Should I study for an MBA? Cost of Attendance of an MBA program

The pressures are real, but MBA salaries are measurably high. In some cases, they are incredibly high.

If you want a figure that’ll blow your mind, a 2021 MBA graduate from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, earned a base salary of $375,000.

This remarkable salary isn’t the norm, of course, but you can expect a salary boost when you pursue an MBA. And many newly minted MBAs push salaries over six figures.

But, your MBA salary depends on a number of factors::

• Your pre-MBA salary and experience

• Where you study (school and country)

• Which field or specialisation you pursue

• Where you work (company and country)

• Macroeconomic factors

• You

Which choices make MBAs the most money?

With all these variables, it’s worth considering all the options on the table, from specialisation and field to the country and school you choose to study in.

Let’s dive in.

According to Monster.com, the 7 highest-paid MBA specialisations are:

• Marketing: $95,500 annually

• Economics: $97,400 annually

• General business: $99,000 annually

• Finance: $103,000 annually

• Entrepreneurship: $106,000 annually

• Technology management: $113,000 annually

• Strategy: $127,000 annually

MBA Cost of Attendance (CoA)

There are several questions that you might have about the cost of attendance and whether an MBA course is expensive and worth it.

In the United States, any university that receives federal financial aid funds is required to post their annual Cost of Attendance clearly, so finding this information online is usually a painless process.

MBA Tuition Fees (2022): Estimated cost of your studies

It’s a different story in Europe where it’s difficult to track down estimates, even for a few prominent schools.

The figures above are all for the first academic year of two-year MBA programmes (for single students staying in basic accommodation).

And, yes, those are the figures for an academic year, which is nine months and applies to most schools. (Stanford GSB has a ten-month academic year.)

What you do for the other couple of months is a little tricky to deal with - especially if you’re participating in an internship in another city (and need to pay rent in two places) or you’re taking a couple extra classes to boost your academic record.

The Cost of Attendance is often worked out differently in Europe. Oxford’s Saïd Business School provides a breakdown similar to the American calculations (though we already know there are differences on that front).

But, you’ll find programmes like IESE and ESADE (both in Barcelona) provide tuition and then a monthly estimate for living expenses. Tuition covers the entire 18 or 19 months of study, but you’ll need to work on a figure of €2100 per month as an estimate to work out the CoA you’ll need to prove to immigration authorities.

And, over at London Business School, the school doesn’t explicitly provide living expenses on their main website, but they have surveyed students in the past to determine general costs. The average, by the way, is £2395 per month.

Average cost of attendance for top MBA programmes:

How accurate is the Cost of Attendance provided by schools?

Okay, tuition, mandatory fees, and often health insurance figures are pretty solid. (Though you do need to factor for increases and ensure your health insurance covers a 12-month period, not just an academic year.) And, if campus housing is available, you can work out many of the major costs with some accuracy.

But, you’ll need to make some serious choices when it comes to your budget for eating out (almost essential for bonding with your classmates), participating in clubs (which are often pathways to a job offer), and the type of transportation you’ll use (just remember how cold Chicago or New York can be).

As such, the Cost of Attendance provided by schools in the United States isn’t necessarily more accurate than the estimated living expenses given for schools in Barcelona.

And, missing from all of this are the costs of academic excursions and flights to interviews. Most costs ignore living expenses during internship periods - and you don’t necessarily know where you’ll be for those few months. It could be in Cape Town or Los Angeles - and the cost of living in these cities is vastly different.

While a solid Cost of Attendance is critical for obtaining your international study visa, it’s only helpful when it comes to your MBA budget.

Comparing MBA CoA to calculate ROI

Cost of Attendance (CoA) is critical for international students. It includes tuition, fees, books, medical insurance, and everything you need to live during your studies - and you'll need to prove you can cover these costs to secure a visa.

Although universities publish CoA figures – even if it’s just tuition and the lowest possible amount they believe a student can survive with – it can be tough to compare apples to apples.

Costs are given in local currencies – pounds, euros, rupees, yuan, and dollars (that includes American, Canadian, Australian dollars as well as Hong Kong and Singapore dollars). That alone is enough to set your head spinning – and it gets more complicated when you try to work out your return on investment (ROI).

Why?

You’ll find salary statistics are often published as American dollars.

Even if you consider only European schools – and only those that charge in euros, you’ll still need to convert the amount to dollars to estimate your ROI.

If you’re bringing euros or dollars to the table, it’s doable, but when you factor in a third home currency, you’re in for some serious head scratching. (Usually, you’ll find way more zeros than you want to see.)

Calculating ROI demands that you consider the cost of attendance + opportunity costs (including the duration of your studies) + loan interest (less any monies saved or awarded as scholarships) and weigh that against earning potential.

Of course, you don’t know your earning potential when applying to various schools.

The median reported salaries (whatever currency they’re reported in) don’t mean a lot. You could be on the low end of the salary scale now, which likely puts you on the lower end of the salary scale post-MBA – but location changes, internship experience, and career switching all play a role. And, you need to figure out the real cost of attendance for your degree.

How much does an MBA increase your salary? Is it worth the cost of an MBA programme?

We’ve taken CoA figures reported by universities – and accounted for study duration so it’s possible to compare the current top apples.

Then, we’ve taken a look at the weighted three-year salary for each university, as reported by the 2020 FT World MBA Rankings – as well as their income increase percentage (so you can attempt to work out your future salary range based on your current one).

In the end, most of the figures are estimates only, but they’re a great jumping off point for calculating your ROI – and for piecing together your starting budget. Use the ROI calculator below to get a personalised idea based on your choices.

Cost of attendance for the top international MBA programs VS salary potential

*For 2-year programmes, the cost for year one has been doubled

As you can see, the cost of attendance for a Harvard MBA is $222,204, while Stanford’s 2 year MBA programme has an estimated cost of attendance of $237,288. The estimated cost of attendance for an MBA programme at the London Business school is £131,010. Each of these top MBA programs can significantly help improve your pay scale - the percent increase in salary for graduates from each of these top business schools is 110% for Harvard, 117% for Stanford, and 105% for LBS.

A quick guide to financing your international MBA

A fully loaded Mercedes S Class. A summer home in Costa Rica. A modest personal aircraft. These are just a few of the things that could be purchased with the tuition required for a two year MBA degree.

Clearly this is no small amount. Nonetheless, every year, students who decide the returns of a top level business school education outweigh the expense, must ask themselves the same question: where will the money come from? This is a pressing question for international students in particular, as they face additional challenges in seeking out institutions that are willing to lend across borders.

Some of you may want to complete your MBA in 1 year and return to work quickly. Here’s a quick guide to know if a 1-year MBA in the USA is right for you?

From student loans, to various grants and fellowships, scholarships and work study, there is certainly an array of financing options available to high caliber students. However, not all of these were created equal, and not all students have access to each category. Let’s take a quick look at the pros and challenges of each:

Already figured out your budget and the CoA for your MBA?

It's time to secure the financing you need to pursue your MBA. Prodigy Finance offers loans for international students pursuing their masters at top universities.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE B-SCHOOLS ACCEPTING PRODIGY FINANCE LOANS

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If you want to go ahead and know the difference between master of science and master of engineering, or if you want to know what and where to study, loan eligibility and requirements, try our Study Centre which is filled with expert opinions on a range of topics. Check all the schools we support.

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