Which MBA programs offer the quickest return on investment?
Tensions run high for Round One applicants this week, some business schools’ return on investment is more immediate than that of others, and programs look to invest in real estate and technology. Here’s what’s trending on the MBA landscape.
Decision week for early applicants
For those early-bird aspiring MBAs who applied to business schools during Round One, this is THE big week. This is the time they’ll be receiving word from admissions officers on whether they’ve gotten in or not. Unsurprisingly, the top-ranked business schools receive a large share of these Round One applicants. Typically around 35 percent to 40 percent of those who apply to the top ten business schools (HBS, Yale SOM, Dartmouth Tuck, etc.) apply during this time.
There’s an advantage to applying early, which helps explain why it’s so popular: admissions rates tend to be higher when more seats are open. “We are hearing from admissions officers at elite programs that a shift toward round one applications continues,” says one business school admissions expert. “We see plenty of anecdotal evidence that the season is shifting earlier and earlier. We already have applicants asking to sign-up for next year—this would be unheard of in December 2003.” (Poets & Quants)
ROI of an MBA
Over the course of your lifetime, you can earn $1M more with a professional degree like an MBA than you would with only a bachelor’s degree. We know aspiring MBAs don’t want to wait 50 years to see all the bonuses and benefits of their hard work, however. Some business schools offer their graduates faster average ROI than others.
Online personal finance company SoFi recently conducted a study to look into which MBA programs offer the quickest ROI for graduates, and unlike some other lists, you won’t necessarily see the top ranked programs on it. For example, San Diego State’s Fowler College of Business Administration is among the leaders in this area.
“Going to a business school like this is an investment,” said Chad Losee, admissions chief at HBS. Michelle Sisto, director of the MBA program at EDHEC Business School in France, adds, “Value for money is a big concern.” (BusinessBecause)
On the job training
MBA programs train tomorrow’s business leaders through a variety of methods both inside and outside the classroom. Most include some sort of exposure to working in the boardroom as a way of ensuring students are practice-ready and prepared to hit the ground running after they graduate. These “field projects,” as they are called, give students the confidence and know-how to succeed.
“I learn through experience, and if I can be immersed in it and learn from my mistakes, then I can perform better,” said one student at the California Institute of Advanced Management. “Entrepreneurship, in some sense, is like performance art for business. It’s something a student must do to appreciate,” added Kyle Jensen, senior lecturer, associate dean and director of entrepreneurship at Yale School of Management.
This should be important to you as aspiring MBAs, so ask some questions and do your research. (U.S. News & World Report)
Business schools of the future
Today’s business schools are preparing for the future now by building start-of-the-art classrooms that integrate technology and best learning practices. But it’s not free! These sorts of investments in students cost a great deal of money, but for the top business schools, there is luckily a lot to go around. Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, for example, plans to commit over $220M to build a 410,000 square-foot lakefront education center. Columbia Business School is getting ready to build a new home in Manhattanville, an area of Harlem, promising “a new home for generations of future leaders.”
Technology is revolutionizing our lives and we are moving in the direction it is taking us,” says Diego Alcázar Benjumea, vice president of IE Business School. “We have invested 25 million euros in innovative learning projects over the last 15 years, and this learning space takes us to the next level of our commitment to technology immersion.” (Forbes)
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