I am still trying to decide whether to go for a part-time, full time, or executive mba program. I have a good job right now and a lot of undergrad loans that I am still paying off. This deters me from choosing the full time program. Are any of these looked at more favorably than the others by employers after you graduate? Also is it possible to get a full scholarship to an mba program?

Hi ktg33,

The short answer is very much, "It depends." The earlier you are in your career, the more that a full-time MBA makes sense. After you have about five or six years of work experience, a part-time MBA starts to make more sense. Beyond ten years of work experience, then a full-time MBA isn't really an option (at least not at a top MBA program), and an executive MBA is what may fit you best.

Even for employers, the answer is the same: It really depends on where you are in your career and what you want to do with an MBA. If you want to switch careers, a full-time MBA is your best bet. You'll typically have more access to on-campus career service, can take advantage of the summer internship to prove your self (and to try out) to a new company, etc. If you're further along in your career and like where you work, then you may just want to go for a part-time MBA or EMBA.

Switching careers with a part-time MBA is possible, but for the schools you're looking at, carefully research whether or not you would have the same access to on-campus recruiting that full-time MBA students get. At some schools, part-time MBA students are dissatisfied because they get less recruiting support than they expected, because those programs aren't always built with job-switchers in mind.

BTW, we recently took an in-depth look at some of these programs on our blog:
http://blog.veritasprep.com/2010/02/alt ... art-1.html
http://blog.veritasprep.com/2010/03/alt ... ba_25.html

Hope that helps!
Scott

Thanks so much for your detailed response Scott. That helps a lot. I will make sure I do my research before I make a decision.