Reputed AACSB MBA for under $25K?

Hi guys,

I'm actively considering doing a DL MBA from a reputed/good ranked university that would set me back my not more than $25K. I have read through different discussions here and have done some research online. I have the following MBAs in mind..

- University of Nebraska Lincoln. ~ $20K
- University of Mass. Amherst. Isenberg school ~$30K (I was considering it, but they have increased the tuition this year)
- Colorado State Univ ~25K

Do you guys recommend any other MBAs? The important factors for me are the cost of the program and how reputed the school is. I would also very much like a shorter program.

Appreciate your response.

Thank you.

 

go to www.geteducated.com, then come back with some additional questions. Lots of info using the search function.


Best wishes,

 

Thanks.

I did go there, but that website seems to only consider the cost of a program. I would also like to factor in the general reputation of the MBA. Since the MBAs I listed above are not top tier MBA, its hard to know how good they are by looking at the different various ranking websites. For example, I am not sure how good/reputed the University of Nebraska, Lincoln MBA is. Is that a second tier, third tier, top 100 etc.

I might have also missed out some good MBAs under $25K that members here might know with their years of experience with DL.

I guess I am basically looking for any Top 100 /Top tier/Second tier MBAs that would cost less than $25K. If there are none, what would be the next best MBA within the cost considerations?

Cheers

 

For myself, besides University of Nebraska, I was also looking at Morehead State University in regards to schools that are AACSB. Tuition is around 15K.

 

If you're greatly concerned about pedigree, a value-priced distance MBA might not be for you.

If you're in an average corporate track career and have middle-management aspirations, any one of those three you've listed will be sufficient.

If you have aspirations for a VP-or-higher position in the Fortune 1000, you'll need stronger credentials...and the alumni network that comes with it. These are very competitive environments, and there is a surplus of B&M MBAs out there.

 

Where the fortune 50 ceo's went to college from a 2006 Time article. You may be surprised!

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1227055,00.html

 

Actually, I see it as confirming my point. 60% of those CEOs graduated from prestigious schools.

You can say that, yes, the flip side is that 40% didn't; however, this generation of executives was groomed in a time when the MBA wasn't a pre-requisite for advancement to senior leadership. Those days are coming to an end.

I believe that with the explosion of MBAs over the past 20 years, the trend toward selecting senior leaders from a pool of academically pedigreed candidates is only going to accelerate.

 

I also recommend Auburn. They seem to have a good academic reputation and they have known sports teams.

From a rankings point of view, UT-Dallas was ranked #49 by US News and I think they are somewhere around the 25k range.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

Glor, Thank you for pointing out the two I had not looked at earlier. I liked Auburn. I think they have around $22K costs. Will look at this in more detail. I looked at UT-Dallas and noticed in their FAQ that Texas resident tuition is around $37K and non-resident $60K. Way above my budget. The program seems good and reputed like you said.

If anyone has any other inputs, please share.

Thanks again.

 

I think the challenge is that you are mixing up two different things:

1) Top- or second-tier B&M MBAs as ranked by US News or BusinessWeek

2) Distance learning MBAs that are at or under $25K.

Strictly speaking, there are no top-tier or second-tier distance MBAs, at least yet, as ranked by major publications that carry weight.

I'm partial to my own program, but it's outside your budget. However, if you're not in a rush, and get your employer to contribute, you can do what I did and use the $5,250 limit per year and do my MBA over 4 calendar years.

 

By the way, there has been a long debate on another forum regarding the Indiana University MBA program. Apparently, the transcripts you will get after graduating from the Kelley Direct program is from IUPUI, not Indiana University (Bloomington). I don't know whether this issue has been resolved. See link below:

http://forums.businessweek.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=bw-bschools&tid=77269

 

I attended Auburn for undergrad and their business faculty is top-notch. They have instituted a huge push to grow the b-school's reputation in the last 18 months.

Penn State is a top 30 program, does offer a distance MBA and has for some years now, but it is pricey (http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/05/distance_profiles/pennstworld.htm). Also consider, those rankings (US News, Businessweek, WSJ, etc) are only regarding full-time, in residence MBA programs. There are separate rankings for part-time programs. I'm sure you could find some ranking system regarding DL MBA programs.

In regards to the article posted about where Fortune 50 CEO's attended school; the article focused on undergrad, not where those CEO's earned their MBAs. My guess would be that almost all of them attended top 10 programs (Harvard, MIT, Tuck, Wharton, Stanford, Fuqua, UChicago, Columbia, etc.).

 

As has been said before, but is worth repeating, the Penn State MBA is not the same degree as earned by on campus students. Does the diploma or transcript say online - no. But it could make a difference in some cases.

 

I am coming to the discussion late, what is the difference? Why is it a different degree?

 

What is a second-tier university? I wasn't aware this category existed anywhere.

 

From BusinessWeek's FT MBA Rankings

 

The elite Full-Time Penn MBA is from The Smeal College of Business.

The Online MBA is NOT from Smeal, but rather from the World Campus is part of the Outreach Programs and draws faculty from throughout the Penn State multi-campus system.

 

Thank you, that's interesting. I do, however, think that such rankings are technicalities except in extreme cases. Most people on this board are working adults, if the rest of your resume looks good, most employees won't know very much about rankings and will give a rodent's behind whether you went to Purdue or Penn State.

 

No, the elite Full_Time Penn (University of Pennsylvania) MBA is from Wharton, Smeal is the business school at Penn State University. US News ranks Wharton's MBA program #1, Smeal is ranked somewhere in the 30's.

 

Penn State != Penn

Penn is shorthand for the University of Pennsylvania, member of the Ivy league and home of the Wharton School of Business.

Penn State is a large public university system that is not associated with Penn.