Jimmie Said:

Which school to choose?

We Answered:

Wow. $75,000? That is a ton of money compared to $19,000.

If you were wanting to be a doctor or lawyer and were choosing between Harvard or state university, it would be a no brainer to go with the more prestigious school. In your case, can you be sure that you can comfortably repay the $75,000? Can Thunderbird give you any stats on the success of its graduates? If the answer is no, go to the less expensive school. There are more important factors employers will look at, such as whether or not you graduate with honors, other than just the name of the school.

Lewis Said:

Should I do my MBA at UMUC as part of a dual degree or go somewhere else?

We Answered:

Good question because it is not an easy decision. Maryland has a good reputation. If you can get the MBA there with only 18 hours of study, it is tempting to do so versus a two-year program elsewhere. So the question may come down to program and degree quality rather than accreditation. Besides, Maryland may be an AACSB candidate. Every AACSB accredited school was not accredited previously and they had to develop the quality to get the accreditation. So you should try to see if the quality is there.

What to look for: Is the faculty mostly Ph.D.s qualified in business fields? Is the faculty permanent or part-time teachers? What are the average entrance exam scores of the students? For instance, if students take the GMAT, is their average below 550 or above 580? What are the starting salaries of graduates? How many graduates have job offers within 3 months of graduation? Do most students have 2-4 years work experience before starting the program? Are the faculty well published? For a program on line, other students are not as relevant as the professors who do the teaching. Are the teachers in the on-line program the same as those who teach the full-time program, or is the on-line program taught mainly by adjuncts who may not be as qualified?

There is a lot of information available on the Internet. Some sites are limited to specific countries, such as Germany, UK, or Australia. There is a comprehensive free public service with more than 2,000 MBA programs listed worldwide. The nice thing is that it allows you to find the program that best fits you. It allows you to search for programs by location (US, Europe, Far East, etc.), by concentration (finance, marketing, aviation management, health management, accounting, etc.), by type of program (full-time, distance learning, part-time, executive, and accelerated), and by listing your own criteria and preferences to get a list of universities that satisfy your needs. Schools report their accreditation status (look for AACSB accreditation or at least AACSB membership), tuition cost, number of students, class sizes, program length, and a lot of other data. Schools provide data on entrance requirements, program costs, program characteristics, joint degrees, joint degrees such as MBA/JD, and much more. You can use it to contact schools of your choice, examine their data, visit their web site, and send them pre-applications. You can see lists of top 40 schools ranked by starting salaries of graduates, GMAT scores, and other criteria. some of the other sites are less comprehensive, but all are useful.

Paul Said:

Human Resources Job Search Help?

We Answered:

$99K for a HRIS supervisor is a good salary!
The only place you will find only HR related jobs is an www.SHRM.org There won't be many HRIS positions.

Miriam Said:

Does University of Maryland have a Baltimore Campus?

We Answered:

There is a UM-Baltimore in downtown Baltimore, but it is a Professional School — Mainly Medical Professions.

David Said:

What would you do?

We Answered:

I have to say I know nothing of Thunderbird. I have never heard of it. Granted, I am not in the same field or discipline that you are, so I may not be expected to know of Thunderbird, but as a graduate student myself, I would be hesitant to ever go to a school that cost that much. How do their past students deal with that much debt? Do they work to place their students after graduation, and are they able to pay so much off? Also, do you plan on staying with non-profits? If so, that may be too much to handle.

I do however know of the University of Maryland system, and have been quite happy/impressed by what I have seen from there. Even people like me who don't know anything about Thunderbird know and respect the University of MD. And seeing that it is so very much cheaper, I would lean towards that program.

Just out of curiosity, is there a way you can talk to current students/graduates of both programs and see how how they like the programs, the course work, the placement services and job markets afterwards? Either way, it's a lot of money, and you need to be sure that the program you choose is right for you and your situation.

I hope this helps, and good luck on your decision!

Tom Said:

Should I choose Howard University, University of Baltimore/Towson, or University of Maryland for an MBA?

We Answered:

An MBA is a degree where the quality of the institution is extremely important. Graduates of top MBA programs will earn more money and get better jobs than someone who goes to an unranked school -- even if they learn as much as they would at a top school.

The University of Maryland is a top 30 B-School and the other three are unranked. In some areas (finance in particular) it is ranked even higher.

The good news for you is that you can take all your classes at the University of Maryland's Baltimore campus. Students at the Baltimore campus take the same classes and have the same professors as the daytime program -- so the degree there carries the same weight as the daytime program. I know this because I was a visiting professor at U of MD a few years ago, and taught the same class on different campuses.

In my mind, U of MD completely dominates your other choices.

Good luck.