Lower Your MBA Cost – 5 Ways to Save

This article is sponsored by the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (FS). Learn more about FS.

Earning an MBA is expensive. There’s more than tuition to consider. Many top-ranked MBA programs are in cities with an extremely high cost of living. And besides obvious expenses, there is the opportunity cost – the earnings you stand to lose as a consequence of leaving your prior role.

For some, scholarships help reduce the MBA’s cost. But for most, the degree requires a large amount of financing. Sure, the investment will probably pay for itself but any debt you don’t take on today will mean less anxiety in the future.

One of the best ways to reduce an MBA’s cost is to look beyond your own borders. Thanks to recent moves by the European Central Bank, a European education is more affordable than it has been in years. Here are five money saving benefits of a continental education…

Quantitative easing offers discounts in currency exchange

Perhaps nothing is more illustrative of the relative bargain of a European education than the plummeting value of the common currency. The European Central Bank has embarked on a buying spree – and over the next 16 months will be printing one trillion euros and using them to buy government bonds and institutional debt. The effect of this quantitative easing could be dramatic.

In Europe this announcement sent the common currency in a downward spiral against the US dollar.  In the beginning of 2015, the euro was worth US$1.20. In less than three months, it dropped to below US$1.05. Many currency traders expect parity before summer.

Of course, currency exchange rates fluctuate. There’s a time lag between considering an MBA, applying and actually arriving on campus. Still, for US citizens who have endured the dollar’s weaker spending power for years as the result of US Federal Reserve’s own policy of quantitative easing (which ended last year), lower prices in Europe thanks to the European Central Bank are a nice break. Tuition costs haven’t risen as quickly as the euro has dropped. Thus, quantitative easing means lower costs for non-European students.

One-year MBA   

In the US, most full-time MBA programs last two years, while European schools offer the opportunity to earn the same degree in far less time. At the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (FS) the degree can be obtained in just fifteen months. Besides reducing the time students spend away from their career, expenses are reduced as well since housing and other costs won't have to be borne for as long a period of time.

Cost of living

As an urban location, a European city like Frankfurt offers students and graduates access to global corporations and leaders in banking and finance. Yet compared to cities like Hong Kong or New York, the cost of living is much lower. Looking at a range of costs listed by Mercer in its 2014 Cost of Living City Rankings, from housing to food and public transit, the German city was less expensive than a good number of other globally significant cities in which one might study an MBA. And that is just one example of the value on offer across the continent, outside of the more expensive likes of Paris and London.

Student discounts

Across the globe, a student ID grants lower-priced access to everything from museums to movie theaters. In Europe, however, older students will appreciate how student discounts often reserved for teens in other regions are available for them. One example is Frankfurt’s well-regarded public transit system. In addition to savings earned from student discounts, it allows you to forgo having a car – which of course eliminates a huge expense (one example of something that is more expensive in Europe).

Early bird discounts

Finally, early birds don’t just get the worm, at some schools like FS they can get tuition discounts too! For those who make an early decision on enrollment, FS offers a reduction of as much as €5,000 in an MBA’s cost. Even those who wait a few months can receive some discounts as well.

This article is sponsored by the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (FS).