Anyone else having regrets about not applying for PT?

NYU really doesn't allow that? Crazy!

I don't know how US News can rank it #1 among part-time programs if that is the case.

as a career-switcher, i say: NOPE!

.............(speechless)
You are fellow NYU Stern undergrad....
How did you not hear that?

(and I know a few people in the PT MBA program)

I don't think that the part-time program will allow you to career swith , especially in that economy. AND you are assuming that you are keeping your corp finance jobs for the next two years... If that does not realize, everything goes down the drain... FT is much safer path in a way, and you have two years to get into MC or IB.

Glettian, I understand the insecurities and your worries. But you are not alone. There are thousands of applicants headed to full time programs this fall and many of them are headed to schools less stellar than Cornell. (and zero scholarship money)

Why don't you attend the Cornell Admit Wknd and discuss your worries with fellow admits? I am sure they are in the same boat.

Also, PT programs make sense if you plan on keeping your job and grow within your company. However, for someone who wants to get into IB or MC, PT is much more difficult due to lack of resources available to PT compared to FT in many schools.

Also, you got to factor in the possibility that more and more companies will lay off employees in the near future and you might not be the exception. In that case, PT doesn't make sense either.

Two years is a short period of time, but also a valuable time for you to reinvent yourself. If you make a decision based on limited information available to you right now (job market, economy etc), you might regret later.

Nothing in life comes easy without assuming little risk. I understand that you are in the process of managing that risk. I hope you make the best decision for yourself.

Yeah, i actually come from the other side, was thinking of switching to FT instead of PT but gave up that idea.

I believe in this economy if u can get ur company to pay for ur MBA or if u r makin really good money u should consider PT. things had changed and its not a good time to put urself into debt. who knows how long this crisis will last and how many high paid jobs will be available for us. after u graduate u not only have saved urself at least $100,000 but also kept ur salary and work routine.

full time is more fun if u can afford it but if u have to take huge loans to finance it i would seriously reconsider.

the only thing is that u will be applying next year so losing a year isnt a good thing. if u can manage to get in this year i would go for PT.

The risk here is that the company will continue to pay the tuition. Many companies are cutting back on benefits such as tuition assistance right now. With a four year PT program, I can't imagine a much worse situation than to have a company cut the funding off halfway through. I went through the same FT/PT thought process, and the risk of losing the assistance before the program ended was a factor in deciding to go FT.

I'm still undecided on whether I will be applying for FT or PT, but I've given a lot of thought to both options. The career switching capabilities are horrible at some PT programs (NYU) and rather good at others (Booth).

Rhyme has a couple success stories from part-timers at Booth that would probably lessen the PT stigma. Generally speaking, FT is the more enjoyable route that will allow the greatest flexibility for career changes. However, If you have an employer that will pay for your MBA and not enforce a post-MBA work commitment, I'd suggest that you give that route strong consideration.

1/3 scholarship at Cornell is a great deal. If you're not receiving employer sponsorship at a part-time program, I'd vote for the Cornell option.

Full time no question.

- a career switch is much more possible from FT (borderline impossible from PT)
- FT is more respected than PT
- Working full time AND doing a PT MBA is BRUTAL
- Quitting work and spending 2 years back in college is AWESOME

Plus Cornell is a great program and you have a 1/3 scholarship. Come on man, this is a no brainer.

At the most top programs PT is as same length as FT.

Yeah, companies might curb education assistance but even half-paid tuition and keeping your compensation might be better then financing tuition+life expenses by taking a huge loan and quiting a job.

