But it can also eat into your savings and swell your debt.
For that reason, it's critical for prospective business school students to consider carefully the return on investment offered.
SoFi has ranked MBA programs in the US based on verified salary and debt data from 60,000 people who applied to refinance their student loans with the company.
While elite schools such as Columbia Business School produce graduates with the highest average salaries, lesser-known MBA programs, such as at Brigham Young University, offered students better value for money.
With tuition fees rising and the economy slowing down, business school students are increasingly concerned with the cost of their education.
“Value for money is a big concern,” said Michelle Sisto, director of the MBA at EDHEC Business School in France.
Prospective MBAs must consider not only tuition costs but living and travel expenses too, which altogether can run into more than $100,000 a year at a top-flight school like Stanford Graduate School of Business.
"Going to a business school like this is an investment," said Chad Losee, admissions chief at Harvard Business School.
Business schools have increased the provision of financial aid available to MBA candidates, in some cases by as much as 100%.
But applications to business schools in the US, where MBA programs are generally two years long, have fallen while applications to business schools in Europe, which favour 12-month MBAs, have risen.
Data from the Graduate Management Admissions Council show that MBAs should make a return on their investment in 3.5 years.
Prospective MBA students must work out for themselves whether business school is a bet worth making.
To help guide that decision, we've listed the 10 MBA programs that offer the most bang for your buck:
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