<p>^^ that was noted on post #2, the OP was the only one who didn't acknowledge that.</p>
<p>i'm sure a frugal college student would not have living expenses exceeding $15k/ year</p>
<p>I am a current UC Berkeley Undergraduate. Rent is pretty expensive here. I pay ~600$/ month to share a small room in an apartment. I spend ~$300/month max (which is likely an overestimate) for food/utilities/miscellaneous expenses. Health insurance per year is ~$1000.</p>
<p>Excluding tuition, that totals to about $12000/ year. Even though I do not drive, that number is still nowhere near the $30k that the previous poster mentioned above.</p>
<p>^ lmao @ spending only $300 a month max for food/utilities/etc Most MBAs have made pretty good wages already and are used to spending a lot more than $300 a month.</p>
<p>Leave room and board out of the cost equation. You need food and shelter whether you're in B-school or not. But add in as cost the two years of forgone income, which is more than the room and board, unless you were working for subsistence wages before.</p>
<p>^ your cost of living could change significantly, and as such should definitely be considered in any calculations.</p>
<p>Yeah, $300 bucks a month? You must don't have a cell phone, ride a bike, don't go out much, and shop at the dollar tree. I still live with my parents (graduate student) and spend way more than that a month on car insurance, gas, cell phone, and the little entertainment I try to have. And I don't live in an expensive city either.</p>
<p>^^ Vector, yes, if there is a significant CHANGE (either up or down in your cost of living, that should be factored in. But your entire R&B expense shouldn't be, since to do so would assume that you have zero expenses for those items if you don't go to B-school. Thus, if you move to NYC from Topeka to attend B-school, and your living expenses go from $500 to $2000 per month, then the $18K/year *difference *-- not the total $24K expense of living in NY -- should be added to the cost of the B-school education. Conversely, if you decide to start living like a student and move from a two-BR apartment to a group house and to eat mac and cheese instead of restaurant food every night, the reduction in COL should be offset against tuition. (A real economist would also factor in the lessened benefits of living like a student versus living more largely, but I think that's overdoing it.)</p>
<p>I disagree. The total cost of living, not the difference in cost of livings, should be added to the total business school expense since these expenses will be accrued as debt to the student during the time they are at business school. Especially, if you ignore lost wages as an expense, and I think it's not a good idea to include that. The opportunity cost would be that you would be paying for rent with wages and not acquiring debt.</p>
<p>Without making this too complicated, John is essentially right about taking the cost of living differences. Having debt is not that significant. For the avg business school student, he/she is simply paying more in interest expense which should be included in the calculations.</p>
<p>BTW, I don't understand why you wouldn't include lost wages in your calculations. That is generally the greatest cost of attending graduate business school.</p>
<p>"BTW, I don't understand why you wouldn't include lost wages in your calculations. That is generally the greatest cost of attending graduate business school."</p>
<p>Yes. Japher, you have to take the total NET effect over the first two years. The cost is tuition plus<a href="or%20minus,%20if%20you%20will%20live%20more%20cheaply%20while%20in%20school">/U</a> any delta in living expenses plus forgone income.</p>
<p>If you don't include forgone income, then you are comparing going to B-school to sitting around doing nothing for two years rather than to working for two years.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The return if you do well in a top program is unmatched. The $135K figure counts people who choose non profit, teaching, etc. and there are many. </p>
<p>That return goes down considerably in lower ranked programs. I question return in any program ranked
[/quote]
Again, it is all based on the individual and their circumstances.
I know officers that are higher up in my chain of command in the NJ Army NG that are going to Rutgers Law for what basically amounts to as "free" due to the NJ Guard State Tuition Waiver. Some of them have very good academic backgrounds and professional achievements (ie. served in the 82nd Airborne Division). If you were to calculate an ROI ratio, it might be suprisingly good.</p>
<p>I don't discount that top programs may give you an edge in the future. But that's all it is...the future. The future is very unpredictable.</p>
<p>I suppose they chose to go to a in-state non-top 25 law school because they could realize the savings right here and now instead of paying $60,000 per year but not knowing the end result for sure.</p>
<p>What is being completely ignored here is any non-financial considerations. The rationale for whether or not to get an MBA should not be reached solely on which path will produce a higher net present value 30 years after graduation. Factors such as access to a new network and resources, exposure to new people and ideas, future career flexibility, broader life experience, social situation, etc to me are at least as important to consider, if not moreso, as pure monetary differences.</p>
<p>Shouldn't take 3 pages to mention this but you need to add in the lost wages. If you make $100k/yr, that's an extra [$200k - MBA intern earnings] you add on top of tuition and room board.</p>
<p>Could easily be a $450-$500k investment to get the MBA.
Definitely an individual and subjective case if it's worth it.</p>
<p>Polo08816 - take advantage of that NJ guard benefits, it's probably the best in the nation.
Your officers might be thinking of JAG school, in which case their law school name isn't too important, especially if they do well in it.
Props to them for serving in the 82nd tho that by itself isn't exactly a special achievement.</p>
<p>im only a HS senior but Im looking ahead. Good right?</p>
<p>how do you not get more money in the end? unless you die after graduating.</p>
<p>For some people, post-mba jobs can be more unstable. If you stall in your career, you may never make back your investment because experienced individual contributers are also well compensated.
For others, it might take 10+ years to turn the investment around.
By which time they've passed the prime physical years of life. It's a tradeoff, as usual.</p>
<p>This was a good thread. Bring it back.</p>