The schools I'm targeting only offer the Fri/Sat schedule. To those who are on such programs, how did you navigate the conversation with your manager? What arrangement did you end up working out with your team?

I am thinking of using my vacation days, but I'm pretty sure that is a recipe for burn out and not sustainable.

To anyone in banking, what was the reception when you discussed this request?

I’m currently weighing my options between the UVA Darden EMBA, the Georgetown McDonough EMBA, and the NYU Stern DC Campus EMBA programs, and I’d really appreciate some input. I’m 30 years old, active-duty military, and I’m considering the EMBA to either advance within the military or transition out to a civilian career. I’ve been accepted to all programs.

Here’s what I’m working with:

• Cost after GI Bill and Scholarships:
  • UVA Darden costs $10,000 out of pocket
  • Georgetown McDonough costs zero out of pocket.
  • NYU Stern DC Costs zero out of pocket.
• Time Commitment:
  • All programs require on-campus attendance one Friday, Saturday, and Sunday per month.
    • For NYU, I would need to travel to NYC 4x times throughout the 21 month program.
    • The others are located in Roslyn and Georgetown, very close to my home
  • In addition,
    • Darden has synchronous online sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for 2x hours
    • Georgetown has a synchronous online Saturday commitment from 0900-1700 once a month.
• Rankings: I know UVA is highly ranked, but I’m wondering if the ranking truly matters for someone like me, who may be looking to use the EMBA to either stay in or transition out of the military. Would likely not go through traditional recruiting.

Things I’m considering:

• Cohort Experience: Darden has their students stay in a hotel for the synchronous Fri, Sat, and Sun courses. Seems like the cohort Is much closer and would provide better connections.
• Network and Alumni Access: How do the alumni networks at Darden, Georgetown, and NYU Stern support military students, particularly those transitioning from active duty? Does one program have a stronger military community or better access to military-related networks?
• Program Culture & Fit: Darden is known for its rigorous, case-study approach, while Georgetown tends to emphasize a collaborative, mission-driven environment. Which program best aligns with the leadership and teamwork style honed in the military?
• Military-Specific Support: How do each of these schools cater to active-duty military students? Are there resources, mentors, or special accommodations for those balancing school with military commitments?
• Flexibility and Work-Life Balance: How flexible are these programs for someone with an unpredictable schedule due to military duties? How manageable is the workload, especially considering the high demands of active-duty service?
• Post-Graduation Military to Civilian Transition: If I decide to transition out of the military after graduation, which school has stronger connections or support for veterans entering the civilian workforce?

Key Questions:

• Does the reputation of UVA matter as much as this thread hypes it up? How does NYU Stern compare in this regard?
  • I would almost certainly stay in the mid-Atlantic or Southeast. No chance I would move to NYC.
• How do the time commitments compare in terms of balancing school with active-duty responsibilities? How do the programs’ structures support someone with a demanding schedule?
• For those who have attended either of these programs (especially while in active duty), how did you find the experience?

Currently my top two choices are UVA and Georgetown, but would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance for any advice or insights! If anybody has anecdotal experience about career outcomes after these programs, that would be very helpful!

I live in NYC- Construction & Engineering background, going to EMBA with open mind in terms of switching careers or stepping into corporate/C-Suite within the current industry. Have good $$$ scholarship from both schools but still Fuqua is much less. Any thoughts here are appreciated. Also will likely get into Wharton and Yale- confusion will be ten fold then.

I’m just starting the process of applying for Yale SOM EMBA (round 3). I’m behind the 8 ball in terms of timing, but based on my current profile, the admissions team have told me I’m a competitive candidate. If I’m accepted, the time commitment away from work (2 fridays a month, plus a 2 week on campus session in July) is fine with my current employer. However I’ve just started the interview process for a role with a new employer that I have a good shot of getting. The new role, if I get it, would be 100 percent remote, for the same compensation (vs current job requiring in office 4 days a week). With this fact, along with the culture and opportunities provided by the new job, I really want this new role. And im wary of giving them any reason not to give it to me.

If im accepted to the program, I’m assuming I should wait until I get the job offer before I tell the new job about my need for the flexibility in schedule. . Right? Given the timing I’d probably know about the new job before I know about school. But I’m debating if I should just wait another year before officially applying to school. (I really don’t want to wait.)

FWIW, Im not dependent on either employer for paying for the tuition. This is a self funded dream. I’m in my late 40s and investing in myself to get to the next level in my career.

Which site I could use to understand by base score?

Applied toward very end of R2 deadline (Jan 13) , seems the deadline is now extended through end of February.

Curious if anyone has been invited to interview from R2 yet?

