Cost and return · figures from each school’s own report
Is an MBA worth it? The answer depends on what you earn now
For a $90,000 earner, 13 of the 42 schools we can model end ten years below zero; at $150,000, all of them do.
Value over 10 years, after every cost
-$9,307
Total cost $231,475 · 10-year NPV -$9,307
| Tuition and fees, whole program | $122,911 |
| Living budget | $33,564 |
| Salary given up, 10 months | $75,000 |
| Total cost | $231,475 |
| Salary after: median base salary | $111,880 |
| 10-year net present value | -$9,307 |
| Return on the cost (present values) | -4% |
US dollars at the ECB rate of the last update. Raises of 5% a year with the MBA and 3% without, discounted at 5%, before tax. How this is calculated.
Built by Radif Partners · figures checked · Method · Editorial policy
An MBA is worth it when three things hold: the school places a real share of its class where you want to go, the salary it reports is well above yours, and you can carry the cost until the gap repays it. The model on this site tests the last two for 42 schools. For someone earning $60,000 today, Wharton repays its $349,842 total 2.6 years after graduation. At $100,000, the same degree takes 4.5 years; at $150,000, 9.7 years. INSEAD, shorter and cheaper, reports a lower salary, so its ten-year value turns negative from a current salary of about $89,000. Above roughly $125,000, even Wharton no longer pays back within ten years on salary alone, and the case rests on a change of career the figures cannot price.
Question one: does the school send people where you want to go?
No return calculation matters if the path you want does not run through the school. A program that places a large share of its class in consulting, or keeps most of its graduates in the country you want to live in, is a pipeline; one that places a few percent there leaves you to search on your own. The finder ranks schools on that share for each industry, finance segment and region. Start there, keep five or six names, and only then look at money.
Question two: is the gap big enough for your salary?
The calculator above tests this on any school. To show how strongly the answer depends on your starting point, here are three schools at three current salaries, with the same assumptions as everywhere on this site: the salary the school reports, raises of 5% a year after the degree and 3% without, a 5% discount rate, no tax and no scholarship.
| School | Earning $60,000 today | Earning $100,000 today | Earning $150,000 today | NPV reaches zero at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wharton | 2.6 years / $577,022 | 4.5 years / $223,936 | 9.7 years / -$217,421 | $125,000 |
| INSEAD | 3.7 years / $254,242 | 10.2 years / -$97,156 | over 30 years / -$536,404 | $89,000 |
| Texas McCombs | 2.8 years / $404,698 | 5.8 years / $51,612 | 16.7 years / -$389,745 | $106,000 |
Wharton reports a median base salary of $185,000, among the highest we read, and stays positive at the two lower levels and turns negative at $150,000. Texas McCombs costs $307,731 for the reference person, less than Wharton's $402,342, and its median base salary of $150,000 keeps it above zero until a current salary of about $106,000. INSEAD is the sharpest case: a short program with a moderate salary, positive for someone coming from a lower-paid job or a lower-wage country, and negative for someone who already earns close to what its graduates report.
INSEAD: when the MBA pays back, for your salary
Payback after graduation
7.6 years
| Total cost with the salary given up | $231,475 |
| Salary after (median base salary) | $111,880 |
| 10-year NPV | -$9,307 |
Same assumptions as the main calculator; US dollars.
Question three: can you carry the cost until it pays back?
A positive ten-year value does not pay the rent during the program. The total cost falls in the first one or two years, while the gains arrive over the next five to ten. Someone financing $402,342 at Wharton needs savings, a loan or a sponsor for the months of study and for the first years of repayment. Loan interest adds to the cost and lengthens the payback; the payback calculator with a loan shows by how much.
When the MBA does not pay back
13 of the 42 schools we can model end ten years below zero for a $90,000 earner, and all of them at $150,000. The pattern is the same in every case: the school reports a salary not far above what the applicant already earns, so the yearly gain is too small to cover a cost that includes one or two years of pay. That does not make those programs bad. It means the reason to go has to be something the salary line misses: a move to another country, a switch out of a shrinking industry, a network in a region, or a job that requires the degree.
Two figures should make you pause. If the hiring rate within three months is low, the reported salary describes a smaller group than it seems. If you earn more than the salary the school reports, every year after graduation shows a loss in the model, and only a different career path can change that. Run your own numbers in the tool, then check the ROI ranking for schools that fit your salary better.
The salary you give up while you study
Salary given up, net of the internship
$157,500
| Gross salary not earned | $157,500 |
| Per month away | $7,500 |
Pension contributions and raises you would have had are not counted here.