Looking At New York City’s Best MBA Return on Investment, Pt. II
New York City is an obvious choice for budding entrepreneurs, consultants, and financiers to find their footing.
Manhattan is regularly called a playground for the wealthy, with a 2016 Newsweek article playfully and indiscriminately dubbing rich people New York’s new urban blight. So, if you’re one of the millions of people hopping into New York to extract its cultural and financial resources for personal gain before migrating to some more humane province, why not do an MBA there while you’re at it?
The proximity of New York business schools to the city’s wealth of opportunities means that MBAs have a kind of access that make b-schoolers elsewhere in the country—and the world—salivate. New York’s matchless combination of industry, culture, and strategic location means that any one of the numerous business schools that populate the region will give MBAs a veritable nitrous boost when it comes to post-graduation job placement. In fact, earlier this month we covered five other NYC MBA programs that give graduates the best return-on-investment.
You’ve surveyed the best so let’s try the rest! While Part 1 was populated by the most elite and therefore more expensive MBA options in the region, Part 2 focuses on New York programs that are more practical choices if you’re doing business school on a budget. These programs tend to offer comparatively smaller returns-on-investment but the advantage is their affordability.
So, let’s take a deeper dive into four more New York-area MBA programs that offer the best returns-on-investment for graduates.
Lubin School of Business — Pace University
The Lubin School of Business counts Hearst Magazines president Michael Clinton ’83, HBO Chairman and CEO William C. Nelson ’75, and former Chairman and CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg ’81 among its notable alumni. With tuition for Lubin’s two-year full-time MBA priced at $71,340, the program qualifies one of the mid-range options on our list. MBAs graduate with an average salary-to-debt ratio of 68 percent culled from average debt of $44,076, according to U.S. News & World Report, and an average base salary of $64,425.
Gabelli School of Business — Fordham University
Notable Gabelli School of Business notable alumni include UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen J. Hemsley, ’74; former JP Morgan CEO Maria Elena Lagomasino ’77; Countrywide Financial Corp Co-Funder, Chairman, and CEO Angelo R. Mozilo ’60; and Empresas Polar CEO Lorenzo Mendoza. At $87,807 for its two-year full-time MBA, Gabelli’s tuition is among the priciest on our list but the handsome 53 percent salary-to-debt ratio makes up for it. MBAs graduate with an average debt of $51,870 and go on to earn an average base salary of $97,404.
Tobin School of Business — St. John’s University
The Tobin School of Business at St. John’s University is one of the most affordable MBA programs on our list, with tuition priced at $43,740 for its two-year full-time MBA. Tobin MBAs graduate with an average debt of $28,291, which when set against their $59,276 average base salary, yielding a 48 percent salary-to-debt ratio.
Stevens Institute of Technology School of Business
Recent noteworthy employers of the Stevens Institute of Technology School of Business MBAs include ExxonMobil, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, L’Oreal, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Tishman Realty & Construction Co., Turner Construction, UBS Financial, and Verizon. Although tuition is priced at a competitive $68,988 for its two-year full-time MBA, Stevens actually has the highest salary-to-debt ratio of any school on our list, at 72%. Stevens MBAs graduate with an average debt of $48,244, according to CNN Money, and go on to earn an average base salary of $67,100.
About the Author
Jonathan Pfeffer
Jonathan Pfeffer joined the Clear Admit and MetroMBA teams in 2015 after spending several years as an arts/culture writer, editor, and radio producer. In addition to his role as contributing writer at MetroMBA and contributing editor at Clear Admit, he is co-founder and lead producer of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast. He holds a BA in Film/Video, Ethnomusicology, and Media Studies from Oberlin College.
