Online MBA Forum

Getting your degree without stepping foot on the campus isn't a new concept; as early as the nineteenth century, correspondence courses were a viable alternative to campus-based education. The advent of Internet though has pushed educational technologies to the point that there is little difference between a traditional degree and an online degree. In fact, it has become such a popular method of acquiring a degree more people are choosing to pursue an online MBA.

InterEd, a higher education research firm, predicted that enrollment in online MBA programs would explode from 5,000 students in 2000 to more than 50,000 in 2002. The boom in pursuing an online MBA isn't limited to American business schools, either. Many international colleges, like Cambridge University in England began offering an online MBA program in 2001.

Pursuing a MBA, especially through a private institution, is a rather expensive undertaking. For instance, Stanford recommends that students budget around $48,000 per year to cover the cost of books, tuition, living expenses, and travel. Kellogg School at Northwestern suggest even more: $60,000 annually.

When considering how to finance your MBA, particular attention should also be given to what you'll lose in economic opportunity: You'll lose two years of full-time pay in addition to what you'll have to spend to cover tuition, books, housing and other expenses. All told, you'll probably spend nearly a quarter of a million dollars to earn your MBA. There are plenty of options from loans to grants that can ease the economic burden of earning your MBA.

According to a Financial Times MBA program ranking survey, a 1997 Harvard MBA graduate was earning $173,500 just three years after finishing the program. The average increase of over their pre-MBA salary was 221 percent. By comparison, University of Chicago grads from the same year were earning about $151,000, Ohio State MBA grads were earning $75,700, and Notre Dame MBA grads hauling in an average of $85,200.

Obviously if viewed with your eyes on the bottom line, MBA program rankings take on a new importance. Of course, no matter which MBA program you choose to pursue, you'll most likely see an increase over your pre-MBA salary.