<p>I'm fresh out of school and, thank God, I've landed a great job with a blue chip firm. I went to Columbia and graduated with a 3.9 GPA. I have tenured faculty willing and ready to write rec letters for me. Long story short, provided I perform well at work, I'm on track to go to a great business school.</p>
<p>That said, my company is willing to incur the entire cost of my MBA provided that I take classes on a part-time basis. The idea of not having to sacrifice income, and ~$100k in loans, really appeals to me. I mean REALLY appeals to me. </p>
<p>I'm in the Philadelphia metro area and the only part-time programs near me are at Villanova, St. Joe's, a Penn State satellite campus, and maybe a couple of others. My questions is this: is a free MBA worth potentially skipping out on a higher ranked program in a few years?</p>
<p>To me, at this point in my life, I think it is. But, I wanted to pose this question to forum members who might see things from an angle I'm missing or add some new dimension to the discussion.</p>
<p>You probably should first establish or think about why you want the MBA.</p>
<p>Is it for a payraise or promotion that requires an MBA?
Is it for the ability to change careers?
Is it for the learning?
Is it for a fun break from the work world for 2 years?</p>
<p>The answer to these questions will probably point you in the right direction.</p>
<p>If you want to continue with you employer, a free MBA is absolutely worth it.
After 2 years at an elite b-school (top 6), I feel that one of the value of the MBA is defined by the network the school provides. If you already have a Columbia network, $100K (not including housing) is a hefty price for another equal network. The other value of an MBA is it allows you to career switch. If you are already at a job that you like there is not need, unless your job progression requires one from an elite MBA school.</p>
<p>I second liu02bhs’s opinion. If an MBA from whatever school would open doors for your current employer, it is definitely worth it. I would also look into Duke (partially online) and IE Business School as well.</p>
<p>It also depends on your major from Columbia and the field of industry you are in. If you have absolutely no business background and would like to change careers later on to management consulting, ibanking, high finance etc yes, an elite MBA would enable that to happen.</p>
<p>If you just want to go into management level at your present industry, then no, you don’t need an elite MBA.</p>