Question from new MBA: Can I work beside the MBA?

As I start receiving a few questions from prospective MBA students by email, I will answer them online so it can benefit everyone.

Question:
'I have recently been admitted to the MBA program at HEC Montreal for the Fall of 2004. I came across your blog through a Google search. I am trying to gather information about the program, in particular the time structure of a typical week. I am considering continuing some of my consulting work during the program and want to determine whether that is realistic.
If you have a chance, would you please tell me a bit more about the program and how a typical week is structured outside of class (i.e. team meetings, research, et cetera)? How much time should I expect to devote to work outside of class? How flexible have you found the scheduling of team work/meetings?
I thank you for any information/advice you can offer.'

Answer:
If you're talking of the Full time MBA program, I don't think you can conceived to do any work aside from the mba. If you have enough time to sleep, eat and maybe some little time for fun maybe once a week consider yourself as lucky.
I knew that some people tried to work as well but that's almost impossible but maybe if you're a surhuman and don't need to sleep at all then it's ok. There is so much work beside the course (meetings, readings, individual and team assigments) that you won't have time to do anything else, weekend included often.

It's a one year mba intensive and it really means intensive. Just imagine how they manage to fit a two year program in one.

Scheduling of teammeeting are slightly flexible depending of your teammembers schedule and flexibility. Team are composed of 5 people and some like to work early in the morning, others like to start late like myself so they can work overnight and still have decent amount of sleep. It's all depend of the consensus but having to work is not a good excuse not too meet in the full time MBA as you're not actually meant to. Same for people who have family obligations and are reluctant to meet during weekends because of the kids, that's tough as most of the MBA's have no obligations.
Well, family are more frequent in the French MBA program as the English program is mostly composed of International students either single or whom family stayed in their home country so most of the students really dedicate 100% of their time to the MBA and they will expect the same from you.

Good luck and hopefully we'll meet.