I am looking for a budget online MBA program ranked among the top 50 in USA

[rachel83az]

I'm always a bit confused by people who say they want a "top ranked" school, without really knowing what that means. If you don't know the difference between a R90 school and a R150 school, what makes you think hiring managers are going to know either? Unless you're aiming for something very specific, there are the super prestige degrees (Harvard, Yale, Wharton, etc), the infamous degrees, and everyone else.

Hiring managers aren't going to compare school ranks before offering a job. They'll either be familiar with (or think they're familiar with) the school for some reason or they won't. Go with the program that seems the best to you and don't worry too much about whether it's ranked 100th, 200th, etc.

[Pats20]

I agree. Most hiring mgrs may know “elite” top 10 schools. But most won’t know 20th from 50th.  They will of course recognize great schools.
UiUC
Boston University
Vanderbilt.
Ect ect. But where they rank specifically prolly not.

I would say for 95% companies and everything else being equal A top 150 school and a good interview would all be equal outside of Ivy League  or top 10

On another note. I’m not so sure that a mba from a school lower than top 100 or so would be better than a specialization masters like accounting or finance. I think if I was going to go to a lower tier school I would pick a specialization masters. That’s just my opinion. I may be totally out in left field.

[ThatBankDude]

I think it is important to factor in your goals. 50 is not old by any means but I do believe the MBA will be less helpful for you versus a 25-30 year old. At your point in your career, your achievements are far more important and therefore, I’d pay less attention to prestige and more attention to cost…this coming from a guy who graduated from Duke in May. Be smart and do not let the prestige factor get to you.

[bjcheung77]

That's right, I usually would recommend those that are within your budget, time (1.5-2 year completion), and have courses that interest you, as each MBA may have concentrations or added certificates, etc. Find the ones that most interest you and create a short list of them, then drop that list to your top 3, and backup 3, and if need further drop that down to your final choices. You may want to do the ones on coursera/edx (such as Boston U, or something similar).

[Pats20]

I think it is important to factor in your goals. 50 is not old by any means but I do believe the MBA will be less helpful for you versus a 25-30 year old. At your point in your career, your achievements are far more important and therefore, I’d pay less attention to prestige and more attention to cost…this coming from a guy who graduated from Duke in May. Be smart and do not let the prestige factor get to you.

I think this is very good sound advice.

[Vle045]

I will chime in to say, place more weight on a program that has what you need rather than ranking. There’s a ton of “rankings” out there. The school I am at is considered a top 10 ranked online school with Poets & Quants. Other lists wouldn’t even consider it. The tipping point for me was the way the program is laid out and the extreme discount I am able to get. It’s usually $40k+. I will likely spend around $4,000 total. I will probably be 50 when I finish. So the degree is just a little edge.

Good luck in whatever you decide. Just make sure you consider the actual program more so than the ranking.

[Pats20]

I will chime in to say, place more weight on a program that has what you need rather than ranking.  There’s a ton of “rankings” out there. The school I am at is considered a top 10 ranked online school with Poets & Quants.  Other lists wouldn’t even consider it.  The tipping point for me was the way the program is laid out and the extreme discount I am able to get.  It’s usually $40k+.  I will likely spend around $4,000 total.  I will probably be 50 when I finish.  So the degree is just a little edge.  

Good luck in whatever you decide.  Just make sure you consider the actual program more so than the ranking.

That’s an incredible benefit. $40k for $4k. Great job !

[Duneranger]

Hello all, found this forum last weekend, found lot of useful information. I learnt more about certain programs in just half a day compared to what I learnt in the past week of digging online. Thank you very much for sharing.

I am 50 and currently a senior manager in a fairly large company. There may be one more promotion left in me and I would like to equip myself with a MBA degree to enable it. I don't thing an expensive MBA adding a lot of value for me, at this stage of my career, from ROI point of view.

I am looking for a budget online MBA program, with no specific specialization in mind. My main expectations are:
1. Online only 
2. Budget, willing to spend a maximum of $35k
3. the school should be accredited (AASCB is my preference, I might go with ACBSP if there is a compelling reason)
4. I want the school to be ranked among the top 50 in USA. ***
5. I am willing to spend upto 2 years on this program

Most of the MBA programs listed in this thread are definitely within my budget, however most of them do not fare well in terms of US News rankings. 

