Your husband (or wife, fiancé, partner) has decided that a full time MBA program is in his future. It’s kind of a scary prospect that involves quitting jobs, moving far away, and spending lots of money. Throw kids in the mix and things get downright crazy.

Here are some things to consider and questions to ask when your partner is applying to MBA programs.

Location

Two years is a long time to live in a climate that you find uncomfortable and business school applications are not cheap (most are in the $200-$250 range). Talk about your geographical preferences before deciding where to apply. Be honest with yourselves.

If you’ve lived on the West Coast your whole lives how well will you adjust to business school life in New England. Will the dark, cold, and long winters away from your friends and family depress you? Do you thrive in a busy metropolis like New York City? Is heading to the Midwest a good idea? Don’t get seduced by the sexy school branding. In order to make the most of your investment (and business school is a huge investment) you have to prepare yourselves for success. How successful can you be if you absolutely hate where you live?

Another consideration is your post MBA goals. If your partner attends an east coast school the recruiting events will usually be held in east coast cities. The firms that visit your school will also be from east coast cities.

Are you planning on moving back to the west coast? Have you factored in the cost of your spouse flying to the west coast for recruiting & networking events and interviews? Are you ready for this additional challenge?

Services 

School admissions offices are super helpful and can give you lots of information about community religious organizations, healthcare providers, preschools, and more. However you should still conduct your own research.

Are you planning on becoming pregnant while your spouse is enrolled. Awesome. Were you hoping for a home birth with a fabulous doula? Plan ahead. Make sure that your potential future communities have facilities to support you and your family’s unique needs.

You don’t want to spend hours driving to healthcare specialists, temples, or dominican hairdressers (don’t judge me, I hate doing my own hair). Business school is hard make this part easy on yourself. Make sure your future communities has the amenities that are important to your family.

Community 

Every school has its own unique feel and vibe. If you can fit a pre application visit into your budget then I highly recommend it. It’s great to meet new people but it’s also nice to be around people who speak the same language or have a similar background to you. It can help make your new surroundings feel a bit more like home. I know I’m always ecstatic when I meet a Spanish speaking family in the student housing community we live in.

Check out the statistics on the school websites as well. If you’re applying to schools outside of your home country check out the percentage of international students. If you’re bringing children with you make sure that the school and community are kid friendly. You get the idea.

Do the research. Supporting your spouse during their time as a business school student is stressful. Make things as easy for yourselves as you can.

I was motivated to write this post after a friend inquired as to what life with my husband around 24/7 would resemble. There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding business school and I thought I would clear some up. I want people to understand the life we will be living for the next two years. That way you know that some of my whining and caterwauling is not for naught.

My husband was previously enrolled in an MBA program part-time while he worked. He took evening classes and that was it. Of course he spent some time on weekends working with class groups on projects but he was home most of the time. The school he attended was not an elite school but it was a regionally respected school. A degree from that institution would have sufficed if we wanted to settle down in Vermont. We decided that we did not.

I encouraged my husband to apply to different business schools. His resume was impressive and he is intelligent. I could tell that he was not always sufficiently challenged in his current program. His grades were excellent and I was confident in his ability to gain entry into a more challenging and nationally recognized program.

K studied and researched and studied and obsessed and was admitted into the SC Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. We were elated but I knew I had a challenging 2+ years ahead of me. Pursuing a full-time MBA from an elite institution as a father of two young children requires a lot of support. I knew that I would spend the majority of my time alone with the children.

My husband will be traveling, meeting with recruiters, participating in important school clubs, and networking constantly. His schedule will always be packed especially once classes and studying are thrown into the mix.

It is not a lifestyle for the insecure. K will constantly be around ambitious, impressive, brilliant, and interesting people. He will come home late, travel often, and schmooze constantly. MANY people end up divorced before the two years are up. There is a lot of temptation and strain that is placed on a relationship. Am I worried? Nope. Worrying is a waste of time. I trust my husband and know that I am pretty much the most awesome person he could ever meet so what is there to worry about? Also he is way too cheap to even want to think about divorcing me so I have that going for me : )

A good friend of mine is a Harvard Business School graduate. He told me he was worried about the effect the next two years would have on me. I thought he was referring to the statistical probability of one’s spouse cheating. Turns out he meant that he was worried that I would cheat! It isn’t the first time I have heard about business school spouse/partner shenanigans.

I have a lot more to say on the topic but since this post is quickly becoming a novel I will stop for now. Here are some pictures from our first family visit to Cornell a few months ago.

Do you have any graduate school experience, wisdom, or support you care to share with me? I am all ears.