Note: all values are in USD

On the 21st of June, I crossed the stage in Northwestern’s Basketball Stadium, shook hands with Kellogg’s interim dean, stopped briefly for a photo, and then sat back down in my seat. Two of the most meaningful years of my life were over in that small moment.

 The abruptness of graduation day is shocking. The whole convocation event takes around two hours and, as soon as it is done, everybody leaves with their families for celebration dinners across the city. Within a few days, people have started moving across the country, and the world, to their new cities. Everything you had known over the last two years fragments, and you switch from relaxed school mode to dealing with admin craziness mode (for me, that was arranging my visa, getting an apartment, and moving). You barely get any time to stop and think.

Thankfully, I’ve had a pretty relaxing summer between finishing at Kellogg and restarting at BCG on 9 September. Through time spent with my own mind, and discussions with people I know about my MBA experience, I’ve come to one big realisation.

An MBA is not worth the cost.

Look, my MBA at Kellogg was the single greatest experience of my life for many reasons.

 An MBA all but guarantees personal development. You spend two years away from your regular life, in a bubble with hundreds of other people going through the same life transition. You have ample free time to contemplate life and engage with new experiences and ideas. You constantly think about who you are, what things you value the most, what you want do to with your life, and why a Product Management role at [insert generic Tech firm] is the most fulfilling thing that could ever happen to you. In all seriousness, I’m a much better person from having done an MBA. Part of that comes from classes such as Personal Leadership Insights (where we learn about who we are and how we can best lead teams) and Selling Yourself and Your Ideas (where we learn to hold a point of view and build effective business relationships through networking and storytelling). A lot more comes from being surrounded by people who are different (and most often better) than you and copying the things that they do best. Many of the ways that I grew (especially in terms of dealing with people who have very different thinking methods to me) was from failing in team environments, seeing others do better, and then asking them about how they operated.

But the people that surround you aren’t just design inspirations for creating the perfect version of you. Instead, they will end up becoming some of the closest and most interesting friends you will ever meet. I’m actually writing this from Argentinian Patagonia, where I’m spending a week skiing with a friend from Kellogg and his family. During an MBA, you meet people who are similar to you (driven, individuals who are seeking a major life change) but also different (from different backgrounds, countries, life experiences). The fact that you live next to each other, spend most days with each other, and go on countless domestic and international trips with each other, accelerates the friendship process. You can’t help but make lifelong friends during that MBA.

On top of that, you’ll learn a lot. The classes at a top-tier MBA school are variable at best. You’re going to have some absolutely spectacular classes and teachers, as well as some absolute duds. I was lucky enough to have quite a few more stars than duds, and am the better for it.

If this is all you look at, an MBA seems like a no-brainer. But it comes at a great cost.

Firstly, there’s the sheer incremental dollar cost of an MBA. During your time at business school, you’ll not only have to pay for the things that you were paying for in your regular life (rent, food, clothing etc.), but for the privilege of being given the finest education that civilisation and capitalism has created. At Kellogg, tuition is $150,000. On top of that, you also have to pay for: health insurance ($9,000) and ‘Fees’ that the school charges on top of tuition ($3,000). A lot of the socialising at Kellogg happens on trips outside of Kellogg during the numerous breaks between quarters, which means that you’re paying for flights, hotels, and whatever you’re actually doing. At a low-end estimate of $3,000 per break, that comes to $21,000. Add this all up and you’re already down ~$185,000. Realistically, the damage is a lot more (especially if you start to account for the extra nights out, costumes etc. that you would never have spent money on if you were living a productive working life).

 On top of this is the cost than many people don’t think about – the opportunity cost of spending 2 years and 3 months out of the workforce. If you were earning US$80,000 a year, you’ve cost yourself $135,000 post-tax. If you were at a consulting firm and would have been promoted to a post-MBA role regardless of whether you actually did an MBA or not, you’ve cost yourself double that amount.

This means that the actual cost of the MBA could range from $320,000 to $400,000+

Think about all the things that you could spend that money on instead of the ‘MBA experience’:

• 25% of a house less than 10 minutes away from Manly Beach

• A third of a US Congressional seat

• 200,000 mosquito nets in developing countries

In the end, each person needs to think about the things that they could spend the $320-400,000 on and whether those things are worth more than the ‘MBA experience’.

So is an MBA worth it?

No, if you’re paying the full cost and aren’t making a major transition (e.g. from military/non-profit, from international to the US, or to a role that requires an MBA – e.g. search funds)

Yes, if you’re not paying the full cost (scholarship, sponsorship, rich parents) or are making a major transition, then probably yes.