I would like to know if anyone on here is taking or has taken the part time MBA program at Queens University. I know that Queens is said to have one of the best MBA programs in Canada, but the tuition for the part time MBA at Queens is $75000. I am going to be paying for my MBA out of my own pocket, so if I do for the Queens MBA I would probably have to get a $60000 loan, which kind of scares me because I already have a mortgage on my back. Plus I am worried that I might not fit into the program because they say that the average age of their MBA students is 37 and I am 24. Bo
The Queens MBA program has a good reputation in Canada. Forking over $75,000 (Cdn) can be a bitter pill to swallow unless you can justify your return on investment. You need to ask yourself a couple of questions before applying for this program. First, can you finance your debt while studying for the program. How will you manage your mortgage payments as well as your tuition payments over the next few years. Second, what return will you get on a Queens MBA. Will it lead to a high paying position when you graduate. Could you find the same job (or career stream) with an MBA from Athabasca U. (1/3 the tuition). My advice is that you check the experience level of the students at Queens. I'm willing to bet that the majority of these students have 5 to 10 years of management experience. What level of management experience do you bring to the table? You will need to seriously reflect on these issues before deciding to enroll in the program.
The University of Western Ontario Richard Ivey School of Business, which has a good reputation offers an MBA over two years for $56,000(Can), this is expensive too but cheaper than Queens.
The MBA of Queen's is one of the best of the country. However, 75k is not worth it since salaries for MBAs in the current economy are not that great. You need to make a cost-benefit analysis, an MBA from Queens is not going to pay a lot more than an MBA from Royal Roads or Athabasca since your salary would depend a lot on your previous experience and your current skills. I know someone that took a mortgage on his house for the UWO MBA and ended with a 100K loan (2 years program) and was not able to land a much better job than people with MBAs from local universities in Montreal like Concordia or McGill that cost only a fraction of the UWO MBA. Unless you have a current employer that is going to pay for a part of the program, I don't see the point to invest so much in an education that you can get at a fraction of the cost somewhere else.