dropping out of MBA program

[gringolet]

I hate it. I hate every minute of it and it's very hard to complete the program given the distance I have to travel (several state lines - generally driving or flying two weekends a month). It was the wrong decision. I just started - have seven credits over the summer, probably B's or something, and it's an executive program. Do I stick it out? Would dropping it make me look bad in the eyes of ad comms? I have to take the GMAT in order to stay in the program, and I have to do that this summer while I decide whether or not to stay in. The program itself is costly, though much less expensive than other similar programs in my state.

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[LifeTake2]

You are barely started. Just drop; if/when they ask tell them you took a summer class (or 2) and decided you weren't interested. End of story.

Don't go into how much it sucked, costs, distance you should have had a clue about most of that before you started. But if you don't like it you are early enough to quit w/o ramifications IMHO.

I would not suggest you stop once you were even half-way through, but 7 hrs is early enough to say you didn't enjoy it.

 

[gringolet]

Thanks for your input. The thing is that I enrolled in this program, and then moved 600 miles away, and thought I could complete it anyway. So that's the reason for the distance issue. Part of me says to stick it out because I could finish in December 2012, but honestly, I'd rather take pre-med classes at the comm college close to my house (no, there aren't any four-year universities within 130+ miles - this would be my only option). I feel guilty about my study group - they are really shouldering the burden of my travel issues by completing work for me, etc. I am just NOT committed to the program and don't have the time (working 50-60+ hours a week plus 6-8 hours travel plus the program (16 hours of classes every other week plus in-between 2 hours meetings with my study group via phone). Yikes. No wonder I don't have time.

 

[gman33]

If your goal is to get into med school, drop out of the MBA program now.
You still need to be med pre-reqs and such, so you are at least 10 years away from being a practicing physician.

If you decide an MBA will help you later in your career, do it later in your career. No sense delaying med school just to finish a program you hate.
You just started and live hundreds of miles away.

Ad coms will understand (hopefully).

 

[NightGod]

"I started, I moved 600 miles away, I completed the classes I had already begun and then dropped it."

Seems like a perfectly reasonable timeline/explanation to me.

 

[PTWOB02]

You are still early in the process, so get out of the program if your heart is not in it. Adcom will understand. It's not worth the trouble to punish yourself for the next 15 months. I can sort of relate to your situation because I did a 2-year MBA program while taking care of my 2 year old son and working full time (60+ hour weeks). It was absolutely the most difficult thing in my life to go through. So, get out while you can and never look back.

 

[pfaction]

FINISH IT! A healthcare professional degree / MBA is really awesome!

 

[Captain Fantastic]

I started an MBA and dropped it before I applied to medical school. Dropping it is not an application killer. Be able to explain why you started it, how you learned something about yourself in the process, and why you dropped it.

Staying in the program is the riskier path. Hating the program is a recipe for poor grades. Doing poorly is much more likely to kill your app than dropping it.