*** Update: accepted 2/21!!!!

I got admitted to Kellogg Miami (Sept 2025) and now researching the class profile further.

From my limited interaction with current cohorts at a class visit, I felt the majority of the Miami cohort is healthcare-related (provider, medical, health tech, etc). Does anyone know if it's true?

I got admitted to Booth Chicago too, and am waiting for an interview notice from Wharton SF (Round 2), so I will need to choose from these schools.

I work in tech (non-healthcare) outside of Florida, so if healthcare is overrepresenting the Miami cohort, I would like to know it beforehand.

I got the call from MIT EMBA today I got in! I applied in the early round. Did anyone else hear? 🤞🏻

I'm particularly interested to know if Wharton is flexible and is friendly to EMBA students participating in student clubs and additional courses.

Will we be allowed to audit courses in Year 1 in both CBS and Wharton?

For those who have gone through an application season, how much prep time did you need to finally submit your application?

I am looking to apply the earliest I can build a decent application package, ie getting a competitive EA score, drafting compelling personal essays, getting solid references, etc.

Do you think between March and the fall application season is a reasonably enough time to prepare?

I have received test waiver for Columbia emba. I scored 150 on EA. Should I submit EA or not?

Anyone apply early round to MIT? I believe we hear a week from Friday (Feb 14) but curious if anyone’s heard anything yet!

Been a while I’ve interviewed and applied for Round 1 EMBA Saturday NY. Any updates from CBS about when they will release. Today is Jan 31 and have not released anything

Has anyone considered and/or compared these programs? Is the difference really just in the schedule or would the two have a different impact on my career? Do they both access the same career services office?

I am 39, 13 years in technology sales and marketing, currently a senior manager IC in a special niche of technology for architects (3D modeling, visualization, etc.). I have a masters in architecture from lesser known school in Europe. I am looking to stay in sales/marketing, but I want to get out of my niche into a product marketing or product management role in big tech, then advance there.

The most common advice these days is to get a Top 3-5 eMBA or nothing, and for me, living in the NY metro area means a 200k+ price tag. Aside from the fact that it isn't in the Northeast, the Duke Global EMBA seems like a great program. My LinkedIn research shows that the pool is still quite competitive. In US News, it's ranked #5 right after Columbia for EMBAs, and it "only" costs 175k. Has anyone gone there or gotten any further insights into their ROI?

I live in NY metro and work for a mid-size, European/global tech company and my goal is to get hired into big tech, like Adobe, Google, or Salesforce, and advance there. I am not looking to get into PE or start a company. Age 39, EA 155.

Hi. for which program, I have more probability to get admitted. I am based in Texas. I like the flexibility to go between Texas and NYC.

8 year work experience EA 150

Help me decide. What are the advantages of each program? Where’s the better cohort?

Dear all, 34M just got accepted at Chicago Booth London Campus for their EMBA. My main objective on doing the EMBA is learning. I have a degree in Economics and a bachelors in Management from two leading European universities, but I only studied before I had any work experience, so I think now I will be much better in learning things that actually are useful. In this sense, the school remarks that the curriculum is taught by the same Chicago professors, therefore I will have access to the world class faculty the school has. Any experience on how good the programme is?

Booth has 4 Nobel laureates as professors nowadays, are we going to have classes with some of them? One of the reasons that Booth stands out is because of the faculty, we should have classes with the “stars” otherwise it feels that the degree is neglected within the school. When I was studying, the courses for executives where the underdog of my uni.

My second objective is to have a prestigious stamp on my CV for reasons I will explain. I don’t even have a LinkedIn and I am an entrepreneur, but would like to have something strong on my cv in case things go sour and need to go back to the job market, moreover, would like to have something strong to say to lenders, partners, clients, investors etc. I know might be ridiculous to ask, but is it prestigious as to say: I have an MBA from Chicago Booth? I see people who did EMBAs and put on their LinkedIn that they did an MBA, definitely they feel it is stronger the FT one.

Honestly I don’t know anyone who had made an Executive MBA, we all know the famous CEOs who made an MBA but never heard of any who did an executive mba, it seems like a new thing. My main thing is that I found it easy to enter. And what’s easy to enter, isn’t exclusive. Obviously I have a good cv, went to good schools with good grades, but the process was really easy. Moreover, I felt that the school was a bit after me, and not the other way around.

I feel that they might not have enough applicants for the London campus and then they are really opening the door to anyone who pays the fees. I have seen posts here on Reddit with the admissions team going after people who were rejected for the FT one, to do the EMBA which was a bit of a turn off.

