EssaySnark

We’ve been talking about the difficult conversation of telling your boss you’re leaving to go get an MBA and the Everyworkers’ Dream of “I just want to quite this thing!”.

So let’s talk the future.

If you are applying to a two-year MBA with a traditional schedule, like most of the programs in the United States, then when would you be exiting your current company? When would you resign your role? When would you be out of there?

Working backwards, you might assume that most universities start up class in the Fall, right?

Well, sort of.

Most two-year MBA programs in the States have an orientation that starts at least a week or so before classes officially begin. You will need to be on campus much earlier in the year for your first year, than you will when you return as a second-year student.

In addition, most bschools have pre-term programs like math camp or language lab. Sometimes these are required for certain admits (e.g., if you’re an international student with a TOEFL score below a certain threshold); agreeing to attend could be a condition of acceptance into the program.

And then of course there’s the super fun stuff like pre-MBA travel. Many schools have a tradition of incoming students going off on trips with second-years before school starts, as a fun bonding experience before studies begin. These are optional, and they’re not included with your tuition, but they’re certainly a lot of fun.

Finally, most people have to do the whole hassle of relocating to wherever their bschool is. Sometimes people decide to relocate early, to get established; others put it off till the last possible moment, especially if they’re moving to a more expensive city and want to minimize the amount of time they have to pay a higher rent.

Every school has different requirements and opportunities for all of this, and since you don’t yet know where you’re going to be going to school, you can’t be too exact about it. However, when you add it all up, you should expect to, most likely, be quitting your job and packing your things to make the move sometime in May or June next year. Mid-July would be the latest, for most people.

Yes. In about a year, you will be loading up a moving van and driving away from your current apartment for good.

Wow, now didn’t THAT suddenly make this whole bschool thing more real for you?

When you’re thinking about what to say to your boss when you tell her you’re applying to business school, then you’d better have all of this straight in your head.

Exciting stuff, Brave Supplicant!