When
describing my MBA experience to friends and family over the Christmas holiday,
the same words kept popping up: tight-knit, close, communal,. As an MBA student at the Tuck School of
Business at Dartmouth in Hanover, NH, I’ve left city life for the pleasures of a
small town. While it’s been a wonderful change
for many of the students, it’s also been a major life adjustment for many of
the Tuck partners. With a married
population of about 30%, Tuck is known as an extremely partner-friendly
school. Partners audit classes, run an
active partners’ club, and are highly involved in Tuck life. However, many partners who choose to move to Hanover
also must confront building new networks and finding a job in a limited
market.
Whether
you and your partner will make a move for school or will remain in your current
location, your new life as a student will be an adjustment for both of
you. Consider the following questions
before you make your final decision:
·
Does my partner want to be an active part of my
MBA experience? Do the schools I am
considering have specific resources offered to partners?
·
Are partners welcomed into the social life of
the school? Is there a social divide
between single students and students with partners?
·
Will my partner be changing jobs? What are the
job opportunities around my school? What financial decisions will we have to
make?
·
We have children. Is there a network of students with children
or support for stay-at-home parents? Does the school offer childcare?
·
MBA students are extremely busy. What opportunities exist for my partner to
build connections beyond my new network?
·
Are my partner and I willing to live apart for some
or all of my time at school?
Your
return to school will be a transition for you and your partner. Make sure that you both do your research and lay out all of your option so that you
can come to a mutually-informed and positive decision.
Stephanie O’Brien, Forté Fellow
MBA 2014, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
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