Do your sums

Selecting your dream programme means finding a happy balance between your needs and your budget, writes Dr Ronald K Chung

We have spent the last few weeks on the programme, the university, the faculty and so on - all important attributes when choosing an MBA. However, let's look at a real issue: the cost. Before examining some numbers, let me put in the usual disclaimer - prices can go up and down and this information is for reference only. Here are two numbers to chew over ...

At the very high end, the most "expensive" programme in Hong Kong is the EMBA put together by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the US. Arguably the best in town, this comes at a high price - HK$550,000 (a down payment on a reasonable Hong Kong apartment). At the other end of the spectrum, you can find an MBA for less than HK$50,000, excluding application fees.

As you can see, the range is wide. If you feel dizzy and confused, don't be alarmed, it's natural. The challenge is that everyone wants a good degree at a great price. The tough part is that we all have budgets - but a good degree usually comes in at a high price.

To make sense of this, you can sort programmes into groups. For Hong Kong-based universities, joint degree programmes offered with foreign universities are the most prestigious. Please note the key words here. "Offered with" is not the same as "offered by". These include the HKUST-Kellogg programme and the OneMBA offered by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) which hit the top of the range in terms of price. Otherwise, typical MBAs offered by Hong Kong-based universities, such as Hong Kong University, CUHK and the like, come in at around HK$200,000.

MBA programmes offered by overseas universities in Hong Kong fall into the following categories:
1. More established programmes, such as those offered by IVEY of Canada or AGSM of Australia, are about HK$200,000.
2. A few schools offer MBAs for below HK$150,000. For example, Warwick costs around HK$126,000 and Adelaide, a Group of Eight school, is around HK$149,000.
3. The most crowded field is around the "psychological" HK$100,000 mark. Many schools offer MBAs at around this figure, including the University of Western Sydney and the University of Hull.
4. HK$78,000, another "psychological" mark (US$10,000), seems to be what most universities regard as the reasonable bottom-end of the price range. Few are willing to go significantly below this price.

Making a decision about an MBA is not unlike buying a car. Sure, everyone wants to buy a RollsRoyce or a Mercedes Benz, but in reality not everyone can afford what they want. We, therefore, have to look closely at what we need and how our needs can be met with our limited budget.

So, when choosing an MBA, first take a hard look at what you need. Do you remember the guy with five master's degrees? This is like having five cars in the garage! Do you remember the 23-year-old MBA? This is like a 15-year-old owning a car. Look at what you need and can afford and choose wisely.

Be prepared for tomorrow. Until next time, work hard, play hard.

Acknowledgement Dr Ronald K Chung is academic development director of the ET Business College, a member of the Hong Kong Economic Times Group. He has worked for a number of private companies and universities in the United States, as well as Hong Kong's Consumer Council. To contact Dr Chung, please write to DrChung@etbc.com.hk.

Taken from Career Times 2003/11/14