Kelley Direct – Top Ranked Online MBA Program in Bloomington IN

First of all, congratulations on your decision to pursue an MBA while working and good luck on your GMAT and applications. Depending on where you are in the process, you can look forward to hours of hard work during evenings and weekends from now until the day you receive that wonderful call and email from admissions (the envelopes come a few days after). I’m not saying this to get you down, I just want to set realistic expectations for what it takes to get into a top ranked MBA program. A week from today marks the one year anniversary for when I ordered my official GMAT prep books, and looking back I realize now that October 2011 was actually when my MBA education began. Since then it has been a lesson in self-motivation, time-management, and decision-making, very very difficult decision making.

Are there any quality part-time MBA programs near you?

One of the biggest constraints for part-time MBA students is that they are limited to the schools within driving distance of where they live. I had a slightly different problem. Living in the Chicago area means you’re lucky enough to have two of the best MBA programs in the world on your list of potential part-time B-schools. Kellogg and Booth were both obvious choices for me, but let’s be honest – there was no guarantee that I would be able to get into either of them. Unfortunately, the next closest top tier programs are located in neighboring states, so if I didn’t get into Booth or Kellogg I would have to choose from other local schools. Or at least I thought so until March when I received this email from Kelley Direct…

“Imagine a renowned MBA program that will provide you elite business skills, but not that you spend your Saturday in class or deal with the hassle of commuting to class after work.  Thanks to the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, you can earn a top MBA around your schedule.”

Sounds pretty good right? I sure thought so! They were holding an info session in my area in April so I decided to go to learn more. After talking to Erin, the Director of Admissions, and other Kelley Direct students it became obvious that this program should be on my list for consideration.I know what you’re thinking… “but it’s online! Is that even a real MBA?

Is an online MBA worth it?

That’s the $100K question and why you’re reading this post right? This is also where it gets complicated, so I’m going give you my take, explain my reasoning, and then provide you with links to resources to help you make the decision yourself. Clearly, I thought an online MBA program, specifically the Kelley Direct program, was worth it. Why else would I have agreed to invest thousands of dollars and the next 2.5 to 3 years of my life into it? Here’s a secret: every student at a top MBA program will tell you their program is great because it’s true. You have to figure out what makes the most sense for your career goals. Note that the comments below are coming from a marketer who is looking to grow his career prospects in the online marketing and E-Commerce space.

The Cost Factor: Does the price of an MBA even matter?

As I’m sure you have already discovered, elite MBA programs are expensive. Kelley Direct is not cheap by any standards, but we’re talking about $110K+ for Booth and Kellogg vs. $60K+ for Kelley. The nice thing about Kelley though, is that they reward you with scholarships if you’re good enough to get into the top tier programs. That means if you have a high GMAT score, GPA and strong application then you will pay even less than $60K for a top 20 MBA. Depending on what your starting salary is, this can really help increase your ROI very quickly.

Here’s the advice that I heard most often when I was searching for a school: “Always go with the best brand name, regardless of the cost. It will take longer to payback your loans, but you’ll get a much better job out of the gate and your chances for advancement will also be better.” It makes a lot of sense for MBA’s in traditional career paths who want to get jobs at companies who recruit only at certain schools, but I’m not one of those people. Here’s a resource on cost to make you think more about this issue: http://poetsandquants.com/2011/01/07/is-an-elite-mba-degree-worth-the-cost/. Don’t get me wrong, if you have the financial resources and are shooting for the costlier options, an extra $40K to $60K is not much when you spread it out over the 25+ more years you will be working after your MBA. But the opportunity cost of taking a loan for this extra amount was significant enough for me to give it some thought – that’s all I want to get across to you.

The Network Factor: What is the quality of the alumni network & students?

Did you know the Kelley School of Business has the largest business school alumni network in the world? Now you do. One of the reasons I wanted to go to a selective and reputable MBA program was for the opportunity to grow my network with other highly self-motivated individuals. I worked hard to get an engineering degree from the U of IL, to start my own business and to make the switch from an engineering job to a marketing job and grow in this field. I want to be with others who are willing to work hard in class, grow in their careers and do great things for their communities. The GMAT is one way to determine how hard a student will be willing to work. Kelley Direct’s average GMAT is around 630 (full-time program’s average is 680), which is 70 points (120 points full-time) higher than the average score of the next best local option. Kelley incentivizes students who would otherwise attend higher ranked part-time programs because they are committed to bringing quality students to their online program. From my experiences at Kelley Connect Week (read more about that below), group work in classes so far, and the members of the KD Marketing Club I can say that it is working.

