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MBA Salary to Tuition Ratio

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ROI For Top MBA Programs

Comparing Full-time MBA Median Starting Salary to Total Out-of-State Tuition

What is the ROI for an MBA?

The Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business has created a new ‘MBA Salary to Tuition Ratio’ tool for evaluating top-ranked MBA programs. The ratio compares the median salary of full-time MBA program graduates to the total out-of-state tuition and fees for the two-year-program, allowing prospective students to gauge a program's cost-effectiveness. The tool can serve as a valuable indicator in assessing top-ranked programs and their potential return on investment (ROI).

If a salary to tuition ratio is high, it means that graduates typically earn a salary that is high relative to the total cost of tuition, making the program a stronger investment. On the other hand, a low ratio implies that the starting salary is not as high compared to tuition cost, indicating that the program may not offer as favorable of an ROI.

Other ROI Factors to Consider

Aside from the MBA salary to tuition ratio, other considerations such as program reputation, desired career path, scholarships and fellowships, cost of living, and overall job market for MBA degree holders should also be taken into account. However, the salary to tuition ratio remains a useful tool in making an informed decision about your educational investment.

Salary to Tuition Ratio U.S. News & World Report Ranking School Median Starting Salary (Class of 2022) Tuition and Fees (Out-of-State Total) % Received Offer
0.97 08 (Tie) Yale University

$160,000

$165,400

95.7%

1.12 08 (Tie) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Ross)

$165,000

$147,056

99.0%

1.06 06 (Tie) Dartmouth College (Tuck)

$175,000

$165,442

98.0%

1.15 14 University of Virginia (Darden)

$175,000

$152,600

98.0%

0.98 15 (Tie) Cornell University (Johnson)

$154,853*

$157,418

97.0%

1.00 18 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)

$148,067*

$147,456

97.0%*

0.98 19 University of California, Los Angeles (Anderson)

$145,000

$149,248

93.9%

1.11 20 (Tie) University of Texas, Austin (McCombs)

$129,854

$117,440

94.3%

1.08 17 Emory University (Goizueta)

$165,000

$151,689

98.0%§

1.10 24 (Tie) Rice University (Jones)

$152,000*

$138,000

89.9%§

1.62 26 Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller)

$136,819*

$84,516

100.0%

1.04 03 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

$175,000

$167,748

98.7%

1.09 01 University of Chicago (Booth)

$175,000

$161,051

96.8%

1.02 10 New York University (Stern)

$170,000

$166,330

94.1%

1.07 11 (Tie) Duke University (Fuqua)

$160,055

$150,000

98.0%

1.05 15 (Tie) University of Southern California (Marshall)

$150,314*

$143,560

97.0%§

0.92 22 (Tie) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flager)

$133,517

$145,018

96.0%

1.05 24 (Tie) Georgetown University (McDonough)

$138,552*

$131,344

96.0%

1.16 22 (Tie) Indiana University (Kelley)

$130,000

$111,666

96.2%

1.28 20 (Tie) University of Washington (Foster)

$143,203

$112,254

99.0%

1.02 27 (Tie) Vanderbilt University (Owen)

$139,711*

$136,640

97.0%

1.02 30 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)

$130,000

$126,880

96.0%

0.82 27 (Tie) The University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal)

$106,000*

$129,878

96.0%

1.00 02 Northwestern University (Kellogg)

$165,000

$163,572

99.0%

1.11 06 (Tie) Stanford University

$175,000

$157,146

93.0%

0.99 04 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)

$165,000

$165,992

96.6%§

1.08 05 Harvard University

$175,000

$162,748

95.0%

1.01 11 (Tie) University of California, Berkeley (Haas)

$155,000

$152,866

93.8%

1.03 11 (Tie) Columbia University

$175,000

$169,150

95.0%

1.53 27 (Tie) University of Rochester (Simon)

$162,000

$105,816

95.0%

* Median starting salary data not available, mean starting salary data is used
† Class of 2022 data not available, Class of 2021 data is used
‡ Median starting salary and Class of 2021 data is used
§ % received offer data not available, % accepted offer data is used

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