scholarships/fellowships. Either way, the financial benefits of a top program far out weigh the $100,000 in loans you'll have to take out.

That part scares a lot of people, and it did for me as well (I'm the type of person that hates having to make any loan payments, in fact, I basically paid off my first car in under 6 months because I hated being in debt so much). However, if you're willing to really devout yourself to your top program, get involved, network relentlessly and land a top job, the benefits are there and you'll be happy you invested so much time, left your job, and came away better afterwards.

NOTE: I haven't even been accepted yet, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I'm simply reiterating what's been told to me when I was concerned about paying for it. Take out loans, worry about the cost later, and really invest yourself into the program itself. If you do that, you'll land a position that sets you on a track to not only pay back that large amount of debt, but much more on top of that.

If anyone disagrees with me, please speak up now, because that might sway my future plans as well!!
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 18:10
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shaselai
ACNguy
You mention "in this economy" as a reason not to leave your current job. While I understand the need for security, but if you don't have any family to support or mortgage to pay off, right now seems like the best time to me to leave your job. If you want to make a transition to finance, I'd recommend not only doing it on-campus, but to also try to get into the best full time program possible.

You basically take yourself out of the job market for awhile, but if the economy is slow in turning around, you may not be missing out on much in terms of advancement. Take two years off, get the best full time degree, and then re-enter the job market with the hopes that this thing will have turned around by then.

i see your point. So if i do leave my job I pretty much have to do it after getting accepted then find a job around the area?

Here's how it goes, in my eyes:
1). Apply
2). Get accepted (this is the big decision point, obviously)
3). Accept offer (another big decision point)
4). Work a few more months/Look into financing options
5). Leave job
6). Go to school
7). Graduate/Get new job

This is obviously over simplistic. However, my plan is to simply finance it through loans and hopefully some scholarships/fellowships. Either way, the financial benefits of a top program far out weigh the $100,000 in loans you'll have to take out.

That part scares a lot of people, and it did for me as well (I'm the type of person that hates having to make any loan payments, in fact, I basically paid off my first car in under 6 months because I hated being in debt so much). However, if you're willing to really devout yourself to your top program, get involved, network relentlessly and land a top job, the benefits are there and you'll be happy you invested so much time, left your job, and came away better afterwards.

NOTE: I haven't even been accepted yet, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I'm simply reiterating what's been told to me when I was concerned about paying for it. Take out loans, worry about the cost later, and really invest yourself into the program itself. If you do that, you'll land a position that sets you on a track to not only pay back that large amount of debt, but much more on top of that.

If anyone disagrees with me, please speak up now, because that might sway my future plans as well!!
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thanks for the info. yeah reason i am concerned about quitting my job (thus online program) is the huge debt. But for me it wont happen for a while since i need to get a decent GMAT score first. On a side note, do B-school look at the most recent GPA(which would be my grad school's) or the undergrad? Undergrad i didn't do so well but grad i did... so when i look at their criteria i can decide which program to apply... thanks!
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Better to do online MBA or on campus MBA in my situation? 15 Jun 2009, 18:20
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thanks for the info. yeah reason i am concerned about quitting my job (thus online program) is the huge debt. But for me it wont happen for a while since i need to get a decent GMAT score first. On a side note, do B-school look at the most recent GPA(which would be my grad school's) or the undergrad? Undergrad i didn't do so well but grad i did... so when i look at their criteria i can decide which program to apply... thanks!
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No problem, I guess I'm sort of following you around this forum tonight, hopefully I'm being helpful! In terms of grades, adcoms definitely look at both. With that said, if you showed marked improvement over the years, that definitely benefits your cause. Also, in the additional essays, you have an opportunity to explain why you received poorer grades during your undergrad. You can then explain that you learned from your mistakes, worked to correct those mistakes and showed marked improvement in grad school. Don't make excuses, but if you were working full time or had important extra curriculars going on that affected your performance make note of that as well, just don't come away as whining or making excuses. Elaborate on how those outside activities made you better overall, and that once you were done with undergrad you realized further the importance of good grades and focused on doing the best you could.