Is an MBA at Harvard, Wharton, etc worth it?

I'm a senior at an ivy league (HYP) and an incoming IB analyst at a BB. I'm thinking of applying to deferred MBA programs in the coming months. The problem is that I'm not sure if doing an MBA is worth it. I'm also not sure what exactly I'd want to do in the future but it's just IB for the long-term, for now. Would an MBA, assuming I got in, at HBS be worth leaving IB and paying $150k+? Would appreciate any advice. Thank you.

 

If you want to make some new friends and potentially decent business connections, spend two years pretty much chillin and travelling, and have the ability to say you got an MBA from one of the aforementioned schools, then idk probably.

Dayman?
 

Seems like a decision to make down the line. For the short term, what possible downside could there be to applying?

 
Most Helpful

The answer is generally, yes, it's worth it.  The life that you think you want to live at 22 is likely to look very different in a few years as you actually get into the real world and figure out what works for you.  Odds of you staying in banking forever are small, but if you did, then yeah you wouldn't necessarily need it. 

But if you're going into anything else, it will allow you to take 2 years off, broaden your horizons, become a much better communicator, and build an extremely big network of ppl both in your class and alumni (and future alumni as you get older) that automatically have something big in common.  HYP gives you that a little but the grads go off in so many not that connect directions: law, medicine, government, academia, etc. - after the MBA, everyone generally joins the same few circles in finance, consulting, corporate america, tech, etc. so your network in those concentrated areas gets extremely dense, which benefits you in a lot of unpredictable ways

 

Worth it if you want a structured pivot into some other common top MBA career path or you just want to take a break to learn a bit, travel, party, build the rolodex and get a certificate that'll give you a permanent professional halo affect for the rest of your career. 

 

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