MBA Voices: The Hidden Costs Of An Elite MBA

Getting an MBA is expensive enough. At Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, tuition alone for the Full-Time program runs nearly $164K before scholarships and aid. Once you factor in housing and other fees, that number climbs to more than $200K over the two years.

Higher education comes with plenty of costs beyond tuition, and a lot of them are expenses you just don’t see coming.

I’ve spent the past seven years helping people manage their finances. I come from the world of wealth management and have owned my own financial planning and coaching business for the last five years. One thing I’ve learned along the way is that unexpected expenses can creep up quickly and break even the most well-thought-out budgets. I want to help you avoid some of these pitfalls so you are prepared as you enter your MBA season.

I’m in the second year of my MBA program, and I’ve surveyed my classmates to get boots-on-the-ground insight into the unexpected costs making their pockets hurt the most. Here’s what they’ve told me:

1. Health Insurance (and Insurance in General): If you opt into Emory’s insurance, it’ll run you about $10,000 for the 2 years. And something people don’t anticipate is even with that plan, you’ll still owe copays anytime you go to a doctor outside the Emory student health services. And insurance isn’t just health insurance. Car, renters, and life insurance can run you another $300 to $400 a month, so budget for that too.

2. Travel: It’s an inevitable part of your MBA program, whether you’re traveling for fun or for conferences. For that, you’ll need to build in savings for it because there will be PLENTY of opportunities. One of my classmates attended multiple recruiting conferences this past year. Scholarships covered some of the cost, but he still paid upwards of $300 out of pocket for each one. That’s on top of flights that can double or triple in price if you don’t book early. Then there’s the part nobody puts in a conference spreadsheet: the socializing. Going out for drinks after sessions is basically part of the experience, and another classmate said that alone can add another $200 per conference.

3. Clothes: If you’re coming from an informal work culture and are pivoting into more formal, corporate spaces, prepare for the cost of clothing. I polled my classmates on how much they’d spent on MBA clothes so far, and the numbers were surprising. Only two people surveyed had spent under $500, and most had spent over $1,000. Suits, dress shoes, and business casual staples all add up fast.

4. Software Subscriptions: There are so many subscriptions that aid your recruiting process or help you get through business school. Each of them come with their own monthly fee. There is ChatGPT or Claude at $20 a month. Speechify comes in at $29 a month (or $139 a year) if you’d rather listen to your cases than read them. Plus, there is LinkedIn Premium at $39.99 a month and GoodNotes at $12 a year. Between all these, you can quietly rack up close to $100 a month if you’re not paying attention (and let’s not forget entertainment subscriptions like Amazon).

Here is a sample budgetary tool that I created

Now that we’ve gotten those expenses out of the way, here’s what you can do about them to make sure you’re being mindful of your money over these next few years.

1. Plan Ahead for The Trips You Anticipate Taking: Look at your program’s calendar early and flag the recruiting trips, treks, and conferences you know are coming. Last year, I went to the National Black MBA Conference in Houston. Even with an early bird discount on my ticket and a free place to stay with a friend, I still spent around $800 once you factor in my flight, food, and social events. Set aside a monthly amount specifically for travel so you’re not scrambling to cover a flight a week before. Treat it like a bill, not a surprise.

2. Shop Your Insurance Before You Default into The School’s Plan: The school’s insurance is convenient, but it’s rarely the cheapest option. Even if you do opt in, remember those out-of-network copays. Before I went on my husband’s insurance, I was self-employed and on the marketplace, paying $387 a month out of pocket. Compare that to Emory’s plan, which works out to roughly $417 a month once you spread the $10,000 over two years. You may be able to get a better deal on the marketplace, but the only way to know is to actually price it out instead of defaulting into whatever’s easiest to check the box.

3. Buy Your Wardrobe in Phases, Not All at Once: You don’t need a full corporate closet before day one. Start with a few versatile pieces that get you through the first round of interviews and events, then build from there as you learn what your closet actually needs. Thrift and consignment shops will be your friend here, especially for suits and blazers you’ll only wear a few times.

4. Audit Your Subscriptions Every Month: Recruiting tools are often useful for a season, not the full two years. Set a reminder to review what you’re paying for monthly, cancel anything you don’t use regularly, and see if classmates want to split the cost of shared resources. That one habit alone can save you hundreds over the course of the program.

Bottom line: none of these costs should catch you off guard if you plan for them now. Build the buffer before you need it, and it’ll let you spend that saved money on something more fun than a surprise insurance bill.

I also think it’s important to have savings before starting business school. Call it your MBA emergency fund. No matter what, you need a safety net. My rule of thumb for anyone is to never let your emergency fund dip below $2,000. However, if you’re heading into an MBA, I’d push that further: aim to have at least three months of expenses saved before you start the program. A lot of students lean on credit cards to cover the unexpected, but going in with a real cushion means you’re not adding on debt the first time something goes wrong.

Now there is light at the end of the spending tunnel. Though the MBA may be expensive, the ROI story is one to note. Emory’s Class of 2025 saw a 162% mean salary increase, comparing what they made going into the program to what they made in their first job after graduating. Plan for the cost accordingly, and the math ends up being worth it.

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Ornella Adekoye is an MBA student at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and founder of The Fortune Foundry, a financial planning company helping young professionals build wealth, pay off debt, and take control of their money. Her passion for personal finance and economic mobility took root in undergrad and grew through her career in wealth management at Morgan Stanley and at the financial planning startup, The Financial Gym.

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