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Updated on: 05 Jun 2015, 10:11
Originally posted by Class2015CBS on 01 Jun 2014, 17:29.
Last edited by Class2015CBS on 05 Jun 2015, 10:11, edited 1 time in total.
Last edited by Class2015CBS on 05 Jun 2015, 10:11, edited 1 time in total.
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EDIT: I decided since I have some time to kill to update this post with my numbers from year 2. Again the same caveats from below apply. Overall the 2 years is very expensive but completely worth it! The first year covers 1 Aug 2013 - 31 Jul 2014, the second year covers 1 Aug 2014 - 31 May 2015. In most cases the earliest you'll start work would be 1 June so I consider May as part of the MBA related expenses, most people probably won't start until later but the summer is really up to you so I'm not counting it in my calculations.
For the headline number, total cost for 2 years = $263,506
So how much does an MBA at Columbia really cost? This was a big question for me when researching schools but one for which nobody seemed to have a good answer. Obviously everybody’s situation is different but it’s safe to say that the school budget is absurdly low. So I thought I would share my results from my first year, with a little help from Quicken and a lot of OCD.
Some notes up front. Orientation starts in mid-August so you’ll likely move in starting beginning of August so that is how I chose my starting date. Additionally I’m married with no kids. So my rent and grocery bills are higher than average but my bars and travel spending are lower so they probably balance out roughly. I didn't take any international trips or pre-MBA trips but did travel some inside the US during the first year. Second year I traveled on one international trip, still well below the MBA school norm.
Ok here are the numbers including a per month average for categories where it makes sense:
Hopefully this will help folks get a starting point for a budget. As you can see I overshot the school’s estimate by about 35%.
For the headline number, total cost for 2 years = $263,506
So how much does an MBA at Columbia really cost? This was a big question for me when researching schools but one for which nobody seemed to have a good answer. Obviously everybody’s situation is different but it’s safe to say that the school budget is absurdly low. So I thought I would share my results from my first year, with a little help from Quicken and a lot of OCD.
Some notes up front. Orientation starts in mid-August so you’ll likely move in starting beginning of August so that is how I chose my starting date. Additionally I’m married with no kids. So my rent and grocery bills are higher than average but my bars and travel spending are lower so they probably balance out roughly. I didn't take any international trips or pre-MBA trips but did travel some inside the US during the first year. Second year I traveled on one international trip, still well below the MBA school norm.
Ok here are the numbers including a per month average for categories where it makes sense:
| Category | Year 1 | Per Month | Year 2 | Per Month |
| Tuition | $ 60,720.00 | N/A | $63,148.00 | N/A |
| School Fees | $ 3,124.00 | N/A | $2,642.00 | N/A |
| Health Insurance | $ 3,149.00 | N/A | $2,508.00 | N/A |
| Agent Fee | $ 3,562.50 | N/A | $ 0 | N/A |
| Application Fees | $ 759.00 | N/A | $ 0 | N/A |
| Household items | $2,425.33 | $202.11 | $1,451.16 | $145.12 |
| Student Orgs | $714.61 | $59.55 | $772.77 | $77.28 |
| Rent | $ 28,500.00 | $ 2,375.00 | $ 23,750.00 | $ 2,375.00 |
| Metro Expenses | $1,635.50 | $136.29 | $1,112.60 | $111.26 |
| Groceries | $8,447.26 | $703.94 | $7,541.74 | $754.17 |
| Eating Out | $1,830.22 | $152.52 | $2,399.72 | $239.97 |
| Entertainment/Bars | $2,959.06 | $246.59 | $2,756.69 | $275.67 |
| Utilities/TV | $2,605.93 | $217.16 | $3,031.55 | $303.16 |
| Insurance | $1,866.77 | $155.56 | $2,104.28 | $210.43 |
| Healthcare | $1,401.81 | $116.82 | $1,234.98 | $123.50 |
| Miscellaneous(dry cleaning/barber/etc) | $1,451.82 | $120.99 | $2,697.10 | $269.71 |
| Gym | $1,719.93 | $143.33 | $3,316.96 | $331.70 |
| Travel | $8,107.56 | N/A | $8,058.20 | N/A |
| Total | $134,980.30 | $4,628.86 | $ 128,525.75 | $5,216.97 |
Hopefully this will help folks get a starting point for a budget. As you can see I overshot the school’s estimate by about 35%.
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cosmopolitan
05 Jun 2014, 06:41
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Great resource, thanks for taking your time to share it with us!
$700 monthly for eating out sounds really high to me. Is that for two persons, incl. your wife?
Your calculation increases the necessary 2y budget to $250k, actually that's more than I was expecting.
$700 monthly for eating out sounds really high to me. Is that for two persons, incl. your wife?
Your calculation increases the necessary 2y budget to $250k, actually that's more than I was expecting.
05 Jun 2014, 07:36
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Good catch. I'll fix the chart, dining out and groceries got switched. Should be $700/month for groceries and $140/month eating out.
Posted from my mobile device
Posted from my mobile device
