" What Graduating MBAs Say "

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One of the things everybody considers before deciding to go for an MBA is what the value of the degree will be to them.

We thought it would be helpful to your decision making to learn what MBA students about to graduate say about what the MBA means to them.

We know from our surveys that despite varying backgrounds, schools, and career aspirations, most graduating MBAs feel that the overall value of the MBA degree is high, and most say they are satisfied with the benefits of the degree. MBAs also report that they have more career opportunities and a significant oost in pay as a result of their degree.

Each year, the Graduate Management Admission Council® surveys thousands of graduating MBAs to ask questions about—

what they expected from their MBA programs and post-MBA employment,
how satisfied they are with their degree, and
what career paths they chose.

This article is based on information we received from more than 5,300 MBAs from the graduating class of 2008 who participated in the Global MBA® Graduate Survey. These MBAs come from a variety of full-time, part-time, and executive MBA programs and schools around the world. Although the information we share in this article is from our 2008 survey, it is largely consistent with what we have heard from graduating MBAs every year since we first conducted the survey in 2000

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How Graduating MBAs Rate Their MBA Experience

Most graduating MBAs are very positive about the value of their degree, compared with the monetary cost of earning it. Sixty-six percent rate the overall value of their degree as outstanding or excellent, and another 26% rate it as good

But what does "MBA value" mean to the class of 2008? When the graduating MBA students we surveyed rated the value of their degree, they took into account three different kinds of benefits of the degree: the instrumental benefits (what the degree would help them achieve), the personal benefits (how the degree helped them grow as individuals), and the intellectual benefits (what they were able to learn).

The most important influences over how highly people rate the value of their degree are the quality of their school and program (particularly the curriculum, faculty, and school culture) and how they feel about the benefits of the degree (for instance, how it will increase their earning power and job opportunities, help them improve personally, and help them develop their knowledge and skills).

So, when it comes time for you to choose your MBA school and program, remember that quality counts, and be sure to know what you are looking for in terms of the benefits of the degree—it's likely to make you happier with the value of your MBA once you graduate.

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Bottom Line: MBA Salaries

But what about those salary perks? We've learned from surveys of corporate recruiters and MBAs that the salaries paid to MBA graduates are higher than those paid to people right out of college and people who graduated with other kinds of master's degrees.

The typical MBA in the class of expects a 54% increase over their pre-MBA salary–an immediate return on the MBA investment.

Of course, the typical salary is an average of all salaries; the range of pre- and post-MBA salaries includes some that are much lower and some that are much higher than the average. Factors that will affect your actual post-MBA salary include the following:

your post-MBA job function
the industry you work in after graduation
the geographic region in which you work
your pre-MBA professional experience (including whether your experience base is in the field you pursue post-MBA)
MBAs on Choosing a School and Program

Armed with all this information about the value of the MBA to you and out in the marketplace, you'll be better able to make some good decisions about where to attend school, but it may also be helpful to know how most MBAs have found their schools.

First, you should know that 63% of graduates in the class of 2008 would definitely recommend their schools to someone else who is interested in the degree and 28% would probably recommend their school—so we know they believe they made good decisions. What factored into their school choices? Historically, the biggest influences have been—

the quality and reputation of the school,
the financial cost of the school,
personal fit (whether the school was right for them as individuals), and
location.

There are a few things you might want to think about when you are shopping for the right school. The first is that, to people choosing an MBA program, good school quality and reputation are assurances of a return on investment upon graduation; low-quality programs are not likely to offer the kinds of benefits and opportunities high-quality programs do.