During college, everybody would aim for a one-shot passing of thesis writing and defense. It was a graded subject and counted against the number of units. Also, this means that all you need to focus upon is to finish your thesis as a full-time student. However, in graduate school, things are different. You could actually complete your MBA already by getting a certificate without going through the grueling thesis writing and defense. Of course, nothing still beats having a degree or having a title at the back of your name as to compared to just having a certificate.
As it was said, thesis writing in the MBA does not have any number of units attached to it. So if one thought that he/she is not prepared for the defense, it would be fine. It would not count against your inability to make the writing and defense in one shot. Besides, all of you are working students and not students having part-time jobs.
As of now, some of my classmates were preparing themselves for the thesis defense while people like me were either not granted to defend due to the shoddy construction of our thesis paper or backed out on our own volition thinking that we could not meet the deadline. When they learned that I would not be defending my paper, most of my former classmates were shocked about it. They may think that I became incompetent to finish what people deemed the most crucial part of the MBA program.
As for myself, the only people that I owe an explanation to in my situation are my parents, who were the ones paying for my tuition in this program. My mother does not want me to finish my graduate school yet as she is aware that once you finished your graduate school, you'll no longer have the enthusiasm to work. She also thinks that learning is more important than getting up to the ranks of the corporate world. Upon thinking about it, I realized she had a point. Before I entered the MBA program, I was quite lazy in getting up to bed and going to work since I would be doing the same thing over and over again. Also, I rarely go out to meet with my friends after work, so it was always home to work and vice versa. However, when I entered graduate school, I made a lot of new friends from different aspects of not only personally, but also professionally. By doing something different, it allowed me to become more enthusiastic in going to work again as you now always have something to look forward to - which is to go to school not only to learn but also to mingle with new found friends.
Additionally, it should be noted that the graduate school should not be treated like a sprint wherein one would attempt to finish all the courses required for a short period of time. If I got delayed in the more critical aspect of my school life - which is college due to health reasons. There is less pressure on my part to actually finish the degree on time especially if nothing is at stake on my end.
Again, one should really write at one's pace so that they would have an output that they really desire - of course, to also pass the thesis defense with flying colors.
