But it doesn't offer anything. An average doesn't guarantee someone getting that degree anything. It's still up to the individual to do the work, get the interviews, land the job and then succeed at it.
It's flawed thinking to assume that just because one attends a certain school that they are guaranteed some return from it.
If someone wants to attend a big name school and pay a lot of money to get that MBA, they are certainly entitled to feel superior to all the low-level state school scum. Doesn't mean the state school scum can't out work, out think and perform better with greater return than someone who overpays so they can brag about their big name school piece of paper.
Averages are useful in that they paint an accurate picture of the outcomes a would-be student can expect. Yes, you can be a Special Little Snowflake and do much better, but I don't think you should invest tens of thousands of dollars in the hopes that it works out that way. Odds are, it won't.
This isn't about bragging about the school you went to, inflating your ego, making yourself feel superior, or "state school scum." (lol wut) It's simply math, and real world dollars and cents.
Berkeley Haas MBA. Cost of tuition: $112k (non-resident). Average base salary: $123k/yr with an average signing bonus of $28k. 62% of students go into tech or consulting. Top employers include Google, Adobe, Deloitte, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs.
Michigan State Broad MBA. Cost of tuition: $90k (non-resident). Average base salary: $100k/r with an average signing bonus of $15k. Over half of students go into supply chain. Top employers include General Motors, Cummins, Mars, Intel, Amazon.
There are cheap schools that are worth the money, and cheap schools that aren't. There are expensive schools that are worth the money, and expensive schools that aren't. MBA programs vary quite a bit, and you should start by defining your aspirations before you look into the cost of attendance.
And this is just ridiculous. As someone with almost 20 years in industry now, hiring and working with people from all sizes of schools, the name of the school from which the MBA came had absolutely no bearing on the talent or aptitude of the person holding the degree. I've worked with idiots that came from Columbia and some of the smartest people I've ever worked with from schools like CS Northridge.
You're strawmanning my argument. I never said or even implied that the reputation of your MBA was commensurate with your professional ability.
But it's simply a fact that, if you go to a school like Columbia, recruiters from companies like Goldman Sachs, BCG, Microsoft, etc. are going to come to campus and want to talk to you. If you go to an online school, or some school that no one has ever heard of, you are not going to get those same opportunities.
And of course, I'm only talking about your first post-MBA job. After years and years of experience, no one cares. But if you go to Michigan State for your MBA and get your first job working at an auto supplier, your career trajectory is going to be different from someone that went to Cornell and joined an investment bank.
