International Online MBA or US Online MBA

[rhalljr]

Hello All. I know there are a lot of professionals here and I would to hear your advice on a difficult decision I am having now.

I am close to finishing my undergrad in Business Management and although the big picture goal is to begin/complete Law School starting Aug 2013, the Army continues to provide me with fund to invest in my education so I would like to pursue an accelerated MBA in the year I have before Law Studies.

I am a 24y/o working father and husband so I cannot quit my day job to pursue my endeavors...thus why I am looking into an online MBA. If I elect to go brick & mortar, William Carey University in Hattiesburg, MS is my only option. With that said, I will quit my job when I enroll in Law Studies and use my Vet benefits.

The biggest issue I am debating:
1. Are overseas MBA well respected in the business community?
2. Should I just stick with the everyday run of the mill online MBA programs?

In the end I would ideally see myself working in international business or corporate law...after working for the DA in order to gain trail experience.

Any help from those who have been down this path?
Thanks gents.

[snowbird]

I'm not sure about online programs overseas but there are a number of traditional MBA programs overseas that are respected in the US, such as INSEAD near Paris and IMD in Switzerland. Some of these are one year versus the two years that's typical in the US.

Since you will be going to law school soon, you might also consider applying for JD/MBA programs and getting both at a brick and mortar university. At some schools you can get both degrees in four years rather than the five it would take if you did each separately. My sense is an MBA from a brick and mortar school will help you more in terms of learning and brand recognition than an online program will.

[dbphotos]

Feel free to email me for more details, but make sure whichever program you choose is regionally accredited by one of the six accrediting organizations in the US (http://www.chea.org/Directories/regional.asp).

Whether you need a name brand MBA depends on what you are going to do with it. If you plan on working on Wall Street then you will want a Harvard or Standford MBA, or similar reputation. If you are using the MBA for 95% of the other jobs that require an MBA, most regionally accredited programs will do. I would not go with an international MBA unless you wish to work internationally.

I would suggest checking with your state schools, as many have reasonably priced MBA programs.

Here is a good list of online MBA's from US News and World Report: http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/mba

You will find a huge difference in pricing from school to school. Higher cost does not always equate to higher value or better reputation.

Two very well priced and widely accepted programs can be found at American Military University (http://www.amu.apus.edu/academic/programs/masters) and Western Governor's University (www.wgu.edu). WGU is now part of state systems in Texas, Washington and Indiana.

I started my MBA program in a brick and mortar university but finished online and felt I gained much more from my online experience and interactions. I spent a lot of time looking at different programs and would be happy to share what I learned, just email me.

You will find a lot of differing opinions on this topic I'm sure.

[JasoninDenver]

Great advice from the other posters. Here is some from a personal injury attorney...

I would comment that your desire to go work for the DA's office is a bit of a detour if your eventual career path is corporate or international. A strong word of advice is to choose your path early. Your first couple of jobs out of law school really define your career trajectory and it is very hard to change areas of practice once you are in the world of private practice (unless you choose to be a solo). If you come out of the DA's office with a couple of years of trial experience, your highest value to a firm will be as: (1) a criminal defense lawyer, and (2) a civil litigation attorney. The odds that you will get to use your MBA background in those areas is slim.

Ironically, my brother was an MBA/CPA and went to law school and is now an insurance defense litigation attorney. He decided he liked the trial work more than the corporate work while clerking during law school.

Also, since you are military already and have an interest in criminal trial work - how about signing up for the JAG corp? A colleague of mine did that to extend his qualifications for his military pension. He put in six additional years in the Army and got his 20 years plus excellent work experience.

Good Luck,

[droptopman]

Originally Posted by dbphotos

Feel free to email me for more details, but make sure whichever program you choose is regionally accredited by one of the six accrediting organizations in the US (http://www.chea.org/Directories/regional.asp).

Whether you need a name brand MBA depends on what you are going to do with it. If you plan on working on Wall Street then you will want a Harvard or Standford MBA, or similar reputation. If you are using the MBA for 95% of the other jobs that require an MBA, most regionally accredited programs will do. I would not go with an international MBA unless you wish to work internationally.

I would suggest checking with your state schools, as many have reasonably priced MBA programs.

Here is a good list of online MBA's from US News and World Report: http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/mba

You will find a huge difference in pricing from school to school. Higher cost does not always equate to higher value or better reputation.

Two very well priced and widely accepted programs can be found at American Military University (http://www.amu.apus.edu/academic/programs/masters) and Western Governor's University (www.wgu.edu). WGU is now part of state systems in Texas, Washington and Indiana.

I started my MBA program in a brick and mortar university but finished online and felt I gained much more from my online experience and interactions. I spent a lot of time looking at different programs and would be happy to share what I learned, just email me.

You will find a lot of differing opinions on this topic I'm sure.

Very good information. I also did both tracks and preferred the online experience over traditional. Better learning experience for me. Professors actually worked in the field. One of my professors was the CFO at Citibank. Much more useful than a professor who has been teaching for 30 years and never actually worked in business. Plus I was forced to read all the books...LOL

Just ensure they are accredited. A friend did an MS program and later found out they were not accredited. Total waste of money.

[z32turbo]

Originally Posted by dbphotos

Feel free to email me for more details, but make sure whichever program you choose is regionally accredited by one of the six accrediting organizations in the US (http://www.chea.org/Directories/regional.asp).

Whether you need a name brand MBA depends on what you are going to do with it. If you plan on working on Wall Street then you will want a Harvard or Standford MBA, or similar reputation. If you are using the MBA for 95% of the other jobs that require an MBA, most regionally accredited programs will do. I would not go with an international MBA unless you wish to work internationally.

I would suggest checking with your state schools, as many have reasonably priced MBA programs.

Here is a good list of online MBA's from US News and World Report: http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/mba

You will find a huge difference in pricing from school to school. Higher cost does not always equate to higher value or better reputation.

Two very well priced and widely accepted programs can be found at American Military University (http://www.amu.apus.edu/academic/programs/masters) and Western Governor's University (www.wgu.edu). WGU is now part of state systems in Texas, Washington and Indiana.

I started my MBA program in a brick and mortar university but finished online and felt I gained much more from my online experience and interactions. I spent a lot of time looking at different programs and would be happy to share what I learned, just email me.

You will find a lot of differing opinions on this topic I'm sure.

After going through and getting my MBA this is probably some of the best all around advice I've read to anyone thinking of pursuing and MBA degree.

[GradyPhilpott]

The main thing you want for any degree is one from a regionally accredited program.

There are plenty of legitimate distance-learning programs offered by legitimate universities.

Getting accepted to Harvard's online programs is one way to get accepted into their mainstream programs, as just one example.

I admire your motivation. I'm sure you will do fine in any program you choose. Just choose carefully.

I have seen some online programs taken by acquaintances that would be complete jokes, if they didn't cost so much money.

Make sure that your credits will transfer before you put the cash on the barrel head. There's nothing worse than paying for credits that won't transfer.

[sea-dweller]

Make certain that the program you attend is accredited.

[Belli41]

Nice post! I am preparing for the law exam and all I do is to practice LSAT Sample Questions all the time. I really think practice is going to help in preparing well for my exam. I see myself as a successful and famous lawyer and therefore, I am going to study as hard as possible for the exam.

[Malak]

MBA at OU is triple accredited (AACSB, AMBA, Equis).


http://business-school.open.ac.uk/st...ifications/mba


OUBS ranked seventh in Global Online MBA Rankings