8 ms·

I went to one of the top-tier (top 3) MBA programs in the US. The way I've described that value of the top MBA programs is in 3 (roughly equally-weighted) cate

I went to one of the top-tier (top 3) MBA programs in the US. The way I've described that value of the top MBA programs is in 3 (roughly equally-weighted) categories: 1) The Education: Getting to discuss business concepts with a group of smart, successful folks for 6-9 hours a day is very helpful. Most of the content, I could get from books/ online articles at a fraction of the price, but spending the time in a focused way is actually helpful. 2) The Network: In terms of network, this isn't some vague amorphous thing at Stanford GSB, HBS, or Penn- it's knowing several hundred other folks who are going to be very successful in their careers. This can be useful in sales, fundraising, finding a next job, etc. and DOES have a tangible dollar value. 3) The Rubber Stamp: Having your resume say "Stanford GSB" or "Harvard Business School" does have value to future employers or customers- it de-risks you as you've been validated by a famous institution, and helps THEM to associate with these famous brands. For the top 3 programs, even though they're VERY expensive (approx $250k in tuition + living expenses, plus at least another $250k in foregone income for most incoming students, for $500k in actual cost+opportunity cost), they're almost certainly worth it. For middle-/ lower-tier MBA programs, 2) and 3) above aren't NEARLY as valuable, or perhaps don't even exist- is your "network" from Podunk State School MBA actually valuable? For these, the only real value is the actual education, and most students would be better served with an online program or just actually picking up some books/ case studies/ reading online articles.

purplezooey 7y ago
Podunk State School, eh?
- mcmoose75 7y ago
  That's probably overly dismissive. Obviously state schools are super valuable for undergrad- I went to one. I just wouldn't pay a ton of money for an MBA from one of them.
  - anonymous5133 7y ago
    People often underrate the state schools. I went to one as well for accounting. When I graduated I got a job at a big 4 accounting firm and was working with people who went to USC for their undergrad. We were making the same amount of money. Only difference was I graduated debt free (worked through school) and they had massive loans. IMO, only go to the prestigious schools if you are studying a profession that has earning potential. Don't bother with any liberal arts type major.
Scoundreller 7y ago
> This can be useful in sales, fundraising, finding a next job, etc. and DOES have a tangible dollar value. I believe you, but I haven’t seen any school websites actually advertise an a dollar value on these human synergies. If anyone would, you’d think it would be them.
- mcmoose75 7y ago
  The whole pitch at the elite institutions is that they don't WANT to pitch it as some sort of dollars-and-cents ROI. They want to advertise the prestige, the education, etc. There's a whole cottage industry of MBA review sites, books, admissions prep materials, etc. that make that pitch for them, and investment banks/ consulting firms that use these MBA programs as "finishing schools" of sorts do as well.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  That would be very gauche, and would net them negative PR from the overall public due to laying bare the “it’s not what you know, it’s who know” mantra for no reason. The people looking to attend these schools already know the implied value.
  - Scoundreller 7y ago
    Sounds more like intangible value then.
    - 0xDEFC0DE 7y ago
      You can probably establish a floor value but getting a good average/median is going to be difficult because the top end is basically unlimited dollars for yourself. Taking a guess, a degree from a school listed should easily get a $100k salary in any big city at minimum unless you've tanked your reputation very publicly (like paying for your acceptance with bribes). Most people who go to ivy league aren't really concerned about their safety nets though.
- falcor84 7y ago
  Here you go: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-ranking-2019 http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-ran... Graduating from Stanford Business School will increase your salary by 129%
mcmoose75 7y ago
There are a few exceptions to the above- for instance, often schools that aren't in the top 3 nationwide can punch above their weight in regional networks. For instance, if you want to live and work in LA (or work in the entertainment industry) I've heard that it can be really useful to go to UCLA or USC for an MBA.
- opportune 7y ago
  Honestly even for Podunk State U I think you can experience the same if you plan on staying in your region in a local industry. I'm guessing an MBA from the University of X is just fine if you have a management job to go back to and want to stay in X the rest of your life. As long as there isn't some highly competitive field attracting people from all over the country you're trying to break into, applying the constraint "must stay in state X", a degree from UX might be the best place to go get your MBA Still maybe not worth the tuition+lost income, but could be worth it
clairity 7y ago
yes, even though i had wanted an mba largely for #1 on your list, #2 & #3 are undeniably where the intrinsic value of an (on-campus) mba program lies. if you don’t go to a well-regarded program (i’d estimate top 20), you won’t get that intrinsic value and are probably over-paying. it makes sense for the less regarded programs to reduce costs and reduce tuition to serve those who primarily want #1 because they can’t compete on #2 and #3 (which i would describe as prestige rather than a rubber stamp).
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
cm2187 7y ago
In the US, does the rubber stamp effect have much impact beyond the first hire? In banking in the UK, I literally have no idea what education my colleagues have, and after a few years of experience, I feel the university is pretty much irrelevant, other than certain specific majors, if for instance they are quantitative or computer science. But I feel that an MBA would play no role in a promotion.
- krapht 7y ago
  Surely Oxbridge or LSE mean something on a consultant's resume.
  - JumpCrisscross 7y ago
    Rubber stamps matter in consulting. Less so in banking, and negligibly so in trading.
  - NotSammyHagar 7y ago
    I think I've heard of Oxbridge, don't know what it is, what is lse? I'm in the us though, not in banking.
    - JumpCrisscross 7y ago
      > what is lse? London School of Economics [1]. Prestigious British school, largely only relevant, outside the U.K., to economists and financiers. [1] http://www.lse.ac.uk/ http://www.lse.ac.uk/
    - elemeno 7y ago
      Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge. In the UK it's a term often used to refer to the universities - which are routinely ranked as the top two universities globally.
    - a3n 7y ago
      > what is lse? The school that Mick Jagger went to. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Jagger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Jagger
Bombthecat 7y ago
The big question you should ask yourself ( which did it to me) if you are driven enough to spent those dollars and time on mba, aren't you already driven enough to "make it at work" wherever you are? ( Or switch to a more prestiges firm) and yes, I di make it work. No mba. On my way creating a new division in a pretty big firm. You are not only losing time at the mba. You are losing time learning business and creating relationships. If you selected the right firm you make inside and outside contacts already working there,while working your way up. Without taking a credit! Just something to think about...
- Joakal 7y ago
  It could be a $6.5M answer. A rich family saw a lot of value in spending that much to send their child to Stanford. Not sure if it was for a MBA though.