***I compared rankings for schools offering online MBA, I tried "US News", "Princeton" and "Poets and Quants". These 3 companies have similar results for top 10 schools, and somewhat aligned on the next 10-20 schools, however beyond 20 the rest of the schools were very different by these three companies.

1. It seems me that "US News" has better recognition for their rankings compared to the other 2 companies. Is this a fair conclusion?
2. In the absence of standardized ratings for schools offering online MBA, I would like to understand, how valuable is the Ranking provided by "US News"? Am I chasing something that is not valuable?

I found the below schools satisfying my criteria

University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium; Ranked -9; Tuition-$29700
University of Massachusetts - Amherst; Ranked -12; Tuition-$33300
Ball State University; Ranked -19; Tuition-$27040
University of South Florida (Muma); Ranked -19; Tuition-$34200
Oklahoma State University (Spears); Ranked -27; Tuition-$17490
Rawls College of Business; Ranked -33; Tuition-$23058
University of Massachusetts--Lowell; Ranked -35; Tuition-$35370
University of Memphis (Fogelman); Ranked -45; Tuition-$25308

I will appreciate different insights and thought processes.

I would go with UIUC or BU

I know guys who went to UIUC (online) and they weren't impressed. Tons of international students enrolled which makes collaboration difficult apparently.

You can't do better than UMich for online. I'd even look at Indiana or BU as you noted.

[Pats20]

Hello all, found this forum last weekend, found lot of useful information. I learnt more about certain programs in just half a day compared to what I learnt in the past week of digging online. Thank you very much for sharing.

I am 50 and currently a senior manager in a fairly large company. There may be one more promotion left in me and I would like to equip myself with a MBA degree to enable it. I don't thing an expensive MBA adding a lot of value for me, at this stage of my career, from ROI point of view.

I am looking for a budget online MBA program, with no specific specialization in mind. My main expectations are:
1. Online only 
2. Budget, willing to spend a maximum of $35k
3. the school should be accredited (AASCB is my preference, I might go with ACBSP if there is a compelling reason)
4. I want the school to be ranked among the top 50 in USA. ***
5. I am willing to spend upto 2 years on this program

Most of the MBA programs listed in this thread are definitely within my budget, however most of them do not fare well in terms of US News rankings. 

***I compared rankings for schools offering online MBA, I tried "US News", "Princeton" and "Poets and Quants". These 3 companies have similar results for top 10 schools, and somewhat aligned on the next 10-20 schools, however beyond 20 the rest of the schools were very different by these three companies.

1. It seems me that "US News" has better recognition for their rankings compared to the other 2 companies. Is this a fair conclusion?
2. In the absence of standardized ratings for schools offering online MBA, I would like to understand, how valuable is the Ranking provided by "US News"? Am I chasing something that is not valuable?

I found the below schools satisfying my criteria

University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium; Ranked -9; Tuition-$29700
University of Massachusetts - Amherst; Ranked -12; Tuition-$33300
Ball State University; Ranked -19; Tuition-$27040
University of South Florida (Muma); Ranked -19; Tuition-$34200
Oklahoma State University (Spears); Ranked -27; Tuition-$17490
Rawls College of Business; Ranked -33; Tuition-$23058
University of Massachusetts--Lowell; Ranked -35; Tuition-$35370
University of Memphis (Fogelman); Ranked -45; Tuition-$25308

I will appreciate different insights and thought processes.

I would go with UIUC or BU

I know guys who went to UIUC (online) and they weren't impressed. Tons of international students enrolled which makes collaboration difficult apparently.

You can't do better than UMich for online. I'd even look at Indiana or BU as you noted.

Yes I would agree Michigan is among the best of the best. $130k for an online MBA is waaay outta my league. Indiana is top notch and a tad cheaper at just $90k. My vote is for Boston U @ $24k.

[Imbanewbie]

I will chime in to say, place more weight on a program that has what you need rather than ranking.  There’s a ton of “rankings” out there. The school I am at is considered a top 10 ranked online school with Poets & Quants.  Other lists wouldn’t even consider it.  The tipping point for me was the way the program is laid out and the extreme discount I am able to get.  It’s usually $40k+.  I will likely spend around $4,000 total.  I will probably be 50 when I finish.  So the degree is just a little edge.  

Good luck in whatever you decide.  Just make sure you consider the actual program more so than the ranking.

Nice, very good deal for 4k