EMBA is a killer

thanks for the insights RVD. Good to know what an EMBA workload is like.

Though I wouldn't put the full-time schedule to be so light, at least based on what Rhyme posted regarding his daily schedule.

RVD, I believe that the schedule you passed is from someone not seeking job; although I agree that an EMBA is very hectic, the Full-timers expend lots of time with recruiting, off course this is concentrated in certain periods of the year though.

Thanks for the insights.

RVD,

I was wondering if you do much group work in the EMBA? If so, how is that handled?

I'm just curious because I'm in a PT program and in addition to working full-time (like you are) and being in class for 8-10 hrs. a week (2-3 evenings a week rather than all crammed into every other weekend like yours), once the quarter gets into full swing, I'm usually meeting with my group on the weekends to work on cases also. Last quarter we had one weekend where we met for 8 (!) hours on Sat. and then another 5 hrs. on Sun.

I have a few friends that are debating between trying to do an EMBA and a PT MBA, and after I've told them about my insane school schedule, I think they're leaning more towards the EMBA (assuming that there would be fewer outside of class obligations other than the regular studying).

Thanks for any additional info. you could provide!

Thanks, that was a good insight into EMBA.

The groups usually don't meet that often because everyone is so geographically dispersed. We have 3 international students in our class from Russia, Belgium, and Taiwan. These students literally fly in every other weekend from these locations.

Within the US, we have about 10% of the class from Southern California (like me) as well as 3 students from Seattle (MSFT), 1 from Denver, 2 from Boise, 1 from Reno, Nevada, etc. Overall, I would say that 25% of the class is not local.

Also, the SF bay area is pretty spread out. We have students from the north like Napa Valley and Marin County down to the southern part of the South Bay as well as the East Bay, etc. The bay area folks are spread out over a 100+ mile radius.

Groups always meet during class sessions. Since we arrive for classes on Friday and leave on Saturday night, our group always meets an hour before classes start on Saturday morning at 8AM. We also meet after dinner on Friday if needed before we head back to the hotel and go out, etc.

Some groups meet regularly during meal time (lunch, dinner). My group decided against this because one of our goals is to meet the other students and we felt that if we meet as a group during meals, it would not give us a chance to dine and meet other students.

Every group has regular conference calls. Sometimes groups have calls twice a week but usually it's once a week. Other than that, it's email, IM, and phone calls.

Overall, most groups work like this. There are a few groups where most members are not too far from each other so they meet up on the "off" week as well. Usually they meet at school on a weekend or at another person's company or house. This isn't a social time though so it's basically down to business for most groups.

My schedule is roughly:
Mon-Fri: Get up at 7:30 and go to work. Come home at 7:00. Eat dinner and play with the kid until 8:30PM. Put kid to bed and study until 1AM.
Sat / Sun: Run errands and do stuff with the family until lunch. Spend the afternoon and evening reading / studying until midnight. Usually I'll sneak in an hour or two of something fun (like a ball game or something if I can)

There is really no time for anything else. I think this is true for most EMBA programs. Most students say that they spend around 25 hours or so studying. It's the first month so I've been spending much more than that.

RVD.

Yeah it was basically passed on from a 1st year 1st semester student so he doesn't do anything in terms of recruiting yet (not for internship or full time).

RVD.

my Wharton West friend used to come to poker nights all the time (and hosted some himself)... hee hee

Thanks for the info. RVD! I've heard about similar group arrangements in other EMBA programs.


I was like this the first month (well, quarter, actually) too, but after the first couple of classes you'll have a better understanding of how in depth tests tend to be, what the profs are really looking for, etc. and you'll probably be able to streamline your studying a bit. Not to mention, it does take time to get back into the "habit" of being in school, and after some time, memorization, note taking, paper writing and so on and so forth gets easier.

Yeah that's true. I did hear from some upper classmen that it does get a bit easier later for the following reasons:

1) Students aren't as competitive. The first term is always the most competitive.
2) You learn to gauge and balance how much you want to get out of the program (do you want to set the curve or score the mean or just beat out LT (lowest 10%)) and how much bang for your study buck you get (law of diminishing returns after awhile).
3) You get a better feel for what you need to study (e.g. some students don't read much of the textbook but focus on lecture notes, etc.)

Hopefully it will get a little easier because I don't think I can do 2 years of this at this level. I'm basically live and breathing work and school.

RVD.

I've heard the same from people doing EMBAs at Haas - busy busy~
glad I'm not applying for EMBA :p

I think it's like this at all of the top EMBA programs...haas, ucla, kellogg, chicago, ross, fuqua, wharton, etc.

It really is tough and a lot more work that most people think it is.

RVD.

Manager,
I haven't researched this at length, but can you tell me what is the purpose of EMBA?
From what I know, people who get into it are already highly experienced, mauture, and predominantly in senior positions. Is it just a way to get promoted to the top notch job (like CEO) from the one just underneath (like FD)?
The knowledge benefit aside, what are the actual career potentials?
Your feedback would be appreciated.
Krgds,

­Thank you for this!  I am preparing to start Columbia Fri/Sat program this September.  I saw that you did quite a lot of prep before the residence week.  What sort of reading/preparations did you do to prepare for this, and did you find it helpful?