What’s the Right Business School Program for Me?

Todd emails: Thinking about going to business school
to get my MBA. Do certain schools offer a bigger
bang for your buck? I'll most likely take out loans to
pay for tuition.
While it would be ideal to earn a full ride to, say,
Harvard Business School, most people pursuing a
Master’s in Business Administration will need a
viable Plan B – namely, a program that meets their
career objectives while carrying a price tag that
doesn’t keep them indebted for decades to come.
(For what it’s worth, the top three schools with the
highest average indebtedness of full-time MBA
students are New York University, University of
Virginia and Duke University, according to U.S. News
and World Report. The average debt loads at these
schools all surpass $100,000. That’s relatively high,
but if you earn $100,000 or more upon graduating,
keep your spending straight and are free of other
debts, it’s not unmanageable.)
In lieu of offering you a short list of “bang for your
buck” MBA schools, I urge you to do the homework
yourself and consider the following factors
recommended by a couple of MBA admissions pros:
Irene Hurst, director of MBA programs at the
University of South Florida, says prospective MBAs
should first consider where they are in their career
trajectory. Timing matters. If you’re fresh out of
college with little work experience, a top-tier school
could be money well spent. It can open doors for a
novice, thanks partly to connections. If you’re mid-
career, though, where you go to school won’t make
as big of a difference, she says.
Also ask yourself: Why do I want an MBA? What do I
plan to do with it? If your goal is to just get promoted
at your current employer, no need to apply to name-
brand elite schools. Stay local and go somewhere
that’s inexpensive or offers you a generous aid
package. Or see about attending a part-time or
executive MBA program at night, in which case,
maybe your employer can provide educational
support.
If your aim is to make a career change or move up
the ranks in business world, narrowing your area of
focus should help you narrow your list of suitable
programs. “Look for a school that has focused
programs with emerging areas in your field.
Competitive intelligence, for example, is a hot
concept right in business and having studied it will
give you an edge in the job market,” says Hurst.
Once you’ve identified the area of business you’d like
to pursue, Wendy Flynn, who runs the consulting firm
MBA Admissions Coach, says to review MBA rankings
to develop your own detailed ranking "short-list." U.S.
News and World Report, Businessweek and The
Financial Times provide some of the better-known
rankings. “Include information such as tuition,
program length, average starting salary, percent of
students placed at graduation and at three months
after graduation,” says Flynn. She recommends
applying to three to five schools.
And don’t wait for the free money to come to you.
Your dream school – at first glance - may be
financially out of reach. It’s up to you to find ways to
make it a better value. “MBA applicants don't realize
that scholarship offers from MBA programs can
often be negotiated to a higher amount,” says Flynn.
“I worked with a client last year who was able to
effectively and professionally negotiate her
scholarship from a total amount of $20,000 to
$40,000.”
Daniel writes: What is your obligation when a
collector takes over a debt? Are you obligated to pay?
What can you do legally?
If you hear from a debt collector that’s a sign the
creditor means business. The bank, retailer or
cellphone company is now paying out of its own
pocket to outsource a collection agency to resolve the
outstanding debt. Prepare to pay up. Otherwise, it’s
not uncommon for debt collection agencies to sue.
One scenario in which you wouldn’t be legally
obligated to pay is if the debt is “time-barred” – in
other words, expired. That means the date since the
bill was first due has surpassed a certain period,
usually several years. The statute of limitations varies
from state to state and for various kinds of debts.
Here’s the full list.
According to the FTC, if a collection agency tries to
sue you to collect a time-barred debt, you have every
right to reject it by telling the court your debt has
officially expired. Consider it your Get Out of Jail Free
card. The agency can still call and ask you to pay back
the debt, but it just can’t sue. You can also make a
request in writing for them to stop calling you, and
they’re required by law to oblige.
It’s critical to know the time status of your debt
before speaking to any collectors, as they may not be
so forthcoming about the fact that your debt is time-
barred. According to the FTC’s website, even agreeing
to make a partial payment over the phone, in some
states, can reset the clock “and a new statute of
limitations begins.” This means the collector can
possibly sue you to collect the debt in full, along with
interest and fees.