When it comes to international MBA destinations, the United States is easily the top one. With its range of top B-schools such as Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, Yale, etc., it is a dream come true for many to be a part of these MBA programs! More than 50 of the top 100 MBA programs are from the US, and there is a good reason for this huge number.
The MBA degree comes in many shapes and sizes. Some B-schools may offer you a one-year full time course while others will only provide a 2 year course. There are also part-time and executive level MBA programs available.
Of course, the cost for studying these various degrees is not the same. And apart from the tuition fee, there are other expenditures to consider for you as well. In this article we will discuss the fee structures of the different top MBA programs in the USA, the various other costs to consider, and how to manage them!
Tuition Fee for MBA in USA
The tuition fee is the largest segment of your MBA cost. Here are the average tuition fees charged by some of the top B-schools in the USA.
| Program Name | Duration | Basic Tuition (Approx.) |
| Stanford University MBA | 2 years | $73,000/year |
| Harvard University MBA, 2+2 MBA |
2 years | $73,400/year |
| University of Pennsylvania – Wharton, MBA | 20 months | $81,400/first year |
| University of Chicago –Booth, Full Time MBA | 2 years | $72,000/9 months |
| University of Chicago –Booth, Evening/Weekend MBA | 2.5 – 3 years | $7,200/course Courses required to complete degree: 20 plus LEAD |
| MIT – Sloan, MBA | 2 years | $77,200 |
| Columbia University, MBA | 2 years | $77,400/year |
| University of California – Berkeley Haas, MBA | 2 years | $64,700/year |
| Yale School of Management, MBA | 2 years | $72,400/year |
| Northwestern University – Kellogg, Two Year MBA | 2 years | $73,400/year |
| Northwestern University – Kellogg, One Year MBA | 1 year | $101,300 |
| Dartmouth College – Tuck, MBA | 2 years | $75,100/year |
If an executive MBA degree is what you are aiming for, then here are the stats for the same –
| Program Name | Duration | Tuition |
| Wharton, EMBA | 2 years | $210,900 full |
| University of Chicago –Booth, EMBA | 21 months | $194,000 full |
| MIT EMBA | 20 months | $178,300 full |
| Columbia University, EMBA | 2 years | $208,700 full |
| University of California – Berkeley Haas, EMBA | 19 months | $194,000 full |
| Yale School of Management, EMBA | 2 years | $187,500 full |
| Northwestern University – Kellogg, EMBA | 2 years | $213,500 full |
At a glance, these numbers may seem quite large; but, what you need to really consider is the ROI! Some of the factors that you should keep in mind are the time taken for MBA students from each individual institution to pay back their study costs; the average salary enjoyed by MBA grads from each institution; the average salary increment, etc.
It’s most likely that the American MBA is a longer-term financial investment than other courses in different countries. However, the financial rewards are correspondingly greater, both in terms of the average salary that one might be able to expect to earn, and the overall long-term ROI.
Living Cost
Living in the USA for an international student means calculating your expenditure beforehand! A common mistake that many applicants make is that they only consider the tuition fee as their MBA expenditure. Whereas, there are plenty of other costs to consider.
Here is a quick breakdown of the same:
| Per month | New York City (NY) | San Francisco (CA) | Houston (TX) | Chicago (IL) | Seattle (WA) |
| Food | $480 | $410 | $270 | $350 | $400 |
| Rent for one BHK | $2,000 – $3,200 | $2,800-$3,400 | $950-$1,400 | $1,200-$1,800 | $1,600-$2,000 |
| Household Cost | $1,200 | $1,200 | $800 | $980 | $1,100 |
Depending on the city you choose to live in, the average costs will widely differ. So, when you are planning the MBA cost for study in the USA, you need to ensure that you choose the right city and thereby the right MBA program.
How to manage costs?
The good news is that there are plenty of scholarships available to fund your MBA program in the USA. The general rule is that the better the ranking of a school, the higher its scholarship amount is likely to be.
A B-school such as Princeton provides need-based aid at an average of $53,100 (INR 37.9 lakh) per student. If you are an international applicant to the University of Pennsylvania you can tap into a repository of aid worth $9 million. The average grant provided by Harvard is $60,000+ per student.
The list goes on and on!
So, if you manage to bag one of the scholarships at your dream B-school you can consider that a large part of your tuition fee will be paid off! Here is a look at the scholarship amounts of some of the top B-schools in the world:
| School | Total Scholarships | Average Grant | % of MBAs on Scholarship |
| Harvard Business School | $31.5 million | $32,000 | 50% |
| Wharton | $16.9 million | $30,500 | 33% |
| Chicago (Booth) | $16.3 million | $30,000 | 60% |
| Stanford GSB | $15.7 million | $35,830 | 52% |
| Michigan (Ross) | $15.4 million | $22,360 | 48% |
| New York (Stern) | $12.8 million | $26,400 | 62% |
| UCLA (Anderson) | $12.1 million | $25,860 | 65% |
| Northwestern (Kellogg) | $11.8 million | $22,800 | 35% |
| Columbia Business School | $10.1 million | $20,500 | 46% |
| Virginia (Darden) | $8.4 million | $30,800 | 43% |
| MIT (Sloan) | $8.1 million | $28,220 | 35% |
| Duke (Fuqua) | $7.1 million | $20,950 | 33% |
| Rice (Jones) | $6.7 million | $33,320 | 94% |
| Yale School of Management | $6.2 million | $23,028 | 31% |
| UC-Berkeley (Haas) | $5.8 million | $29,060 | 50% |
| Cornell (Johnson) | $5.7 million | $12,000 | 33% |
| Dartmouth (Tuck) | $5.4 million | $27,550 | 35% |
| Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) | $5.3 million | $21,853 | 57% |
| Emory Business School(Goizueta) | $5.0 million | $24,905 | 57% |
| Georgetown (McDonough) | $3.3 million | $30,000 | 27% |
There are also community-focused scholarships from many Universities that you should consider applying for. One of the popular ones is The American University Emerging Global Leader Scholarship (AU EGL), offered by the American University (Washington DC) to undergraduate students who are active in social and civic activities. While it is offered in any field of undergraduate study, it is aimed at students who seek to work with under-served communities in their home country. And as long as you maintain your grades the scholarships can be renewed annually. For an Indian student contemplating overseas MBA, this is a perfect opportunity!
What you need to remember is that each university has different aid and scholarship requirements and offerings. So, once you are done with shortlisting your target B-schools, start finding out about all the different forms of financial aid they provide.
The college-sponsored grants and aid opportunities are not your only financial option. There are a number of outside institutions (both within India and other respective countries) that sponsor students who wish to study abroad. Once again, these scholarships are based on either merit or need, or both. For example, The Tata Education and Development Trust has endowed Cornell University with $25 million (INR 178,48,87,500) to financially aid meritorious underprivileged Indian students. There are a total of 20 scholarships offered. You can also apply for the TOEFL Scholarship which offers 15 merit-based scholarships ($7000 each—about INR 4.7 lakh) for academic expenses of undergraduate students at any of the universities listed in the TOEFL destinations directory.
Cracking a top-tier MBA in the USA is one of the best steps you can take in your career. And if you know the fee structure beforehand then financing your MBA degree anywhere in the world will not be an issue at all!
Here is a video to help you understand how you can get top-tier MBA scholarships to help fund your tuition fee –
MBA Scholarship Abroad- Tips from Jatin Bhandari who generated 100 crores+ of scholarships
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