Deciding to pursue an MBA is not a decision to be taken lightly. The costs and resources that go into the actual pursuit of an MBA require careful thinking before opening even the first page of a GMAT prep book. Here are some things to consider before making the decision to apply:
Costs:
- Application: While a few top MBA programs do not charge for applications, many others cost, on average, $250. This fee does not include other expenses that add up, such as test score and transcript requests.
- Time and Energy: Putting together your application (essays, interviews, campus visits, meeting current students, etc.) takes a huge amount of time.
- Standardized tests: Depending on your aptitude, these tests require a lot of prep time, often while holding down a full-time job and family/social commitments. Some people take them more than once to get the right score for their desired school.
- Family: Once you are admitted, you sacrifice time with your family (you will be studying, networking, recruiting or job hunting most of the time); you possibly uproot your entire family into a new community for the duration of your program.
- Employment changes: Quitting your job, and losing 1 to 2 years of work experience and income.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Knowing your objectives is essential when you are deciding if an MBA is right for you. Think about what you want to achieve in life, professionally and personally, and research those areas thoroughly. Ask yourself some searching questions, such as:
- Is an MBA required to get you to your objective? Look at highly respected people within the field that you want to excel in. Do they typically have MBAs?
- Where are you in your career at the moment? Have you reached a plateau in your job and want help getting a promotion? Do you want to learn to lead people? Do you want to start a business? Do you want to change careers to a sector that hires mostly MBAs? For example, if you want to switch from engineering to medical research, the MBA may not be the best option.
- Can you achieve your objectives with a graduate degree other than an MBA? Is an MBA a thing of prestige for you if, for example, everyone in your social circle has one or expects you to have one? Is it an end in itself, something you always wanted?
- Do you even like business? Consider taking one technical business course and one managerial-type course, like accounting and business strategy, either online or at a local community college. What were your impressions of these courses? Did you have an aha moment, where it all started to come together? An MBA might be perfect for you.
- Have you explored business beyond the classroom? Read books on business and explore topics that interest you. Do you find yourself wanting to learn more?
- Are you willing to do the work to find out if an MBA is right for you? This may seem like a lot of work before you even start, but consider the alternative: Imagine feeling trapped, sitting in an accounting class with student loan debt, hating it, and waiting for another year to pass so you can go on to study for that PhD in Physics that you actually have passion for.
Asking these questions is imperative , not only to make the right decision, but also to inform the type of school to attend, when to attend, type of program (full-time or part time), and type of experiences you want to take away.
Finally , I’d like to list a few bullets about why you should NOT pursue an MBA:
- I hate my job so I will take a two-year holiday in school. This will be a very costly and potentially disappointing holiday.
- I can’t figure out what to do with my life, so let me explore B-school. What if you find your passion elsewhere and end up hating business school? Rankings and some surveys show that the average starting salaries for MBAs is $200,000 and above, but this is not guaranteed for all. Excellence at what you do and continuous professional development can also get you there.
Approach this decision with careful thought and planning. Avoid being cookie cutter and following the crowd, no matter what everyone is doing. Do the right thing for you. An MBA can be a fulfilling and rewarding experience which will benefit you for a lifetime. You owe it to yourself to make sure that it is the right step to take.
Ackun Aba, Technical Program Manager, Amazon, and Forté Fellow MBA 2014, Darden School at University of Virginia
This article was updated in September 2026 to reflect current data and costs.