As stated in a previous post, I have been doing a lot of thinking in the past few weeks in regards to my graduate degree that I hope to begin pursuing in January.  I had come to the conclusion that my hopes of going to Arizona State are going to be dashed due to the amount of money I would be spending on the degree.  

Initially, I was quite disappointed, as I think I got my hopes up a little too high with the anticipation of my upcoming graduation, the wide range of MBA possibilities, and other things related to my educational career.  But that’s how I am.  When I get something into my head and decide to do it, I get tunnel vision until the goal is complete.  I think that I may have run myself off the track temporarily with my lofty (but very expensive) goals.

So now I am exploring other options.  I will begin this post by reviewing some of my options and sharing those findings with you.  For those who suddenly realize that finding a more economically viable option is the best thing to do, I hope that my research can help you out.

In the first of two (or maybe three) reviews, I will explore the options of the school that I found most appealing to me when looking for alternatives to the $40,000 MBA.  The first school we’ll examine is Texas A&M at Commerce.  

I initially looked at this school for a couple of reasons.

1 - They offer an online MBA
2 – That MBA is AACSB-accredited
3 – The school is “in-state” for me, which means cheap tuition (less than $15k)

I called them up and found a couple of other really appealing things.  First, they have a GMAT waiver policy.  If the student has a 3.0 GPA or better AND has a few years of experience in the business world, that student can apply for a GMAT waiver.  This is a great thing.  While I don’t mind taking the GMAT, and I am mentally prepared for the possibility that I will have to do so, the possibility of a waiver based on my GPA and my many years in business and management will go a long way toward getting this waiver.

The second thing that really appealed to me is that they have “rolling enrollment”.  When they told me this, I was very excited!  Rolling enrollment is something that schools like Kaplan, Walden, and others do so the student can start school at any of several starting dates during the year.  The student doesn’t have to wait for the next semester to roll around.  This really attracted me to Texas A&M at Commerce.

The third thing is that the school is part of the Texas A&M system.  Texas A&M is a very popular and successful school in Texas.  I would bet that they are the second most popular next to the University of Texas.  

The final thing about this school that I really like is that their online MBA program has a real “fast-track” option for those of us who have an undergrad degree in business or management.  While a normal MBA program anywhere else is about 16 classes (or 49 credits), this fast-track program is only 30 credits (10 classes).  

I think my new top choice has changed.  I am excited just writing about it.  I will be applying very soon.