With hundreds of options to choose from, finding an MBA program that best fits your life needs and career goals can be challenging. And with cost of attendance adding up to over $200,000 at some schools, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
One of the main goals of an MBA is to get ahead in your career, which in most cases can lead to a greater salary and financial security. The good news is that according to a survey by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (the organization behind the GMAT), nearly 9 out of 10 graduate business school alumni reported having a positive return on investment with their degree.
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At some of the most affordable MBA programs—costing less than $50,000—the return on investment (ROI) can range from 32.2% to 107%, based on previous Fortune analysis.
And for those in the workforce that also may have family obligations, working on an MBA through a part-time program may be an effective solution to get ahead while still keeping your paycheck.
According to Isser Gallogly, associate dean of MBA admissions at the NYU Stern School of Business, pursuing an MBA within one of the largest business capitals of the world is worth the investment. Stern is ranked No. 2 among Fortune’s rankings of the best part-time MBA programs.
Estimated total tuition and fees at Stern’s part-time program total is just over $170,000 over the course of an average of three years. But afterward, graduates of the program have seen their salaries increase on average by 52%, according to data collected by the university. So, for individuals living in and around New York—as well as online—obtaining a part-time MBA from NYU could be a way to get ahead.
“With a program like ours, I think that you can really see that even though the tuition is a significant investment, you can see that the return is actually rather impressive as well,” says Gallogly.
Advancing your career—on your own time
On top of location and ROI, what sets Stern’s part-time program apart from others, Gallogly says, is the program’s experienced faculty—both tenured as well as adjuncts also working in the field directly.
“There’s just a lot of really different ways for people to pursue their education and have it work around their work schedule, their life,” Gallogly tells Fortune. “So I think the quality is one thing that separates us, the size is another thing that separates us, and the flexibility.”
Within the part-time MBA program, the school offers 27 specializations to choose from, the likes of healthcare, fintech, and brand management. Students can take courses in the evenings, on Saturdays, or even online, and it takes about two to six years to complete the degree.
The ability to slow down or speed up your journey toward the degree caters to people’s real-world needs, Gallogly says.
“You have to be really smart about choosing the right program that meets your objectives,” Gallogly adds. “Because when you’re talking about a return on investment—if you’re gonna invest as much money in a program, you’re going to spend as much time and effort on it—you really should choose the program that’s going to be best suited to get you to your objective.”
Value for life
Stern alumni are notably able to audit two graduate-level electives every year for the rest of their life—free of charge. This adds up to a value of $15,000 per year.
And with technology constantly changing rapidly, this can be a beneficial way to enhance your skill set. Today, alumni can take courses on in-demand subject matter like ChatGPT, cryptocurrency, and blockchain.
“The free classes for life are really important and part of our value proposition because the landscape is continuously changing,” Gallogly says. “You have to stay on top of it. And so alumni have the ability to basically audit the classes virtually.”
By doing so, alumni can constantly have a competitive edge in the marketplace—something that is especially when paired alongside Stern’s career services, which graduates can also access anytime.
Regardless, the most important factor in choosing an MBA program is picking the one that best fits your life as well as career goals. For those especially interested in salary outcomes, GMAC’s ROI calculator is a useful tool to see for yourself the potential growth opportunities associated with an MBA.
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