Rutgers MBA among 30 highest programs for return on investment

Rutgers Business School earned a place on the U.S. News & World Report list of thirty full-time MBA programs with the highest return on investment for graduates earning over $100,000. 

The salary-to-debt ratio was calculated by dividing the average earnings of graduates earning six-figure salaries within three months of graduation – salary and signing bonus – by the average student debt incurred. [see report]

U.S. News data shows that MBA graduates from these schools have at least a 144% average return on their investment.

Lei Lei, dean of Rutgers Business School, praised the MBA team, faculty and the MBA Office of Career Management (OCM) for their work to prepare Full-Time MBA students and build corporate connections to help them achieve their career goals. "Given the furious competition among MBA programs, we are very proud that RBS made it onto this prominent list, and we will work together to continuously improve," Lei said.

The OCM prepares RBS graduates to compete for full-time jobs and summer internships against graduates from any school through one-on-one career coaching, résumé and cover letter reviews, mock interviews, corporate presentations, on-campus interviews, and meet & greets.

“A high return on investment for our MBA graduates has been a yearly phenomenon during my 19-year tenure here at Rutgers,” said Dean Vera, Director, MBA Office of Career Management. “Every year, many of our graduates double or triple their pre-MBA salaries. To that end, I partner with our students to help them achieve their career goals.”

Spencer Donihi-Goddard decided to do a Full-Time MBA at RBS to transition into the corporate world after six years in the Army. “I knew the transition wouldn’t be seamless,” he said, “and I thought an MBA would add value to the management experience I gained in the service.” 

Donihi-Goddard said getting a summer internship was rewarding after “all the work” he put in with Vera on mock interviews and the effort he made in his classes. He was determined to make the mid-way point of the program count. 

He credits working with Vera and other OCM services for helping him earn a summer internship with Tesla. “The OCM helped me transition from a military mindset and translate my experience into business acumen,” said Donihi-Goddard.

During his internship with Tesla, Donihi-Goddard honed his generalized understanding of operations toward a manufacturing operations role that he will pursue after graduating. “At the end of the internship, I gave a project management presentation to a very large crowd at Tesla, which was very well received,” he said.

Barbie Tyagi also sought advice and coaching from the MBA Office of Career Management. When she landed an interview with Dell for an internship, Tyagi had a one-on-one session with Vera to identify what she lacked to be ready for questions. A Rutgers MBA student who had the same internship the previous year also provided advice.

“The resources bridged the gap between where I stand and where I started,” Tyagi said. “Having someone who could pinpoint where you lack was important. Without these resources and guidance, you operate blindly.”

-Sean Ireland