<p>Hey everybody, I'm a freshman computer science major at a large public state school and I've recently started thinking about my post-college plans, and I could definitely see myself getting an MBA at some point down the road. My school offers a 5 year undergrad+MBA program, after which you have a bachelor's degree in a STEM field and an MBA. My scholarship covers tuition for that entire duration, so I could graduate with an MBA for little additional cost.</p>
<p>Is it significantly less useful to have an MBA from a less prestigious school like mine than it is to have one from a more reputable business school? I'm by no means a lock for any elite program but I've always done really well on standardized tests and gotten good grades; I could definitely get into a program that was more reputable than my undergrad university's.</p>
<p>I chose a less prestigious school for undergrad because I didn't think the extra cost of the "better" schools I got into was worth it but I'm not sure whether that's the case for business school.</p>
<p>Unlike undergrad, the name, network, and recruiting opportunities for b-schools and law schools definitely matter (and differ a lot).</p>
<p>I would not do the MBA where you are now since you can only get 1 MBA (elite MBA programs will not admit you if you already have one). Try to do some other Masters instead if you want to. Do they have a 5 year program that allows you to pick up a Masters? </p>
<p>BTW, smart choice: a study was done that showed that where you went for undergrad didn’t matter (unless you came from a disadvantaged background; or are a brilliant slacker type, I would add). People who got in to a prestigious school and went somewhere else did just as well financially as those who chose to go to the prestigious school. However, the same type of study done for b-schools showed that what b-school you go to <em>does</em> have an impact on earnings which can not be explained away by other factors.</p>
<p>Yes, my scholarship is for five years of any degree-seeking study so I could definitely get a MS in CS by that time. The 5 year MBA path is a special program but I could pretty comfortably do the one year MS program instead. </p>
<p>Sorry, I’m going to get away from the original question a little bit but this post has really made me consider a lot more options. If I got that CS master’s degree, I’d probably add undergrad majors in math and Spanish because I really like both subjects and need to fill my schedule with something, so I might as well earn degrees. CS gets me the majority of the credits for a math major; I’m also planning to study abroad in Spain one summer, and that alone gets me halfway to a Spanish major. That triple major isn’t a heavy courseload at all.</p>
<p>The other thing I had considered doing was double majoring in CS/Finance and going for b-school at some other time. However, to finish that double major in four years I’d need to use some of my tuition scholarship to pay for summer classes, so I’d probably not be able to get a MS. </p>
<p>If I didn’t use my scholarship to pay summer tuition, then I could still get a master’s degree in CS with the CS/Finance undergrad major, it’d just cost a lot more.</p>
<p>So if I don’t go for an MBA, these are my options:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>4 years: Computer Science/Finance majors, Math/Spanish minors; paying no tuition</p></li>
<li><p>5 years: MS in CS, Computer Science/Math/Spanish majors; paying full tuition for summer in Spain (about $8000)</p></li>
<li><p>5 years: MS in CS, Computer Science/Finance majors, Math/Spanish minors; paying full tuition for summer in Spain and one summer of classes at the university (about $20,000 total)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I know those plans probably seem a little ambitious but I’ve looked at the amount of hours it’d take and they’re all totally doable. What’s your opinion on the ROI for each of those, considering that I’m still probably going to be thinking about business school in a few years?</p>
<p>Though the prestige of your Master’s does matter in the aggregate, it is also highly field focused. Medical, finance, law, matter a ton. Try to get a good job at a prestigious law firm coming out of Wisconsin U’s law school. </p>
<p>On the other hand, some fields it matters far, far less. Master of Accountancy? Honestly, Wharton wouldn’t be much better than Oklahoma State. I think the prestige of your school matters far less when it comes to CS. Nearly all of the value will be in networking and connections. If you do go for a prestigious MS in CS, I’d be looking to go to college in the same state you plan to work in.</p>
<p>For CS, it matters more than accounting mostly because the top schools have better networks and draw more of the top companies for recruiting. Med school isn’t one where the brand of the school has a strong correlation with earnings, BTW (doctors don’t really network for jobs, and insurance companies set rates so much these days, so your earnings are far more dependent on what you specialize in). The degrees where the school really matters are for the MBA and JD.</p>
<p>BTW, it’s UW-Madison.</p>
<p>In any case, back to the OP’s question: a masters in CS from the same school will give you only a tiny bump over just an undergrad degree CS. </p>
<p>The finance major may be useful, but only for pursuing jobs in the finance/business world.</p>
<p>Still, I’d probably try to get a bachelors in CS and masters in finance or vice versa. The Spanish and math majors/minors won’t really do anything for you, ROI-wise. However, if you want to learn a language, college is the time to do it.</p>