Fuqua Campus Visit

Although I have already applied to the Global Executive MBA program at Fuqua, I still wanted to go and see the campus and get a first hand "feel" of what the program is all about.

Fuqua offers four types of MBA

• Full time
• Global Executive
• Weekend
• Cross Continent

My main objective in getting the MBA is to get a better cross functional understanding of the business. Out of the 4 programs, my choice was narrowed to Global Executive and Cross Continent. One of the interesting aspects about these programs is that it is a mix of face to face classes - at Fuqua and international classroom locations, and virtual classes.

At the information session, that spanned Sunday and Monday, I found myself in the company of prospective students from the US, Mexico, Argentina and Belgium. It gave me a sense of my potential classmates and I was truly impressed that people had made the effort to travel internationally to attend this information session.

The event started with a good overview of the program. The admissions director provided good examples of what Fuqua was all about. This was followed by a alumni/current student panel. My expectations about the effort required for a part time program was confirmed - 35-40 hours a week. I don't know how I am going to wrangle that much of time out but on a more positive note I guess it will equip me with essential multi-tasking skills. One of the things that impressed me was that alumni were able to clearly articulate the courses they had taken and how the courses had positively impacted their jobs - not with the obligatory - "I became a better thinker" answer.

After a quick tour of Fuqua, we were asked to discuss a case study (provided earlier) with a pre determined team. I found this exercise helpful and it gave me a good idea about what a typical classroom experience might be like. The next morning started with a breakfast ( which I missed because I am a late riser in general and all the time difference was not helping me either). The next set of sessions were ok and they touched on various aspects like how to get the admissions process going, the virtual environment. The interesting aspect of the morning was a the case study discussion. Dr.Preyas Desai did an extremely good job in dissecting the case study to bits and it gave me a really good feel about the classroom experience. We were able to meet the graduating class of 2005 and almost everyone seemed gung-ho about the program.

In a nutshell- I am happy I made the trip because I got a sense of what I can expect out of the program. I got most of my concerns addressed expect that I still have to come up with a education proposal for my company to foot this bill.