I was fortunate enough to be in a winning case competition group whose members were willing to stay up until 2 AM every night to finish work during Connect Week; I am currently working on weekly assignments with five different people located in different parts of the US who all want to finish work well ahead of time; and I have also taken on the role of VP of Integrated Marketing for the KD Marketing Club to work with both 1st and 2nd year students to plan a Chicago marketing company tour & conference in 2013. A huge part of why I am really happy with Kelley Direct so far is the people I have met and work with on a weekly basis.

Another thing about MBA networks – it is usually most helpful if your network is located where you want to be working in the future. Having lived in Chicago and its suburbs my entire life, I have had the opportunity to know and work with several Kellogg and Booth grads – my current supervisor is a Booth MBA (you should have seen the look on his face when I told him my decision – just kidding Jamon, he was actually very supportive). I know I can connect with more alumni from these great schools if I need to, but I don’t know as many Kelley alumni right now. The fact that Kelley has strong networks in many major cities in the US really appeals to me. I love my current job and don’t have any plans to ditch Chicago any time soon, but who knows what may happen 10 years down the road. One of the reasons to get an MBA is to give yourself more options – and that’s what Kelley Direct will do for me.

Take a look at the stats from my cohort’s LinkedIn group for some insight into my immediate Kelley Direct network:

I should note, there are several people from California (Kelley has a huge network in San Francisco and Kelley Direct is growing in LA) in my class as well, but they may not have joined this LinkedIn group yet.

Kelley is very well recognized by the marketing community – that was important to me. Learn more about the Kelley Business School Alumni and their other strengths here: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/indiana-university-kelley/global-mba-rankings-2012#profile

Learn about Kelley Connect Week: http://kelleydirect.blogspot.com/2012/03/intro-to-kelley-connect-week.html and: http://kelleydirect.blogspot.com/2009/10/distance-education-mba-program-with.html

The Flexibility Factor: How important is a flexible program/schedule to you?

At my current job I work remote once a week a have weekly meetings using Adobe Connect (the Web-conferencing software Kelley Direct uses for its live classes) with people in different parts of the country. In a previous job I worked for a manager who I only met once because he lived in Costa Rica. This is reality and I love the flexibility that comes with it. Kelley Direct has embraced this reality and has enabled me to extend it to my MBA studies. I can attend class live every week and chat with my classmates and professor to get real-time answers or I can save it until the weekend if I have a busy week at work.

The Kelley School of Business has figured out a way to make its top 20 MBA program accessible to students looking for top tier MBA programs all over the country (and world) and they have made it one of their biggest priorities.

Professor Phillip Powell, the former chair of the full time Kelley MBA program, is now the chair of the Kelley Direct program. He personally cold-called me when I was trying to decide between Kelley and Booth and spent an hour on the phone with me going over my questions and concerns. What really got me interested was the personal online branding program that he is working on for Kelley Direct students. He gets it. Kelley gets it. They are turning something that is seen as a disadvantage (online school) into a positive for their students. They understand the value of in-person contact, so they bring us all together at one of most beautiful campuses in the US for a week to attend class with the professors who will be teaching our classes and the students who we will be working with for the next 2 to 3 years. They really know how to make you feel like you’re a part of the larger Kelley community. The flexibility of the online classes (which are taught by the same highly regarded professors as the full-time program) paired with the in-residence weeks is a powerful advantage for Kelley Direct, and it is just one more reason why this program should be on your short list.

I realize this is getting a bit long, so I will end it here. Look out for more info about Kelley Direct from me in the future and reach out if you want to know more. Just one last thing before I let you go, here’s the kind of stuff you’ll be dealing with for a while if you do have to make a decision like I did – but was totally worth it! 🙂

My Contact Info

If you have any questions about Kelley Direct, the GMAT or anything MBA related feel free to post it in the comments below or shoot me an email here. I will do my best to get back to you within a few days.

Other Resources about Online MBA Programs and Kelley Direct

• Why Distance-learning MBAs Matter – The Economist
• Top Online MBA Programs Analysis – The Economist
• Kelley Direct Blog – great for more information about the program from students
• Kelley Direct MBA Graduate Salary Data from 2011 – 2012
• Bringing Prestige & Status to the Online MBA – Poets & Quants (great resource for MBA info)
• Online MBA Salary Expectations – Bloomberg Businessweek (remember the top salary numbers that schools report may have little to nothing to do with your job or prospective job)
• If you’re considering Kelley Direct, you’ve probably looked at UNC too – maybe you should… just saying.
• Introverts May find Refuge in Online MBA Programs – USNews
• Comparing Online and In-class MBA Students – Rochester Institute of Technology (excerpt: “only small differences were found in the learning outcome measures between online and in-class students.  However, input measures indicate that the online students may have been better prepared for the course.”)
• Why an Online MBA? – OnlineMBA.com
• How to Sell Your Online MBA to Prospective Employers – Distance-education.org

You may also like:

• Kelley Direct Ranked Top 3 Online Business Graduate Program by US News
• Kelley Direct MBA Resources