Need Help Choosing School

In my humble opinion, the answer to your question a time-honored one: it depends. What does it depend on? I would say first and foremost, on your post-MBA plan. If you are targeting a competitive job with a Fortune 100 company, then indeed, the higher the placement of the school on the marquee, the better. You also must consider whether or not your target companies even recruit from your target schools, because if they do not, your career pursuits will be much more involved on the backend. Another part of this is your desired geographical destination. MBA grads generally scatter all over the globe, yet there is a large percentage who remain within a 300 mile radius of the school for their entire post-MBA career. These kinds of considerations can be helpful when deciding just how much the network you are establishing will come into play. Even though Arizona is a top 30 program, it may not be as well known in the northeast, for example. Ultimately, you will need to weigh these factors againsst where you feel you fit in best and will subsequently achieve more, learn more and contribute more than you might at a school where the fit is not as good. I wouldn't use price too much as a factor. It's far more importatn to pick a school which aligns with your goals and enables you access to the path you desire. These things will long outweigh paying a few more bucks up front. This is coming from someone who is still paying off his MBA loan even after 10 years post-graduation. I hate the concept of doing now and paying later, but MBAs are not cheap and for some there is no other way but to do it on credit (unless they want to skip it altogether, which is an even worse option for visionaries!) Hope some of this helps.