Best Business Schools: 20 Low-Cost Options
The best business schools are actually pretty affordable depending on your academic achievement levels.
They might also cost more money depending on how much you or your family has in the bank.
You should definitely consider applying to some of them if you think your grades and test scores can make the cut.
All data on the best business schools is from the Department of Education’s College Scorecard. Rankings are determined by the lowest cost to highest cost among the various prestigious schools.
1. Stanford
Stanford is definitely one of the more well-known best business schools out there. Their history goes back more than 120 years and they have a handful of notable alumni. Some of their more famous students (not necessarily grads) are Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Tiger Woods, to name a few. Elon Musk even spent two days in a PhD program there.
The average cost of tuition after aid is about $12,000.
2. Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a leading research university that ranks #1 for a few different programs. They have the #1 non-profit management graduate program.
They also have the #1 environmental policy and management graduate program. In addition to those, their online M.B.A. program has been rated #1 by Poets & Quants.
The university has been around for over 200 years since its founding in 1820. There are 1,300+ employers actively recruiting IU students.
Their average cost of tuition after aid is about $13,000.
3. Best Business Schools: University of California San Diego
A top 15 research university, UC San Diego’s origins go back to the early 1900’s. The Rady School of Management at UC San Diego has a few different programs.
These include MBA, PhD, MS, Masters, and many other offerings. They have been busy during the pandemic by studying things like the effects of not being able to exercise and how that relates to increased levels of depression.
Their average tuition after aid is about $13,000.
4. Best Business Schools: University of California, Los Angeles
If you’ve ever heard the name John Wooden, then you’ve probably heard of this school. The University of California, Los Angeles (commonly referred to as UCLA) is over 130 years old.
Wooden was their famous basketball coach who lead the team to a bunch of victories and coached there for a total of 40 years.
The Anderson School of Management offers a handful of programs. These include MBA, FEMBA, EMBA, UCLA/NUS, MFE, MSBA, and a Ph.D. program.
The average tuition there after aid is about $14,000.
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
This one goes back. UNC Chapel Hill has been enrolling students since the late 1700’s.
You read that right. Notable alumni of this school are Michael Jordan, Andy Griffith, and Mia Hamm.
Their Kenan-Flagler Business School has undergraduate business programs, master of accounting, MBA, executive development, and PhD programs.
The average tuition after aid is about $14,000.
6. Best Business Schools: University of Texas at Dallas
This school has been rated #1 for best value public university in Texas by Forbes. The school itself is a little bit younger and was started back in the early ’60s with roots going back to the ’50s.
They have grown quite a bit since then and now boast more than 28,000 students total across 8 schools. Their Naveen Jindal school of management can be a perfect place to set yourself up for success.
The average cost of tuition after aid there is about $14,000.
7. University of California Berkeley
Steve Wozniak may not have graduated from here, but he was a student for a little while. Eric Schmidt, on the other hand, did (former CEO of Google).
Their Haas School of Business has a few major programs. You can choose from the undergraduate, executive education, master of financial engineering, MBA for executives, evening & weekend MBA, and Full-time MBA programs.
Their tuition comes in at an average of about $15,000.
8. Harvard
There have been a ton of famous people to go through Harvard. Sure, not all of them went to the business school specifically, but you’d probably recognize names like Natalie Portman, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates any day of the week.
Plus, it’s Harvard. Everybody knows Harvard.
Average tuition after aid is about $16,000.
9. University of Michigan
The average cost of tuition after aid is about $16,000
10. University of Texas at Austin
The average cost of tuition after aid is about $17,000
11. Best Business Schools: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The average cost of tuition after aid at MIT is about $19,000. Getting in there will be a challenge for you or really anyone.
12. Best Business Schools: Yale University
The average cost of tuition after aid at Yale is about $19,000.
13. Best Business Schools: Columbia
The average cost of tuition after aid at Columbia is about $23,000.
14. Duke University
The average cost of tuition after aid at Duke is about $23,000.
15. Best Business Schools: University of Pennsylvania
The average cost of tuition after aid is about $25,000.
16. Northwestern University
The average cost of tuition after aid at Northwestern is about $25,000.
17. Emory University
The average cost of tuition after aid at Emory is about $25,000.
18. Best Business Schools: University of Chicago
The average cost of tuition after aid at the University of Chicago is about $26,000.
19. University of Southern California
The average cost of tuition after aid at the University of Southern California is $30,000.
20. Best Business Schools: Dartmouth College
The average cost of tuition after aid at Dartmouth College is about $31,000.
Tying It All Together
Choosing one of the best business schools can be tough. What can be even more difficult is getting into one! The good news, though, is that if you do, there will be a lot of financial aid along the way.
Most of these schools (at least the top 10) won’t completely bury you in student loan debt. Plus, many graduates of all of the schools listed here go on to earn very competitive starting salaries.
You may find that college isn’t even your thing, that’s okay, too. Just make sure you have a really compelling reason to do something else (like a crazy good business idea). Most of these schools are really supportive of entrepreneurship and will be able to support projects that you have ideas for.