What's a reasonable amount to pay for an MBA?

<p>Like, what's the maximum you would be willing to pay?</p>

<p>$200,000…</p>

<p>Depends on the school. For a top 5, whatever it costs.</p>

<p>“For a top 5, whatever it costs.”
how do you justify this statement?</p>

<p>She doesn’t have to justify that statement, because judging by her username (hmom5), she’s the fifth helicopter mom.</p>

<p>As for the OP’s question, are you talking about tuition/fees only, or are you including living expenses and opportunity cost?</p>

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<p>Helicopter mom that I may be, in this case I’m speaking as a three decade employer of MBAs. A top one has way more monetary value and hence is worth paying much more for. In the past few decades virtually any healthy, sane grad of a top B school had no problem making many millions. When you see income statistics for MBA classes 10 years out from top programs you see that most who aimed at becoming multi millionaires did.</p>

<p>Not so much for schools lower down the food chain. IMO, anything below top 30 probably isn’t worth the time and money.</p>

<p>but University of Phoenix is so cheap, they don’t require a GMAT, and I can complete the program in less than 3 months!</p>

<p>Still not worth my money?</p>

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<p>[Q&A:</a> Advice on ‘Helicopter Moms’ - ABC News](<a href=“Q&A: Advice on 'Helicopter Moms' - ABC News”>Q&A: Advice on 'Helicopter Moms' - ABC News)</p>

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As a general rule, if it costs more than the difference in benefits, then even the top 5 may not be worth it. However, in most cases it’s worth it.</p>

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<p>One thing to remember is that an MBA is not the only way to be a multimillionaire 10 years out. Heck, you could even be a staff pharmacist at a retail or hospital pharmacy working in a low-cost area averaging 72 hours per week ($200-230k) year and still qualify as a “multi-millionaire” 10 years out at age 34 and live like a king. And you could do this even graduating at the bottom of your pharmacy class.
I suppose hmom5 looks at this from an optimistic perspective. Supposing you last this long, supposing you’re promoted, etc. etc.
I look at this question from the pessimists perspective: what can I achieve through my own choice to work the hours that I want to assuming I don’t get promoted.</p>

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It’s best if your employer is willing to pay for it, pay for your salary, and promise to double your salary after you graduate. I know some PharmDs that were accepted into top 10 MBA programs and offered these terms from their employers.
If it’s not a top 20 program, then I’d be looking for a state university program in a state that has tuition waiver for members of the National Guard (= free).</p>

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<p>I hope you are joking about joking…</p>

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<p>Do you have an top MBA?</p>

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<p>And if you are good enough for a top 5 b-school, usually coming from McKinsey and the likes, that’ll be the case…</p>

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<p>I am sorry, but this is not a recruiting forum. Can you please stop the shameless plugs?</p>

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Did you feel you were being recruited?
My point was that if it’s not a top 20 MBA program, personally, I’d take another look at the cost and at least try to get an MBA for free.

The point of that was to address this…

By that definition, you don’t need a “top” MBA to be a “multi-millionaire” 10 years out. Of course there are varying degrees of “multi-millionaires”. My question was what are the exact probabilities of the levels benefits based on individual backgrounds and chose future paths given a top MBA program…</p>

<p>I am confident that my MBA from the state university that I am attending will give me a huge boost in earnings. Will it make me a millionaire on its own, no. But I will get an instant promotion(hopefully to 100k+), great perks and they have been paying about a third of my tuition. I am paying about $250 per class (paying as I go) after tuition reimbursement through my employer, financial aid and scholarship awards. I can honestly say that acquiring no more loans was a major factor in my decision to attend a 3rd tier school instead of taking out loans for a better program. I was in no way able to get into a top 20 MBA program, so my choice was easy… keep the debt down!
And, any statement claiming that a MBA from anywhere but a top program, or any grad program for that matter, is a waste of time and money is very arrogant and simply not true. Education is not judged by earnings, nor are people.</p>

<p>Polo is an undergrad pharmacy student who poses as an expert in business, law, investment banking and lots more. I usually ignore him but I had to come back to cut and paste the part about keeping my kid’s schedules and doing their laundry–they wish! What a hoot you’ll give them Polo at the mere suggestion!</p>