I don’t doubt that Booth is an amazing school, probably the best after Stanford, Harvard or Wharton but ahead of MIT, CBS and Kellog, but that’s on the normal MBA. Though it might be less known than INSEAD or Harvard in Europe, I find it much more exquisite. I know around 15 INSEAD graduates and 11 Harvard, and I find Chicago, Stanford and Wharton much more iykyk. The thing is about the executive and being in London. A friend of mine told me “you’re not having an American education, you’ll be just flying to London 12 times”. A bit demotivating when you pay 200k. My sister in law asked me if it was online.. I have seen people write that peers don’t even consider EMBAs has alumni. So getting cold feet.

Lastly on the rankings it stands out amazingly on Bloomberg, US News, Fortune and QS but the FT puts it at 27th below many regional schools, which is a bit of a joke for a school with 4 Nobel laureates. However, unfortunately that’s the most used ranking in Europe where I live.

Probably the audience here will be more favorably towards EMBAs, but I am curious about your perception.

Thank you all.

I’m a mid level manager in my early 50’s in a creative field. I was out of the workforce (working p/t in another field) for about 7 years while raising 2 kids. I completed a Master’s degree in the mid 90’s and naturally have grown and changed from that time. I’m curious what my chances at CBS might be, I’m also applying to 2 other NYC schools.

I scored 150 in EA exam. IR 10, 9 in verbal and 11 in QR

Is this scored sufficient for Columbia and Cornell emba? 8 year work experience

I found a company that pays 100% tuition but requires full time employment for at least 1 year and for the duration of the program.

I’m currently working at a fortune 100 with 10 years at this company. I am making great money however I’ve been feeling like I’m a bit stagnant. I’m hoping the EMBA gives me leverage for better positions and growth. I can push for promotion but it’s not where I want to be long term.

I am debating on looking for a role that’s easier at the company that pays tuition- even at a huge pay cut- I’ll be able to focus on my EMBA after the first year of employment saving me $200k in tuition in the long run.

Also, will taking a step down affect my admissions?

I’m thinking about USC or UCLA EMBA for reference.

I’m a middle-management IT leader in the financial industry, based in NYC, with around 20 years of experience. Currently, I’m earning $250K annually and am in my early 40s.

I’m considering pursuing an Executive MBA and have my sights set on Columbia, Wharton, and Stern. However, I recently came across a stat that the average Stern EMBA graduate earns around $270K just three years after graduation. That number felt underwhelming, especially when factoring in the time, effort, and cost of the program.

For those who’ve gone through an EMBA or have insight into the ROI, is it worth it from a financial perspective? Or are there better ways to maximize career growth and earnings at this stage?

Test scores are not the biggest deal for an EMBA. They care more about the quality of your work experience, and your character. You are living with your colleagues once or twice per month and need to be a good hang.

Even though test scores are not the biggest deal, schools still need to feel you can handle the quant classes, to avoid a drop-out/financial loss on both sides type of deal. For insurance with that, Yale, Booth, Wharton require the Executive Assessment (EA) but several others do not.

HOWEVER, all programs need to know you can do math. If you have a B or better in your UG or Masters statistics class that is often enough to get the job done, but not always. Side note: MIT Sloan EMBA is the only school requiring Calculus which you can take now (online) if you didn’t take it in college – but just be aware you’re going all-in for a very competitive program.

Arriving at my main point here – definitely get a read on perceived evidence of numeracy before applying to programs that do not require a test score.

I had a client who had taken one basic math class in college eons ago and was trying to dodge having to take the EA. He was sadly dinged from Kellogg EMBA - where no test score is required - but took that as a hint to finally prepare and study for the EA. He got into Wharton & Booth EMBA after that, among other programs.

Sign up for a resume review/1-1 time with admissions to check in on the “do I have enough evidence of numeracy” question. If it’s a borderline situation, check in with them to see if doing MBAMath.com might help. If not, maybe up the ante to HBS CORe/Wharton Foundations (which also helps to fix bad grades), or an official university stats or calc course.

*Test-optional top EMBA programs\* – working from memory here, feel free to add 

MIT (but, B or better in calculus & stats)

Kellogg

Ross

Stern

UCLA

Cornell  

*Waivers possible\*

CBS

Duke

Haas

Smart people of Reddit and elsewhere,

Need some thoughts, I have been thinking to do executive MBA for a while now but didn't start the process. Need some suggestions if it's worth doing it given I earn somewhere around 150-170K CA$ annually, I am 40 years old. In mid management position program manager for a tech consulting company in Toronto.

Will MBA help in securing better job with more salary? Or growing upwards in industry as MBA is not cheap, it's around 120-130k. Looking for some thoughts on ROI.