RA MBA for $3000? Hellenic American University

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by Acolyte, Jan 28, 2021.

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  1. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    Their dean contacted me recently.
    She was not aware that the Greek division of their campus had proposed that I enroll through the Greek campus.
    She proposed to try to rectify it.
    But I thought about it strongly and to be honest if my MBA wasn't accredited by one of the triple crown accreditors I think I would still regret down the line, so it's best to have it taken care of now and immediately go for an AACSB accredited college in my case I think.
    257 per credit hour is still cheap for an AACSB accredited uni so in case Gies denies my admission, I'm going for GSW.

    If I get proposed admission by Gies I will still take that one though. I have 5 recommendations, so hopefully that will serve something but I think that there will be people with 30 or 40 recommendations and if one of those people is influential, then that person will get priority over me.
    I still dream of admission to this uni.
    But I have to say that I'm super happy that I have options now.
    The dean was super nice and helpful.

    By the way, I had to get used to the Southern accent from the Georgia woman on the phone.
    The southern American accent reminds me of the accent Australians have when they speak English. It sounds so similar.
    A charming accent nevertheless :)
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  2. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    I don't think you have to worry. Most applications ask for 3 references at most. Anyone with truly exceptional credentials or influential referees won't be competing with you, they'll be competing with the other influential referees for in-person spots at Wharton.
     
  3. smartdegree

    smartdegree Active Member

    Another legit program you can potentially look at is the University of Alabama. Their business school is ranked among the top 50 in the US News rankings.
    Aside from their flagship MBA, their business school offers several online masters in management and marketing. The price range is within your budget (420 per credit x 30 credits) = 12,600.

    https://bamabydistance.ua.edu/degrees/ma-in-management-global-business-management/

    For a legit ranked business school within a flagship state university, that is a pretty good deal. Moreover, a big plus is Alabama has one hell of a football team (the Crimson Tide). If you really want to connect with Americans, start with football. Sounds funny but it's no joke. That is a typical small talk topic in the office - "hey dude, you guys did well last night (referring to xx sports team)".
     
  4. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    There's also this fee mentioned on the page:

    So another $2,500 on top of it.

    It's still a good value, just not quite as good when the fees are added up.
     
  5. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    You have some great options.

    Despite how tempting, I don't think I can justify spending nearly twice as much for an MBA. Even though my employer is probably paying for most of it. I could use that same money to add a grad cert to spruce up my credentials. Or, who knows, maybe another $3k masters will pop up again some day. :cool:
     
  6. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    A little bit unexpected but I received an email from the Dean of Hellenicamerican University this morning, 1 week after the Greek campus told me I would need to pay 14k$ and enroll through Athens.

    The Dean offers a merit-based scholarship bringing the cost down from 14k$ to 6k$ and enrollment through Nashua.

    I don't know yet what I will do with this offer.
    While I'm greatful for this offer, I think that University of Illinois, Gies business school's master of management, and in case of not being admitted to the former, Georgia Southern University's MBA will serve me better.

    Thoughts?
     
  7. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Is AACSB accreditation (or the other business school accreditations) worth the additional money? There are others on the board who can advise if business school accreditation makes a major difference as far as employers are concerned. I think a $6K, RA MBA is an unbeatable deal in your situation and I worry that what might happen is you turn down that deal only to not get into those other schools.
     
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  8. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    One could accept the offer now, then pull out if one of the others come through.
     
  9. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    As we used to say in the Navy...

    Why shoot for a 10 when you can have five 2's?

    Differing philosophies, really. I have colleagues with impeccable credentials because they would never settle for less. They went longer than they probably should have on just a bachelors because they were waiting for the stars to align for them to go all in on a highly respected school. Others, like me, had no problem just running out and shopping in what is essentially the Ollie's Bargain Outlet of schools. It works. It was cheap. I'm good.

    I had no problems spending my employers money on my MBA but that was because of a few reasons that seldom are discussed here:

    1. I have a personal history with Scranton and leaving with an associates when I started out with a bachelors left me feeling a bit incomplete. My MBA helped me sort of come full circle and bury those skeletons in my closet.
    2. My employer's tuition scheme is based on a set dollar amount allocated to every employee for all programs except for the MBA. That is paid from a separate fund because you require higher level approval to pursue an MBA in the employee tuition assistance program. For an associates, bachelors or most masters degrees (and doctorates!) you need a Director to sign off. For an MBA, you need a director, your VP and the VP of HR. The policy is also only written specifically for the MBA. So technically there are fewer hoops to jump through if you wanted to earn a DBA than if you wanted to earn an MBA. It's an old policy that probably should be updated but, frankly, while it isn't perfect it also hasn't really caused any harm.
    3. A degree on the wall is worth two being mulled over endlessly on DegreeInfo.
     
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  10. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    This might replace "kid in a candy store" for the way I describe my picking of degrees :D
     
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  11. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Love it! Spot on!

    Our dear friend Abner took the $3k MBA deal from Aspen University back when it was offered. He never even flinched at the fact that it was an NA school that nobody had ever heard of. In fact, he laughed all the way to the bank with a monster pay increase while others were still trying to figure out how to pay off their loans.
     
  12. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    Do you guys think my options with the RA Hellenicamerican University mba will be significantly lower than with the AACSB accredited MBA from GSW?

    For both according to their respective deans, I met requirements to get in.
    The dean from GSW told me that she foresaw no problems.
    The other Dean about the same.
    Uni of Illinois obviously does ask WES or equivalent evaluation but my evaluation is pending with ECE and I foresee no problems there either.

    3k$ more ( when comparing HEAC and GSW is not a lot if you have significantly more job options afterwards.

    The GSW MBA comes with AACSB and comes at 9000$ with IT fees included for the 5 semesters.

