<p>For most people it is necessary to consider the long run. Some people in my class were engineers making $110k+, but they wanted to grow personally and professionally - can you really put a price on that?
You need to think about why you want money anyways. Some people are content with slaving away to afford their lifestyle, or doing the same to retire early. Other people want to have an exciting life, and their work is a part of that life.
For my specific situation, I calculated a break-even of five years with a 7% discount rate. Another thing to consider is that the biggest component is often your foregone salary, not the tuition.
I find it hard to justify a lower tier MBA since there is a lower likelihood of getting a job you are excited about.</p>
<p>Edit: I should mention that I am not interested in traditional financial services (IB, IM) - that could change the numbers dramatically</p>