The latest MBA program rankings are out from US News and World Report and the usual suspects are at the top of the list. What really struck me were the price tags and continued dominance of private versus public universities in the top 20. In many cases, the business schools at public universities that are in the the top 20 have different tuition structures than the other programs and schools at that university and are essentially private schools.
Now, admittedly, I am a state school boy and was fortunate to be able to attend business school at the University of Tennessee (#54 on the list) directly after doing my undergraduate work and had an assistanship to help pay for it so I am coming at this from that perspective.
Is the price tag of a top private school worth it? I guess that depends on what you are looking for. I personally believe the importance of where you go only matters until you do something else significant and have met lots of folks that think getting an acceptance to a top school is the end of the journey not the beginning. I have friends who have attended the top schools on this list and some who have no college education and they define themselves by their successes not their academic credentials. That is why they are my friends.
The investment justification seems especially difficult now that lots of high paying jobs have evaporated on Wall Street and the pace of MBA hiring has subsided. Every school in the top 20 is over $40k per year for tuition alone (I am looking at out of state numbers for state schools) and most are located in cities with a high cost of living. You easily spend over $100k plus two years out of the workforce where you were probably making $40-70k per year. The investment hurdle easily becomes over $200k to recoup.
If you can score a grant, fellowship, scholarship, generous corporate sponsor, or if someone in your family (including you) has deep pockets the math is much easier to swallow.
I believe education is one of the most valuable things we can spend our time and money on but the price tag for a "top MBA" is daunting and seems like it will force really bright people to take jobs to pay off debt (if they can be found) vs. having the freedom to put their newly acquired skills to work in more entrepreneurial efforts. I suppose that begs the question of whether or not an MBA matters for an entrepreneur. A topic for another day...
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