In fact, you may be able to obtain a highly-marketable MBA degree and save a significant amount of money by taking classes online. If you're looking at pursuing your MBA, we'll lay out some reasons why an MBA from an online program may be a better option than a traditional school.
1) Starting salary versus total savings.
Research shows that starting salaries for prestigious on-campus MBA graduates is around the $115,000 mark, whereas online MBA graduates are a little lower, at around $105,000.
While this is around an 8% difference in starting salary, online MBA graduates may actually come out ahead in other ways - namely, cost savings associated with attending an online MBA program.
Most on-campus MBA programs require students to pay full tuition and fees - $150,000 or more for a full-time program, from top Ivy League schools. This includes living expenses, with an average $20,000 or more for room and board at a prestigious business school like Wharton or Harvard.
A Bloomberg BusinessWeek survey discovered that MBA students often took out student loans of over $100,000 - and with student loan debt being one of the major issues facing the U.S. economy today, it may be worth considering how much you're willing to spend on an MBA program.
By comparison, the average cost of online MBA programs ranges from $11,000 to $25,000, and you'll also save on living expenses.
2) Increased flexibility for part-time work while studying.
When you attend an on-campus MBA program, your options for working part-time while studying are severely limited. It's very difficult to work part-time while studying almost full-time at an on-campus program.
On the other hand, an online MBA program gives you a greater degree of schedule flexibility. As many online MBA classes allow you to study at your own pace, you can set your own schedule and work around your classes.
Being able to work part-time will also contribute to your overall financial stability while putting yourself through school, and you'll come out with less debt in the end.
3) Employment opportunities are nearly the same.
Employment opportunities for online MBA graduates aren't that much different than their on-campus counterparts. True, some top global corporations may prefer recruiting on-campus MBA graduates, but that's more to do with campus networking culture.
In recent years, the quality gap between online MBA courses and on-campus courses has diminished significantly, to the point they are practically parallel in terms of value.
An online MBA graduate will find nearly the same employment opportunities as an on-campus graduate, and in fact, more companies are viewing online MBA programs as a viable way of upskilling their workforce.
The top B-schools such as Harvard and UPenn have an elite status that adds an advantage to an MBA graduate's resume, but increasingly, employers are looking at the quality of specific MBA programs, rather than on-campus vs online credentials.
So overall, an employer is not going to be very much concerned with whether you obtained your MBA online or on-campus. What they're more concerned with is the reputation of the program, and the individual skills and traits that the candidate can bring to the table.
Final thoughts - is an online MBA right for you?
There are several things to consider before committing to an online MBA program.
First, consider what's most important to you. If you want to work and study on your own schedule and from wherever you want, an online MBA may be best for you.
If you're concerned about the name-value of prestigious schools, do your research on the most reputable online MBA programs which have achieved high rankings for their post-graduate satisfaction.
And if you're concerned about the cost, remember that many top online MBA programs are less expensive than their on-campus counterparts, and you'll be able to pay back your investment more quickly.