Most US MBA programs are two years, hence the tuition is costly. The FT's top three US business schools, Wharton, Harvard and Colombia, all charge their MBA students more than $75,000 in total. Among Europe's top MBA programs, Spain's IE Business School is one of the most expensive with their $72,000 course - only takes a pacey 13-month to complete.

France's HEC Paris, which is also ranked in the world's top 30, has a relatively reasonable $51,000 price-tag, while the world's eighth best MBA program, offered by China's CEIBS, can be completed for a bargain $45,000.

Elite French business school ESSEC is another competitive choice with tuition fees of $22,324 tuitions, and MBAs interested in the Asian market can study in the school's Singapore campus.

But if money is a problem, then Mexico seems to be the answer. After swine flu, a stampede of MBA students may be the last thing Mexico needs, but future business tycoons pay less than $20,000 to attend either ITESM-EGADE or IPADE, the country's top two b-schools.

That's the same price as some of the unaccredited online MBA available at the US that don't require GMAT or much else...