This is an uneccessary risk and you will be better off to put $100,000 in the stocks market now and collect double in 5 years then to just break-even 5 years after your MBA by paying back ur college debt. Unless you are rich or have rich parents who can support u

Down the road, future employers will appreciate the fact that u were working and studying at the top program at the same time... Doing so gives u a nice hard working pedigree that most employers want to see

Appreciate all the feedback, guys. This is probably the most important decision I've had to make in my 26 years. Each proponent of each route brings up valid points, and I figure I should clarify some issues by creating a list of pros and cons for each path:

The case for FT:
- Financial sunk costs. Yes, I know that shouldn't matter, but for someone so focused on ROI of everything I do, it affects me. In total, I've paid around $4k in app fees, travel costs for school visits/interviews, etc. Not to mention, Cornell has a $1,500 deposit from me.
- Time/energy/goodwill spent getting recommendations from current and past supervisors. Having these incredibly busy people write my recommendations was not an easy thing to do, and if I were to apply to PT programs a year from now, I run the risk of them not being as willing to help me out (I do think there's such a thing as recommender burn out!)
- I do want to switch careers. My background is 2 years Big 4 public accounting/CPA/2 years Corporate Finance in a planning, analysis, and budget role with a small public company in Silicon Valley. I'd like to move into IB/MC/IM, but obviously, those positions will be INSANELY difficult to transition into given this climate and the fact that I won't be going to a top 5 school. Nonetheless, I will obviously have a much better chance at transitioning into those industries than I would doing a PT program.
- I did receive a $30K scholarship from Cornell, which will help immensely in bringing down the cost to attend.
- I've created some pretty nice bonds with both current students in the program and potential classmates I met at the Park Fellowship finalist weekend.
- Networking...I'm not a HUGE believer in the notion that a FT program offers that much more in the way of networking (and whether such a nebulous concept is a reason to ante up such a huge financial investment), but it is something to consider.
- While a PT program is significantly easier to get into than FT, there's no guarantee I'll get into Haas/Anderson next year should I apply (26/m/3.6/710)...I know those stats are above the mean, but my age and relative inexperience in the workforce compared to the profile at a typical PT program could hurt me (Haas avg. age is 32 and UCLA 30). So part of me doesn't want to 'risk' passing up a Cornell admit w/ $$...
- I honestly can't wait to leave my current company. Bored of the work, not a fan of the people, not a fan of the salary. I don't know if I'd be happy being here beyond July (which is when I planned on leaving).
- I wouldn't be getting tuition assistance if I stay w/ my current company.

The case for PT:
- ROI, ROI, ROI. I'm a numbers guy, and nothing means more to me than the ROI of any decision I make. People talk about the "intangibles" of doing a FT program vs. PT, but if it's unlikely that I'll be able to land an IB/MC/IM job, my ROI of doing a PT program trumps that of doing a FT program but coming back to a similar role in corp finance.
- Company I work for now is stable, and I don't foresee layoffs happening.
- Although it's a risk as I mention above, I'm pretty confident I could get into Haas or Anderson PT given my stats and profile.
- I don't have a family so the time sacrifice of doing a PT program wouldn't impact me much.
- I'd like to stay in California short and long-term...was waitlisted at Haas and didn't apply to Anderson FT this year..but if I get into one of their PT programs next year, the Haas/Anderson names trumps Cornell in California.

This is so tough....

I think it is smart that you are considering this. I am also a worrywart and probably overly focused on finances, so I can relate to what you're going through. I have a couple more things for you to ponder:

1) Although you do not like your company, you mentioned it is very stable. When things get bad, it becomes more about collecting a paycheck and being happy with that, than it does about being happy at work/having work life balance/etc. You are also correct that it will be very difficult to get into IB/IM out of any school right now as a career switcher. MC should be doable, but you probably can't count on McKinsey/Bain/BCG out of Cornell in this climate (those jobs are currently among the most desirable and would likely go to the Park Fellow types in your class).

2) Where do you want to be geographically? If you want to be on the West Coast or in California, it would be smart to build up that network through Haas or Anderson PT. I'm not sure about Haas, but I know Anderson has an excellent PT program, including a cluster system to help build networks, etc. There will be some West Coast oriented people at Cornell... but for the most part I think your classmates will stick around in the Northeast. Worst case scenario, if you're in Corporate Finance -- would you prefer to do it in the Northeast or in California?