guppy wrote:
You are accepted to a program ranked in the 10-15 range and in the region you wish to live. However, you receive no fellowship and would need to take a loan of 100k or more.
You are also accepted to a school in the 20-30 range out of the region you wish to live, but with a strong, recognizable reputation nationally. You receive fellowship, and would require a loan of only 30-40k.
Both schools are similar as far as curriculum and 'fit'.'
How much of the MBA decision should be the ROI on the debt vs. the average salary of the school. Averages are not a guarantee, but do signal the opportunity presented.
When you are quitting a full time job to pursue your MBA dream, it's way more advantageous to go to a top 10-15 range school because those schools dedicate certain amount of resources (such as recruiting, facilities, curriculum, etc) to such students exclusively. In addition, your options will be limited as lower ranked programs in 20-30 range can not dedicate much resources exclusively to the FT students (some programs are not even designed that way) and you will end up taking many of your classes exclusively in the evening with PT MBA students. Especially when companies are cutting their recruiting budget and recruitment quota, you will face an uphill battle even at top 15 programs for certain positions. Although a top 10 MBA is no longer a guarantee for a six figure job these days, it will be even more difficult at lower ranked (20-30) schools.
Every school will have "core employers" that return year after year for recruiting. But when you are taking about 20-30 range schools, the numbers are fewer and some of those employers might be even accounting firms looking for cheap MBA labor at discount for actual accounting roles. I've met people who ended up going to public accounting firms after getting their MBA at lower ranked schools, working side by side with recent college graduates. That's not something they imagined doing before starting their MBA journey. But in this economy, a job is a job and people make sacrifices in exchange for a steady paycheck.