Interesting but pointless hypothetical, how much would you p

I don't understand your questions, can you rephrase it?

I think the question is "How much would you pay for a guaranteed admission to the school of your choice?"

In my case, I'd pay $0, since I'm no longer convinced there is a material difference.

Going by Rhyme's interpretation, I say $0 as well. For different reasons though.

Where is the honor in getting in by bribing, extra money, connections, or any other unethical means?

I would rather invest the 150K on a few Dunkin Donuts shop than do an MBA, if this is what it boils down to!

Honor? This isn't feudal Japan. How are "connections" unethical? An MBA is far more about the networking opportunities offered than the education itself. Post-MBA success will be dictated far more by the hands you shake than the grades you make.

i'll be less ethical

I'd say 5K since that's about how much I've paid for app fees, flights, hotels, and stuff.

One... Miiiiiiiiiiillion Dollars!

thank you rhyme for the rephrase!

"How much would you pay for a guaranteed admission to the school of your choice"

please understand that the intent of the question is really to understand how much material value to YOU personally 2 things

1. guaranteed admission - yes all of you probably will get in to at least 1 school, but what is the price of the security of knowing right now
2. school choice: what is the perceived material value of attending your #1 choice vs your backup, and why?


rhyme - can you explain why you think for the school choice it doesn't really matter materially? remember i'm asking from an ignorant newbie perspective of never having attended bschool, but really curious to know your thoughts...
also understandably, guaranteed admission doesn't really matter for you right now (since you're already at a really good top school), but perhaps when you were an mba hopeful just like the rest of us?

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also i should add this question isn't really about ethics, pretend you're in world where you're paying some higher being for these magical gifts, and that higher being accepts nothing in return and also by any known or unknown rule or moral law what you're doing is fine =)

In all seriousness, I wouldnt be willing to pay all that much. Of course I am biased because I already have admits, maybe my answer would be different if I didnt have a shot in hell at a top program.

I also agree with Rhyme, or at least what I think he is getting at. I am unconvinced of the difference between the elites and the super-duper ranked schools. The top school may get you in the door, but its going to be up to you from that point to make yourself successful. There are plenty of people who go to top programs that dont "make it" and there are plenty of people without MBAs that knock it out of the park. A lot of it comes down to luck I would imagine.

Let me put this another way: I'm not against networking or building connections, but what I'm against is getting in because you are some bigshot's son, or someone 'high up there' pulls some strings for you.

All I am saying is that the playing field gotta be level, so that everyone gets a fair shot at greatness. Just because one is born into a rich / well-connected family one should not have an unfair advantage over someone who works his way up from the bottom of the food-chain.

And, if the process cannot be fair to all then why even bother having it in the first place? let's just go back to the old days, where only the son of a king has a shot at the crown...for everyone else it's blasphemy!

Ok, seems like I might have taken our initial question a little out of context. So here's what I would do in case of a confirmed admit.

I would pay around 6k, here's the breakdown:

• The total cost incurred for the apps of the other schools
• The traveling costs to other schools
• The time I saved by not applying to other schools.

I put the figure roughly around 5k. Another 1k premium for the peace of mind. So total 6k or so.

if this is one of those questions where you start off going....

"how about $1,000 for admission" - some people would be like "thats a no brainer, hell yeah"

"well how about for $10,000" - "oh i'd have to think about it..."

"well what about paying $100,000 to get in?" - "Are you joking!? what kind of person do you think I am???"

..."I already know what you are, now we're just negotiating price"


but this isnt an ethical dilemma so yeah...i'd probably pay upwards of $10,000, cause I'd value that as the opportunity cost of all the stress/pain/anxiety/vacation days/arguments/etc during applications.

Assuming I could gain entrance into at least one of my choices by studying hard, I would pay the amount I paid for prep materials, estimate the hours of prep work plus a little extra for the security. Maybe $3,000? Any more than that and I figure I could just study my way to it.

Probably nothing. The amount of debt I'd have to rack up is not worth it.

Let's look at this another way. Suppose HBS charged 100k per year in tuition. Do you think they'd still be able to fill their class? I think they would be able to (hopefully without drastically changing the make up of their population).

I might be willing to pay more than others because my process has been quite painful, but I think I'd easily pay 10k for the b-school of my choice, and I think the real number is closer to 40 or 50k.

I'll risk sounding awful, but I think I'd be willing to pay 40k over Stanford's 2-year sticker price rather than going to Emory at a discount (or CMU).

I actually really like this topic, as hypothetical and unfair/unethical as it may be. I'm also assuming that I'm the only person who has this offer, and that me being in the class doesn't change the make-up of the rest of the class. I.e. I'm not in class with the 200 kids who are willing to pay the most, but rather, the kids who got in fair and square. I'd also want to stipulate that nobody else in the class would know about this agreement, and they'd think I got in fairly. Given those conditions, I think it's a good deal.

Rhyme, I'm very curious why you think there isn't a material difference? Can you elaborate on when you think the drop off happens.

This has got to be the best response.

I would actually say it could be worth $10-20K extra when you are getting a job. So, potentially at least 2-3x that.
Just as having Coca Cola or Apple on your resume will be a strength, so will a top 10 school.
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two million dollar