There's no time to chitchat. Some nights, Noori must head out the door as soon as his wife arrives. Twice a week, he makes the 40-minute drive to his 7 p.m. class. For Noori and other part-timers, time management is essential. Anyone with a family who is contemplating a part-time MBA would be wise to make sure everyone is on board.
Most professors are understanding of work and family commitments, say students.
And the school offers a shuttle bus to and from Silicon Valley, about 40 miles away. Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business in Dallas offers 12 different workshops on managing the MBA experience. Erdhal, who lives on a farm outside Dallas, says he plans to travel more with his wife and spend more time with his horses when he gets his degree by summer's end. It's tough, if not impossible, to date. ''It would be hard to even make time to entertain the thought of finding someone to go out with,'' she says. That's a small price to pay for the opportunities the program affords, figures Mathson, who will be done in June.