I am currently faced with two choices, attending a T3 (possibly high T4) MBA program for 50k or attending a different university for mostly free (asides from housing expenses and such) but not their MBA program (likely Cybersecurity or something else). I most likely would not be able to get into their MBA program at choice 2. The MBA program is ranked top 10/11 in the State but just not ranked high enough nationally. I have no undergraduate debt and I graduated undergraduate a year early so I am looking for the best choice for me now. The location and overall environment of choice 1 is a better fit for me than choice 2, cost of living at choice 2 is higher than choice 1.
If it’s the best fit for you, it may be worth doing the $50k program since you already have no student debt. I came out of graduate school with $50k in debt. If you consolidate over 20 years, the payments come out to around $300 a month. It’s definitely manageable.
Does T3 mean “tier 3”? By whose estimation?
I’ve seen some evidence that low-ranked MBAs don’t actually boost career options or salaries enough to make them worth full pay. $50K isn’t a whole lot of money for an MBA though - they tend to cost in the $100-150K range, all told. So choosing to go to a $50K MBA program, especially with no undergraduate debt, could be a pretty good choice.
I’m unclear on how your second choice is attending a different university for “something else,” but not anything specific. Have you actually applied and been accepted for a program there? A master’s degree is not a universal good; the degree needs to be useful in the specific career that you’ve chosen to enter. You wouldn’t get an MS in physics to try to become an English teacher. Some degrees can be more generally useful across fields, but if you aren’t interested in a career in cybersecurity or something at least tangentially related, why would you want a master’s in it?
So if the question is “Is it better to pay for a master’s I actually want, or to just collect a free master’s in an unrelated field?” then my answer is “Probably to pay, as long as you aren’t borrowing debt you’ll be unable to repay later.”
in addition, I would add that an MBA is generally best taken once you have some job experience. It might be wise to start a career first and then see if an MBA is really a career builder. If you are interested in the cybersecurity field, then getting an MS immediately can be useful for your career prospects. You might find that after a few year working, that getting an MBA in addition is useful to reaching your career goals.
Thank you for your replies.
For choice #2, I have family members that work at the school so I would be eligible to go for mostly free. I wouldn’t be able to be accepted for the MBA and while I haven’t applied I am pretty sure I could get in for Cybersecurity. I came out of undergrad completely hating my major and if I could do it over I would’ve picked Cybersecurity (my minor) or Business (and not just for their earning potentials)
I think that the school is T3/T4 just based on US News rankings. I was lucky enough that my parents were able to pay for my undergraduate but they still have a little bit of debt left over from it so I’m wondering if it’s worth it having them co-sign for the MBA and if I’ll be able to pay for it later and which one is a better investment in terms of job outlooks.
Again, it really depends on what you want as a career. One path, given what you say about the majors you would have preferred, would be to start with a technical job in cybersecurity after a Masters and then work your way into management where an MBA would be beneficial. However, if you do not really know at this point and you would be happy with either outcome, why get into debt?