Part-time programs: Rank vs. Price

[aaronsweber]

I'm a mid-career professional looking for advancement through a part-time MBA program, either general or marketing-centric. I'm located in Boston and not interested in moving or a long commute to get to class. More importantly, I don't want to spend a hundred thousand dollars on my degree, so I'm trying to rule out Babson and BC and BU.

UMass Boston has what looks like a perfectly adequate curriculum and a very reasonable price. UMass Amherst also does an online/hybrid program where you take some classes online and some in a local branch office in downtown Boston - similar curriculum, slightly more prestige from the name of the school, but slightly less prestige because it's online.

My feeling is that any MBA is better than no MBA, but that outside top-tier schools I might as well just go for the one with in-state tuition.

Does that make sense? Am I making a huge mistake by skipping the very good in favor of the perfectly adequate?

[Jim@StratusPrep]

This really depends on what you want to get out of your program. In reality, all the information in any MBA program is available for you to find. What you are paying for is the curation that an institution can do and the instructors it provides.

[aaronsweber]

So, you're an admissions consultant speaking in public and you're not willing to disparage the product sold by any of the schools. Fair enough.

But I think we can assume that everyone on this board knows a few things:

• There are some diplomas out there that aren't worth what students are paying.
  It is theoretically possible for a self-starter to study the material and case studies - the Personal MBA approach - and learn business without a school.

So, do you think that a cheap unranked MBA better than no MBA at all?

Babson, BU, and BC cost four or five times more than UMass. Are they 4-5 times as good?[/list][/list]

[highwyre237]

So, you're an admissions consultant speaking in public and you're not willing to disparage the product sold by any of the schools. Fair enough.

But I think we can assume that everyone on this board knows a few things:

• There are some diplomas out there that aren't worth what students are paying.
  It is theoretically possible for a self-starter to study the material and case studies - the Personal MBA approach - and learn business without a school.

So, do you think that a cheap unranked MBA better than no MBA at all?

Babson, BU, and BC cost four or five times more than UMass. Are they 4-5 times as good?[/list][/list]

My rule of thumb when it comes to education... If they have to advertise on the T(or the radio lately with bentley) to convince people to go there, they probably arent worth the price...(Suffolk / UMass Boston)

Amherst is a bit of a wildcard... Great name, but if its viewed more as an online mba, how much do employer respect it? I can't answer that.

I mean... what do you want out of your MBA? Is your employer going to chip in? Do you need access to career services?

What job do you want, and where do the people who have that job go to school? Can you be successful with an MBA from Umass Boston? Yes. Will it be tougher to get your foot in the door? Yes. Will you get the same education? Maybe... Who knows? Is it worth paying more? It all depends.

What exactly do you want from your mba? Are you switching functions or industries?