“I can graduate next semester, IF I can manage to take 6 classes next semester. Having a full-time career, taking care of a house and dogs, and taking 18 MBA credit hours might kill me though. But at least I’d be done sooner then later and then have the rest of my life to not worry about homework anymore (that is until I’m 30 and I go back for my Executive MBA ughhhhhhhhh).”
And I posted a rather lengthy reply to them and I’ve been thinking about this for awhile. I want more people to read and see it, so I figured I’d make a post. What would you do? Below is what I said in my comment:
“Thanks everyone. I’m still deciding. I have another meeting with my adviser today. If I switch to just a General MBA, then I will have no problem graduating next semester (because the classes are generally easier and there are more classes offered), but if I stick to my MBA with an emphasis in Finance, then it’ll take longer because the classes are harder and not offered as much. So if I stick with Finance, then I would take 4 classes next semester and 2 in in the Fall of 2012, but there’s always a chance that the classes might not even be offered.
So I’m stuck. I can be done next Spring easily or I can hope that the classes that I need are offered.
And another way that I’m stuck is that I don’t even know if an MBA with an emphasis in Finance is any better than a General MBA. They both require the same amount of credits and employers and clients don’t really care if you have an emphasis or not, because after my name, just the 3 letters would be showing (MBA), so it’s not like anyone would even know the difference. Clients and employers usually care more about designations and licenses. I’m also thinking about just doing a general MBA regardless of the time because it won’t even really matter.
Also, if I wait to graduate until next Fall, then there’s the chance that I’ll get a bigger raise overall because my work is already giving me a big bump in June, and therefore if I graduated in May, I would be afraid that my bumps won’t be as big since they would both be in the same month.
Also also (sorry haha), but if I wait until December, then I can defer my loans for an extra 6 months (this is versus if I graduated in May), and most of my loans are federal loans that don’t gain interest, so I would essentially be saving money as well.”
And for those wondering, I would be able to fit the 6 classes in, because one class only meets everyday for two weeks and that’s all. And the other class is a class that’s only on Saturdays. I just really want to be done with school, but is it the best choice? Should I go slower so that I’m not burned out? I’ve taken a lot of classes before, so I’m not afraid that I won’t do as well (but I’m sure my grades would be slightly worse). When I was an undergrad, I often took 21 credits, while working full time and living on my own, but those were difficult times, so I don’t know if I want to do it again.
What would you do?
Juhli says
Reading you post makes me suggest you ask yourself why you are getting the MBA? If it is primarily to increase your earning potential with your current employer than get the general MBA. If you want to have options in the field of Finance then take longer and get the specialized one so that you have the learning opportunities.
Michelle P says
Thanks Bravoe, it's such a hard decision!And Juhli, it's mainly to increase my earning potential. In the field that I'm in, an MBA isn't anywhere near as valuable as getting your CFA, ASA, CFP, etc.
Tanner says
In the field I am in as well, an MBA is a good thing, but what they'd often be looking at is your certification. When you talk to your councelor, can you ask him if you can expect the classes for the Finance MBA to be available for Fall'12. They should give you a good estimated answer. My next step would be to look at jobs you'd want. Go into salary calculator websites and see what your dream job would require. Even though I am all up for being more and more educated, if you're just rushing through and not retaining a whole lot or if it wont matter as much for the job you will want, then I'd go with the general MBA and save time/money/effort. But… if you are only 2 classes away from a certification that would open a lot more doors, then by all means, take an extra semester. The deferral student loans is an added bonus, but the added classes may add $ to that student loan and negate or worsen any possible benefit from waiting. Difficult pick indeed, but weight all of your options. If it was me, and the specialized MBA mattered for the dream job I'd want, I'd suck it up for another semester.
Bravoe Runway says
I pushed my mba through at lightening speed. I completed it in 18 months while working a full time job. And that included summer session courses too, and we were on quarters. I would say to retain your sanity, I would not speed it up. Because towards the end, I retained nothing and just wanted to get done to get done. good luck with your decision, I know it's tough!
Astra says
That all sounds very complicated Michelle! I would just say that you never know what your future holds – you may not need more money… I'd encourage you to make sure your happy now, sacrificing too much of your time and energy for a future goal can backfire (not being negative just speaking from personal experience). I'm sure you'll make the right choice and I believe everything turns out as it should in the end anyway 🙂
Amy Rene says
oh wow that's a tough decision! I'm actually in the pre-MBA planning stages, trying to figure out when to start, etc. So you're SO FAR ahead of me. But from where I'm sitting, I'd stick to the focus & graduate later. The idea of bigger raises AND getting to defer loans sounds great. But that's just me!Good luck!
Christy says
I completed my Masters degree (M.Ed) very slowly and found it much less stressful that way. If giving it an extra semester will let you lead a more balanced life, I would extend it a bit. I know it worked for me!
Rafiki says
This is a tough one for you and we can all give you advice but the decision will lie solely with you in the end. You have to know what you want and what you are capable of.My advice is first to discuss it with the bf and see how he feels. Then the adviser, then look deep within your self again, assess you goals and then make your decision. Everyone so far seems to have given you excellent advice so take that into consideration as well.Decide what you want and go for it with every thing you have got.I still believe you have a magic time creating wand but since you try to make me believe otherwise, it boils down to you just been really amazing and dedicated and no matter what you choose I am certain without and doubts that you will achieve great heights.
No Spend Days says
My only advice is take one day at a time x xThats probably not much help. But look after yourself & do not burn yourself out or add to much pressure x x
Penny says
I wouldn't consider the financials in this decision. Sure, you would defer your loans by six months, but you would likely need to take our more loans to split your classes over two semesters. I'm not sure how your school bills, but for many anything over 12 hours is full time and you don't pay more for it. Even if the cost for two semesters at 12+6 is the same as one semester at 18, it's possible the tuition could increase in the fall. Also, any flat fees would have to be paid twice.I think 18 hours sounds like too much, and I agree with those who say you won't retain anything. I would also stick with your finance specialty because more and more employers are asking about courses wanting to look at transcripts. (My dad recently switched jobs, and he was asked about his classes and grades in college despite having graduated more than 30 years prior.)
Michelle P says
Thanks everyone. I would still be taking the exact same classes besides just two. My very last two would be some sort of economics or business class, instead of 2 finance electives.Also since I'd be taking the same amount of classes, it would be the same cost – tuition wise. All of the schools where I live charge by the credit hour (no flat rates) for MBA programs.I do think I would be retaining stuff, as I remember most of the stuff from undergrad and I often took 21-24 credit hours while working full-time.I guess the main thing is that the general MBA would make me more rounded if I needed a job in the future since I'll already have two other finance certifications/licenses (CFA and ASA).I just don't know…