MBA Degree Decisions, Need Advice

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am looking for a major that has higher salay, better job stability, and advancement.</p>

<p>I plan to attend CUNY Baruch due to the cheap tuition costs. However I have read that it is better to go to a top school with a good name such as Harvard due to offering better opportunities.</p>

<p>Should I save my money and invest an education in a IVY league school or is CUNY Baruch a good choice? </p>

<p>If I were to go to an Ivy league school, it only sets me back a few years because it is more expensive and I have to budget my income. And of course, I would only attend after I have finished off paying my student loans from my undergrad degree in hospitality management. </p>

<p>With the salary I am earning now, it would probably take me 3 years to fully pay it back when budgeting carefully. </p>

<p>Once I decide on a school and program, I have to plan accordingly for the next years to save money, prepare for the GMAT and GRE test, consider looking for an apartment nearby campus to study full-time during my studies and taking any pre-requisite courses I might need to be prepared for the Masters. </p>

<p>I have family nearby Manhatten,NY which is where the school is whom I can live it, which is about 30 minutes driving, and about 1 hour by public transportation, which would save me money on rent and if I were to study full time at Baruch, it would take me 1.5 years to get my Masters and in total I would spend roughly 19,000 USD. </p>

<p>Just to clarify.
I would like to earn my MBA as soon as possible, so with CUNY Baruch, I can earn it sooner, however from a top-ranked school, I would have to wait perhaps an additional 3 years until I am able to pay for tuition out of pocket, total of 8-9 years from today.
However 3-4 years from now, I have enough to pay my undergrad college loans and enough to pay CUNY Baruch tuition out of pocket. However I could start getting a loan from a bank and attend an IVY league school possibly 4-5 years from now.
And which program should I study? Finance or Economics?</p>

2

<p>No one can tell you what major to pick in your MBA, it depends on what type of work you want to do. You are also assuming you can get into an Ivy MBA program… that is a pretty difficult prospect. You might save and wait that time, and then not be admitted. You will probably need to have a list of programs to apply to at different levels of selectivity, just like when you apply to college.</p>

<p>I am going to say that in general, the top school graduates (but this is not top 1-2 schools, more like say the top 15 schools) get better job offers and make more money. But, as they are harder to get into, they also have a higher quality of student to work with in the first place (which at least partially explains the higher paying job offers). They are also more expensive, as you have noted, so that is an issue.</p>

<p>An MBA (if you get good grades) is a degree that pays off fairly well. You may consider taking out some loans to achieve it, especially if you can go to a top school. But the schools are more likely to admit students with a few years of work experience. One reason the grads from top schools are paid more is that many have some experience in a specific field, then add the MBA credentials (and jobs/internships during their MBA years) on top of that. So your chances of getting into a top program are actually better if you work for 2-3 years between undergraduate and your MBA program.</p>