Sergio is an information technology manager at a medium-sized company in San Jose, California. He graduated from a good state university and now wants to work towards his MBA degree. Like many ambitious adult students, Sergio wanted to attend a Top 20 MBA program. He found the list of the 20 best MBA programs in Business Week.
However, he soon discovered that the top 20 MBA programs had many downsides for the working professional. Here are some of these disadvantages:
• Few schools in your area make the top 20 list, so you may have to quit your job and move to Chicago, Boston, or another city.
• Hardly any of the Top 20 were part-time or online, and a full-time school wouldn’t work with their full-time job.
• Competition is fierce and Sergio’s score of 580 (out of 800) on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) would likely eliminate his swings for admission.
• The cost of these Top 20 MBA programs ranges from $75K – $150K.
Sergio found a Top 20 program at the University of North Carolina and that program now offers a distance learning MBA with some residencies on campus. His company’s tuition reimbursement policy is generous, but at UNC’s cost of $89,000, he would still be paying nearly $60,000 out of pocket for him.
There are some prestigious MBA programs that are part-time and online. Adult learners may have to look at the Top 50 instead of the Top 20, but these part-time online MBA programs are accredited by AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, top 25% of business schools in the country).
Adult students will still need a good undergraduate GPA (usually over 3.0 and maybe 3.2) and a good GMAT score (high 500). Some of these schools have residency requirements, so students must come to campus for a 3-day orientation or a few weekends during the program.
Some of the most prestigious part-time online MBA programs are: Arizona State University, Drexel University, Indiana University Kelley Direct, Northeastern University, Penn State University, University of Baltimore, Boston University (not the MBA, but the MS Management with concentrations).
There are some definite advantages of distance learning programs. Most are online, but some schools offer DVDs of lectures or streaming video and other learning options. Online schools offer more program options. Students are not limited by the majors their local colleges offer. Online schools attract networking opportunities for employees from multiple industries across the US.
Disadvantages of distance learning programs are cost, limited access to instructors, and the online option may not suit all learning styles. Online schools are generally more expensive than local universities. Even state universities charge more for their online programs.
The top 20 MBA programs are generally full-time, classroom-based, competitive, and expensive. Other prestigious online MBA programs can work for adult students and allow them to keep their jobs and stay within their tuition reimbursement amounts.
