BYU MBA

(also posted at http://corey.mbadiary.com)

One of the most unique aspects of BYU’s MBA program is the high percentage of students who are married and have families. Compared with other programs, it’s a total anomaly. For instance, at Wharton, the percentage of students either married or with partners is 22% (http://mba.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/admissions/dates/) and those that have children are about 2%. I’m not sure what the percentage is of students here at BYU who have children, but the percentage of students married is around 70% (http://marriottschool.byu.edu/mba/prospective/StudentbodyProfile.cfm).

So, what about singles? We recently hosted a single student on campus for a lunch and class visit. The subject came up and I told our visitor that (being married myself) I really couldn’t speak about the single scene – but felt it was probably not so good. However, one of our single male hosts commented that it was actually pretty good, that our college town was still a decent place to meet members of the fairer sex. I’ll leave that topic to some other blogger who can speak from experience but will just say that I frequently overhear my single friends talking about their regular events and parties. It sounds like they are having a ton of fun. But even the most positive characterizations should to be put into context. As a Mormon school, BYU has a pretty strict honor code forbidding alcohol and premarital sex. So, the singles scene may indeed be a lot of fun, but it’s a pretty squeaky clean one.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was on the waitlist at Wharton when I decided to apply to BYU. So, I did a fair amount of research into what life would be like for my family had we moved to Philly. When we went out to visit Penn we stayed with a friend who said that that his closest friends were actually the international students since they were more likely to be married with children. They all attended the same social events and had the same schedules so it just sort of happened naturally. Whereas many other students made their regular rounds to local pubs, my friend hurried home to put his kids to bed. Another factor that made life different was the fact that he lived outside of the city center, so once he left campus to go home it was a bit inconvenient to head back in. I’ve talked to other married alumnus who lived in the city center by Penn and had a fabulous time – even with children, but that seemed to be relatively uncommon.

BYU has pretty much got to be the most family friendly school that there is. In fact, last month we were given just that title by the Princeton Review (http://marriottschool.byu.edu/news/release.cfm?ID=252). BYU has a very large and active spouse association (http://marriottschool.byu.edu/clubs/mbasa/website/). My wife hasn’t been too involved but I know they have pretty regular activities such as “Girls Night Out” and pre-school for MBA kids. If its sounds like the spouse association is pretty much for wives of male students, that’s a pretty fair characterization. Someone may flame me for erroneously overlooking the husbands of our women students, but from my perspective they sort of do their own thing. Because so many of the students here also have children (as do I) the spouse association is pretty family focused. One of our married students lives in California and flies in each week for class. Yesterday I saw her on campus with her newborn, although she didn’t bring him to class.

If it were just my wife and I, it would have been a blast to go to school somewhere like Columbia or Chicago. But, for those of us with kids, it’s really hard to beat BYU. When we were thinking about life back east, my wife suggested that she’d come visit me at school sometimes. I laugh and cringe now just thinking about it, because after we visited Huntsman Hall on a cold February day, I know that there is no way on earth I would have wanted my wife cruising around the inner city alone with a baby stroller. Penn is in a pretty sketchy part of town, and I’ve heard anecdotes that morning commutes consist of lines of students crouched down in their locked cars and rolled up windows (though I hear its much better than it used to be). Even once you’re on campus, there are so many people crossing so many different paths that it’s just not a place for kids to pay a visit under any circumstances.

I have a very good friend who is from Seoul, South Korea. His company was willing to send him to any school in the US. When some of his colleagues came to visit him they expressed their opinion that this place is Paradise. He lives in a house a few blocks from campus on the edge of foothills of the beautiful Wasatch front (http://unicomm.byu.edu/images/about/photos/campus/FS22.jpg). There’s great golfing nearby, and a lake on the other side of the valley. The quality of life is really pretty good once you get your coursework done. Every school has its own distinct characteristics (I’ve heard pets are sometimes seen at Dartmouth Tuck) – and BYU is known for being clean, safe, very livable, and family friendly. My family has spent several Saturday afternoons hanging out on campus, bowling in the student center, or chasing the ducks around the pond. Here are some pictures of http://unicomm.byu.edu/about/photos/campus.aspx?lms=2 for those who have never been. The campus is extra-ordinarily well cared for; I’ve seen custodial go to great lengths to do such minute things as scrape gum of the sidewalk.