purplezooey 7y ago

Podunk State School, eh?

mcmoose75 7y ago
That's probably overly dismissive. Obviously state schools are super valuable for undergrad- I went to one. I just wouldn't pay a ton of money for an MBA from one of them.
- anonymous5133 7y ago
  People often underrate the state schools. I went to one as well for accounting. When I graduated I got a job at a big 4 accounting firm and was working with people who went to USC for their undergrad. We were making the same amount of money. Only difference was I graduated debt free (worked through school) and they had massive loans. IMO, only go to the prestigious schools if you are studying a profession that has earning potential. Don't bother with any liberal arts type major.

Scoundreller 7y ago

> This can be useful in sales, fundraising, finding a next job, etc. and DOES have a tangible dollar value. I believe you, but I haven’t seen any school websites actually advertise an a dollar value on these human synergies. If anyone would, you’d think it would be them.

mcmoose75 7y ago
The whole pitch at the elite institutions is that they don't WANT to pitch it as some sort of dollars-and-cents ROI. They want to advertise the prestige, the education, etc. There's a whole cottage industry of MBA review sites, books, admissions prep materials, etc. that make that pitch for them, and investment banks/ consulting firms that use these MBA programs as "finishing schools" of sorts do as well.
lotsofpulp 7y ago
That would be very gauche, and would net them negative PR from the overall public due to laying bare the “it’s not what you know, it’s who know” mantra for no reason. The people looking to attend these schools already know the implied value.
- Scoundreller 7y ago
  Sounds more like intangible value then.
  - 0xDEFC0DE 7y ago
    You can probably establish a floor value but getting a good average/median is going to be difficult because the top end is basically unlimited dollars for yourself. Taking a guess, a degree from a school listed should easily get a $100k salary in any big city at minimum unless you've tanked your reputation very publicly (like paying for your acceptance with bribes). Most people who go to ivy league aren't really concerned about their safety nets though.
falcor84 7y ago
Here you go: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-ranking-2019 http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-ran... Graduating from Stanford Business School will increase your salary by 129%

mcmoose75 7y ago

There are a few exceptions to the above- for instance, often schools that aren't in the top 3 nationwide can punch above their weight in regional networks. For instance, if you want to live and work in LA (or work in the entertainment industry) I've heard that it can be really useful to go to UCLA or USC for an MBA.

opportune 7y ago
Honestly even for Podunk State U I think you can experience the same if you plan on staying in your region in a local industry. I'm guessing an MBA from the University of X is just fine if you have a management job to go back to and want to stay in X the rest of your life. As long as there isn't some highly competitive field attracting people from all over the country you're trying to break into, applying the constraint "must stay in state X", a degree from UX might be the best place to go get your MBA Still maybe not worth the tuition+lost income, but could be worth it

clairity 7y ago

yes, even though i had wanted an mba largely for #1 on your list, #2 & #3 are undeniably where the intrinsic value of an (on-campus) mba program lies. if you don’t go to a well-regarded program (i’d estimate top 20), you won’t get that intrinsic value and are probably over-paying. it makes sense for the less regarded programs to reduce costs and reduce tuition to serve those who primarily want #1 because they can’t compete on #2 and #3 (which i would describe as prestige rather than a rubber stamp).

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

cm2187 7y ago

In the US, does the rubber stamp effect have much impact beyond the first hire? In banking in the UK, I literally have no idea what education my colleagues have, and after a few years of experience, I feel the university is pretty much irrelevant, other than certain specific majors, if for instance they are quantitative or computer science. But I feel that an MBA would play no role in a promotion.

krapht 7y ago
Surely Oxbridge or LSE mean something on a consultant's resume.
- JumpCrisscross 7y ago
  Rubber stamps matter in consulting. Less so in banking, and negligibly so in trading.
- NotSammyHagar 7y ago
  I think I've heard of Oxbridge, don't know what it is, what is lse? I'm in the us though, not in banking.
  - JumpCrisscross 7y ago
    > what is lse? London School of Economics [1]. Prestigious British school, largely only relevant, outside the U.K., to economists and financiers. [1] http://www.lse.ac.uk/ http://www.lse.ac.uk/
  - elemeno 7y ago
    Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge. In the UK it's a term often used to refer to the universities - which are routinely ranked as the top two universities globally.
  - a3n 7y ago
    > what is lse? The school that Mick Jagger went to. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Jagger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Jagger

Bombthecat 7y ago

The big question you should ask yourself ( which did it to me) if you are driven enough to spent those dollars and time on mba, aren't you already driven enough to "make it at work" wherever you are? ( Or switch to a more prestiges firm) and yes, I di make it work. No mba. On my way creating a new division in a pretty big firm. You are not only losing time at the mba. You are losing time learning business and creating relationships. If you selected the right firm you make inside and outside contacts already working there,while working your way up. Without taking a credit! Just something to think about...

Joakal 7y ago
It could be a $6.5M answer. A rich family saw a lot of value in spending that much to send their child to Stanford. Not sure if it was for a MBA though.