    Obviously I would prefer the Gies Business School admission over all these aforementioned but that one is an unrealistic dream.

    I should be happy but I keep thinking : why not go all in and for only 3k$ more have a real mba degree from a real respected university that is all American (GSW) instead of a charter university that reminds a bit of Euclid university and that will lead to an MBA that has no real mba accreditation.

    AACSB is world renown.
    No one could deny it if it's AACSB.
    The other would be a degree that I would have to defend again and that I will have people brushing it off as '' Mickey Mouse - like '' again.

    Or am I overthinking this?

    I can see myself wanting to teach a few classes aside of working a corporate job, to supplement my income, afterwards.
     
  13. Futuredegree

    Futuredegree Well-Known Member

    If the money is not an issue go to GSW to play it safe. HAU is a great value if you don't mind the degree not having AACSB or if you just need a masters degree. GSW can offer the AACSB and has a better name as it is more recognized. Both schools are regionally accredits but they are not what I would consider power house MBA programs like NYU. Baruch, Columbia, Duke , Yale, Harvard, St. Johns Etc. They are just regular schools that offer MBA programs.
     
  14. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Not in North America, but if it's true that the German system doesn't recognize any U.S. MBA that doesn't have AACSB then that might be a reason, since it's a big country in your neighborhood.
     
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  15. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    It would be worse to later hear that the MBA is not considered '' real '' without AACSB than to now pay a few k more and receive a real one.
    Also, that name sounds so wrong too.
    I want to teach at a university college as a professional in the work field afterwards.
    I wouldn't think about teaching at a big university because that requires a DBA.
    But with an MBA and a few years work experience I could teach at university colleges here, aside of my corporate job in the contract team.
    Doctors who make use of the contract team have an option to choose people based on cv.
    If my MBA comes from a weird school I would be worried they would think it's fake or something.
    I actually see more and more people subconsciously presuming that MBA always means AACSB accredited if it's a decent one.
    The good thing is that it's a brick and mortar school though and that that should reduce doubts people may have.
    But still. It's basically like buying a Rolex. If I have to pay 75% for a good immitation, why not pay 25% more and get the real deal.
    That's how I compare it and how I think other people will look at it too.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2021
  16. Futuredegree

    Futuredegree Well-Known Member

    I wouldn't say its not a "Real MBA" it is a real MBA degree from a regionally accredited school now what you are speaking on is Accreditation. Is the MBA program an "Accredited MBA program" by one of the three big business program accreditors.
     
  17. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    This, absolutely. You need to find out how things will evaluate in Belgium and/or in any other country that you might (want to) move to in the future. Anabin (more or less the German equivalent of WES/ECE/etc.) doesn't - or didn't, I haven't looked lately - accept American NA degrees so a degree from UoPeople (which was mentioned as a possibility at one point) would not necessarily be a good idea there. From what I've heard, you could still find work there regardless but it would still be easier if you're planning to live in Germany to get a degree that works with Anabin.

    Side note: despite UoPeople not being accepted in Germany by Anabin, Syrian refugees in Germany can qualify for a scholarship funded by the German government. https://www.uopeople.edu/tuition-free/our-scholarships/scholarship-for-syrian-refugees/

    So, I would guess that the AACSB accreditation (or not) doesn't matter at all unless you're planning to continue on to a European doctorate. But that is with 0 further research into the matter.
     
  18. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    So I looked into it and to be honest I haven't been able to find one convincing MBA program that didn't have at least AACSB as a minimum.
    I'm worried to accept AmericanHellenic's offer because I fail to see a difference in value compared to ENEB/UI1.
    What if one day I'm sitting in front of a business man who went to posh schools and it gets out that my MBA didn't have AACSB?
    I would be seen as a '' Mickey Mouse '' graduate.

    While I really think AmericanHellenic gives personal attention to students and that they treat them with kindness that's worth 0 in the real world.

    At least with GSW I could rest assured that the name wouldn't raise an eyebrow and that it would be considered a high quality degree if they do some background checks.
    With the other degree I'm less convinced of that outcome.

    I'm thinking about waiting for the outcome of my application with GSW and if accepted just go for that one.

    Having to be ashamed of your credential for the rest of your life is not an option.
    How could I ever make it to an executive function if people will laugh by seeing the credential.
    I have never known a director worth their salt who didn't have at least a qualification from one '' wow '' school.

    Maybe I'm overthinking this too much but it's better to carefully consider than to go for a sub-par option out of fear of not being admitted for the more '' high quality options ''.
     
  19. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Sounds like the kind of crowd I wouldn't want to be a part of anyway.

    I think you're right to consider whether or not your educational investment will get you to your goals. However, I don't see anyone from a posh school with that kind of attitude would care enough to make a distinction based on AACSB accreditation. If you need an elite degree to keep up with the elite crowds, then GSW isn't going to do it for you any more than HAUNIV would, and Illinois might be good enough, but might not.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2021
  20. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    I know that those people aren't fun to be around but basically everyone in a high function is like that, whether they admit it or not.
    I think I would eat my heart out if I was belittled day after day for not having an AACSB MBA.
    People notice those small details.
    I wish they didn't but I know they do.
    I lost a linkedin connection because I put my master propio in my linkedin cv.
    He private messaged me to say that I should be ashamed to list it as an MBA while there are people out there who pay 100k$ for an MBA.
    And yes, I apologized to him for listing it on my cv but he still hates me now and removed me as a connection.
    I will live with too much stress if I will be treated like that every time post graduation from the MBA.
    Especially as it was meant to take away the Mickey Mouse effect from the ENEB MBA and have better options when applying for jobs (hopefully I won't have to but the future's not our to see).
     

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