Getting ahead on your schedule:
Why not take 3 classes while off campus to lighten the load later on? It looks good on paper, but make very sure that you have the time and support of both work and family before attempting this. Remember that the normal course load for MIT Engineering students is 23, and they are full time usually with no family. Sloan courses are calibrated somewhat differently (rule of thumb is one Engineering course = 2 Sloan courses).
Staying "connected," or at least feeling that way:
It can be difficult to maintain the feeling that you are still connected to the class while off campus. Be assertive when trying to contribute from off campus during class, and use the phone or email to talk to other students between classes. No one else will do it for you. If a professor seems to be ignoring you, use instant messenger (IM) to have one of your classmates or the TA relay your question.
Aces vs. groups:
"Aces" are those people who are alone at a site. You have a special problem with staying connected to the rest of the class. Frequently the aces form their own informal "site: for this purpose. For sites with multiple students, organize and make your lives easier: assign one person to schedule video conference rooms, someone to jump right on assignments as they come out and verify that they can be downloaded correctly, are understandable, etc.
The SDM office has some pointers on how to interact during class via the video conference technology (this document is called the SDM Distance Learning Guidelines), put together by distance students from earlier years. Be familiar with it, and remind the professors when they do un-helpful things like pointing to the projection screen when the distance students are looking at the document camera.
Adapting to Life in the SDM program once you return to work:
Some things to be prepared for as you try to assimilate yourself back into the work place, after January and the on-campus term:
- Things will be different upon your return to work. One of the obvious adjustments will be how to handle the time away from work due to class time. For your first semester this will be 6 or more hours per week depending on the number of classes you take.
- In addition, you could expect to spend about another 20 hours a week studying.
- Keep good communications with your co-workers. At times there will be some resentment from your co-workers because they might have to pick up some of your work responsibilities. Acknowledging their cooperation and support will go a long way towards easing any stressed relations that might occur.
- Schedule time for family and personal interests. This will not be so easy but is necessary in order to keep your sanity. In my own personal experience, I found the best opportunity to be with my children and wife is when I first get home from work. I allocate 2-3 hours per night after the kids go to bed for my studies. In addition, no matter how much homework I have, I make sure that I spend at least 3 hours on the weekend doing family things.
- Try to maintain contact with students who are on campus. This is important because the students on campus are very much in the know when in comes to what is going on in class and in the SDM program. Sometimes information communicated by the professor to the class takes awhile to be filtered down to the remote students. Additionally, sometimes the context of the message is lost in the email transcription. Anyway, the on campus students will know all the best places to go when you come to Boston on the Business trips.
24-monthers while on campus or preparing for being on campus:
You need to figure out housing, travel, Bidding, and Registration Day. Common practice is to find out who will be on campus during a given term, and try to get housing together (either nearby or sharing an apartment, depending upon family considerations). Spouses that come along can set up playtimes for the kids, and swap baby-sitting duties to give each other a break. This worked very well for the '97 class. Figure out where you will work. Some people prefer to work in their hotel or apartment whilst others prefer to use the SDM student area. This choice affects other students as well as you and your family. It is difficult to build a community if you head back to your hotel room after every lecture.