I have long been a severe critic of my MBA alma mater, the University of San Francisco. I wasted two years and thousands of dollars of my own money (saved up from US Army active duty) on a worthless MBA. I now have independent confirmation from a well-known data collection that confirms my opinion.
US News and World Report publishes graduate school rankings. Check out the USNWR report on the USF MBA program for 2013. I'll highlight the most relevant part with a screenshot below.
That starting salary of $69,353 is pathetically low. That 51% employment figure is also extremely low. Most MBA graduates earn far higher compensation and have a much greater chance of landing a job after two years of hard academic work. I want that to penetrate your brains, people. A USF MBA gives you barely a coin toss worth of luck in finding even a low-paying job.
Consider that most USF MBA grads work in the San Francisco bay Area, unless they are international students who return to their family businesses in their home countries. The average starting salary in San Francisco for an entry-level position that requires only a bachelor's degree and no work experience at all is about $60,000. It makes absolutely no sense to forgo two working years (opportunity cost $120K if you're earning that entry level compensation) and incur debt just to have a 51% chance of getting a raise of less than $10K. The payback period of a USF MBA will extend beyond your expected life span, rendering a negative ROI for your investment.
If you're considering applying to USF's MBA program, stop that nonsense right now. Stay in your entry level job. If you're in the USF MBA program right now, and your family doesn't own a business they want you to inherit, you are wasting your precious time and money. Read my Yelp reviews of Notre Dame and USF to see how pursuing advanced education among hereditary elites is offensive to their sensibilities and a waste of your own abilities.