<p>We have to believe hmom5 don’t we. She’s a self-proclaimed expert in investment banking, yet that begs the question:
If you’re actually a SUCCESSFUL ibanker, how in the world do you find time to make nearly 5000+ posts on a COLLEGE forum in 1 year?
The joke is on her and all of you if you actually believe a word she says. Remember one thing: this is the internet. Anyone can be someone they want to be while hiding behind the computer screen.</p>

<p>I always thought hmom meant Harvard Mom… oh well</p>

<p>The point is she’s a “successful” investment banker. I would think a successful IB would be a retired one;)… I think she mostly recruits now. So, she spends a lot of time online.</p>

<p>Right on Vegas. I agree that the statement that an MBA from anywhere but a top MBA is worthless. However, I think the comment was made from the point of view that you would be expecting millions and the plush job with it.</p>

<p>and Yes, WildFlower, I was joking.</p>

<p>I’ll just drop in to say that in her history of posting, hmom5 has given me the strong impression that she knows what she’s talking about and speaks from a position of lengthy experience. Similar to sakky.</p>

<p>Credibility is king on these boards. If you’re going to dismiss someone with “well that’s just what some pendejo on a message board thinks, huh!”, why even bother reading much less posting here?</p>

<p>I have something like 3000 posts, but that amounts to an average of about 2 per day since when I joined in 2005. It’s neither a pecking order nor a call for help.</p>

<p>Haha, that was just a joke, hmom5! Personally, I agree that only the top schools are worth it.</p>

<p>I think we really need to start purporting education for what it really is… a chance to advance yourself intellectually, psychologically and professionally. You have to be commended for having the drive to move on to graduate school… and those that work hard will be commended for it one way or another.
As it pertains to the topic of the thread; 90% of grad students should do their best to keep the debt as low as possible. Especially if you are still in debt from your undergrad. We sometimes underestimate what financial tribulations arise over the course of life, and keeping your debt down is crucial, especially if you have a family.
If you have the chance to get a MBA or Law degree from Harvard, of course you should do what you have to do to make it happen. But for the vast majority of us, get good job experience and work hard, absorb as much as you can in your grad program and continually apply it to your real life and work situations and you will make out very well.</p>

<p>Again, some grad schools are just plain worth paying for no matter what your existing debt is if you have the opportunity to go to a school that will get you to where you want to go financially and career wise. You don’t not take advantage of a good opportunity because you made some past mistakes with loans.</p>

<p>Simply, a top MBA lets you skip a lot of steps, avoid sweating through a lot of dues paying and all but guarantees a high paying job, on a relative basis, if you want one. While I’ve heard a few people who never learned to network say their top college degree wasn’t worth the money, I’ve never heard that comment from a top MBA.</p>

<p>Anyone who has followed Polo’s posts knows his thoughts. This is a young person who decided against investment banking (his statement although he’s an undergrad) in favor of pharmacy because of the relative security. This is a good option for some people. Ibanking is a poor choice for anyone who craves a guaranteed job and security as defined by an easy to obtain low 6 figure salary.</p>

<p>But consider the source when you’re getting advice.</p>

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Couple of points hmom5 has incorrect:

  1. I’m not an undergrad. I’m a graduate student.
  2. I decided against Ibanking because at age 24, pharmacy provides both greater PAY and SECURITY than Ibanking would offer if you work the same number of hours. 72 hours a week in pharmacy will net you anywhere from $200-250k in any region in the US.
  3. It’s hard to qualify me as someone who craves guarantees and security when I’ve joined the Army National Guard with an expected commissioning date of Aug 09 in a time of war. Everyone knows that when you serve in the military today, there are no guarantees or security.

You definitely need to consider the source when you’re getting advice. Hmom5’s posts can be broken up into thirds:
-Bragging about her “smooth talking Dartmouth” son and her “beautiful daughter that, my friends, is the ‘full package’”.
-Telling you whether or not you will be able to get into ibanking which is something that you can use the search function to figure out for yourself.
-Elevating “her organization” for which she allegedly recruits for and advertising her “successful” career in ibanking when she somehow has enough time to balance a “successful” career in ibanking with 5000+ posts in 1 year on a college forum.
Always be wary of the advice you get on an internet forum.</p>