The convenient MBA: beat the school-work-family challenge with proper planning and careful program selection.(Education)

When Michael White turned 50 last year, he decided it as time to make some changes in his career path.

After 24 years with Nordson Corp., most recently in the company's Amherst office, the regional service manager decided it was time to give something back to his employer. So he decided to go after a master's in business administration.

"I felt I owed it to them to upgrade my skills and that it would help me in my job," he says.

White enrolled in Myers University's MBA program in January. His life subsequently became a balancing act of school, work, and family--all three aspects of his life demanding equal attention and commitment. "You can never be prepared for the time it takes," White says. "It's not just my commitment, it's a commitment for my whole family."

White takes one evening class per term at Myers to accommodate his business travel schedule and workday. "Given my job responsibilities, there's no way I could take more than one class at a time," he says.

But even with one class, White has made some sacrifices in his personal life. "Spending time with my family has been very difficult, and mowing the grass is a real issue for me," he says. "At 7 p.m. every night I used to go out and ride my Harley-Davidson. Now I can't do that."

White is not alone in his hectic life of balancing school with work and family. In fact, 63 percent of all MBA students in the United States …