Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

Society Business and Career
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I am planning on going back to school this fall InshaAllah to pursue a Bachelors in Business Administration & then down the road a Masters in Business Administration as well. Most probably in Management Information Systems.

It will be in Houston, TX. Two good business schools I have come across are University of Houston & Rice University. Rice seems to be better in reputation than UH but then if UH will cost $8,000 a year Rice is $44,000 a year.

I did some online reading & my impression is that employers definitely look at what school you get your degree from. Hubby jee says that logic applies to people fresh out of grad school & what employers really look for in real life is experience.

My question is keeping in mind that I am a stay at home mom & InshaAllah if all goes well, also plan on having another baby in the next 2 years & then eventually work from home (While attending school I will also be getting SAP training from my husband)

In short plan is to get the Bachelors degree, have another baby InshaAllah, take a year break, get my masters degree, work from home as a SAP administrator & then 3-5 years down the road open up our own restaurant (something we both have always wanted to do)

Before anyone asks, the reason I want to further pursue my education is even though in my philosophy family comes first & whenever I work, I 'll prefer working from home, I also want to become a woman who God forbid anything bad happens is able to support the family without making her husband go through a guilt trip. Not to forget how much I’ll learn which in turn will help me become a better mom, wife & human being.

Keeping all this in mind how smart is it to spend extra money on a degree from Rice vs a degree from University of Houston?

I was also thinking if anything I can get my BBA from UH & then my MBA from Rice. Does big money really pay off at the end?

For a stay at home mom like me does it actually matter or will it be just self satisfying?

Also comments from people who have attended either universities?

p.s at the moment I have an Associates Degree in Applied Sciences.

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

i think an MBA from Rice would be way better than one from UH in terms of opportunities. but from what i know, none of the big paying jobs are looking for fresh faces with zero job experience. perhaps you should work a couple of years after your BBA, and then do your MBA, or do your MBA while working. also if you are considering learning SAP from hubby, why not scrap the whole BBA program idea, and do a software/IT degree instead? are BBA degrees of any use?

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

Queer if all goes well SAP training should not take me more than 6 months. After that I am hoping to land a project as a consultant while doing my Bachelors. That way I can work from home without sacrificing family & build up my resume as well.

Except for the baby break. I plan on working till I get my MBA & then continue working till the restaurant bit.

You have got me thinking about quitting the BBA thought though. Any suggestions on what software/IT degree I can look into? Keeping in my mind my crappy math skills but love for computers.

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

85 views & only one response. I need more than this people. I only have 3 weeks to decide. Help a Guppan out.

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

I m in Houston and in the IT field. I know quite a few of my friends have been looking for jobs for a year since they were laid off and they were working with SAP. I m not sure if you have a connection that will let you get a job in SAP.

IT market in houston has been pretty bad and have only recently gotten better.

If you are thinking about opening a restaurant business its pretty good in Houston specially a good quality desi one. You should be able to do something like that from home where I have seen folks delivering food to stores and homes.

As far as the education goes, I m working on my MISM from Keller Graduate School (on site) and its been pretty good for me to complete it. Only have a couple of classes before I graduate and in my most recent interview the employer didnt seem to care where I was getting my masters from as long as it was onsite and not an online degree.

Hope this helps.

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

It certainly does help. Thank you us1415.

As far as the connection with SAP goes, its my husband. I am pretty sure that won't be a problem InshaAllah. If any of your friends is looking for a job in SAP & they are flexible with moving to Denver let me know. The company my husband is leaving is looking for SAP employees in the Basis department. You never know.

Although I will be residing in Houston (we move next week) as mentioned before I will be working from home so in that case the job that I get most likely won't be in Houston but some other place in US. Its more like, me trying to find a project where I can work remotely (work from home) so I am not that concerned about the SAP scene in Houston.

Biggest reason I am inclined towards SAP is because besides the fact that its something that has always sparked my interest since HS I can get the training at home from Hubby jee, saving me time & money & then InshaAllah with his contacts I know I should be able to find something to start off. I am not hoping to land a 100k job right from the start rather build my experience so I probably won't be much picky either when it comes to finding except that it should be a remote project.

As far as the restaurant goes, I know that market is great in Houston. We plan on doing something unique when the time comes. Something we will do our proper research on when we embark on that venture.

I know we have quite a few Guppies from Houston. Its nice to come across another one.

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

We have quite a few professionals on GS. What do you guys think about the question I asked initially?

Does spending extra money on a degree really pays off at the end or you can make whatever you want the way YOU want it. Big school or not. I know I have great learning skills & I always strive for the best. Had a 3.9 GPA my first two years of college.

Now with a family if I am going to invest my time & money I want to make the most of it in every single way possible.

Also is a business major easier than a computer science major as some people make it out to be or both are equally competitive?

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

BeN: :welcome: I am second to suggest you to drop the idea of BBA and MBA if you are interested in SAP Basis consultancy. But I would highly recommend you to learn HANA too, because it is new business intelligence tool which SAP few years back launched. Your basis background + HANA knowledge will definitely pay you back huge money which you cant imagine in BBA/MBA kind of job.

If you are interested in completing your BBA as you mentioned that you are already associate of science which indicates that you only need to study two flat years as full time student. The idea of pursuing MBA from Rice is absolutely fine as long as you can afford it and it always worth you in future. It is best option for you after completing BBA to get job in good company which offer you tuition reimbursement. Usually VP/Director level positions get that kind of perks of full tuition reimbursement of Rice University (correct me if I am wrong). You may check JP Morgan, I heard they do have that kind of job benefit.

MBA program of UH is not that bad, it is just like you study same thing in state university. Let me know if you need further information.

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

If you are staying local for education, balancing cost, school standing etc I would say get your undergrad at UH and get your MBA from university of texas mccombs biz school, which offers classes in houston.

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

Hey STA. Thank you :slight_smile: So looking forward to the move. I have a lot of questions regarding Houston but they are probably better suited for another thread. I might bug you hear & there with questions.

Thanks for the HANA recommendation. I’ll definitely look into that.

I was looking at Rice’s scholarship programs & if you fit a certain criteria you get 22,000 off every year( its renewable) When the time comes I’ll also look into the company paying for my Masters degree bit. I am hoping to complete my bachelors with great grades & then keeping my fingers crossed for a full scholarship. I know its a long shot but I am going to try for that & if not then we’ll just pay out of pocket.

Someone else also told me that UH is a reputable university yet affordable at the same time. I know its notable for its business program but what about IT?

Are there any other universities that I should be looking into as well? Hubby jee will be working in the energy corridor. We will likely look for a house somewhere near that area. So keeping that location in mind what other options do I have?

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X2 staying local is definitely important. As far as the cost part is concerned I am willing to spend for my program only if I know its worth spending it. If you know what I mean. Its not just oh I got a degree from so & so but the difference in how much will it prepare me for practical times.

I'll look into Mccombs as well. I want to ask you one thing though. Something I asked earlier as well. I am not that great at math & one of the biggest reason I was looking into a BBA was to avoid as much math courses as I could. Would a computer science/IT degree be any different, have less math or just a bout the same? I know this sounds like a childish question. Math freaks me out big time. God knows how completed my previous courses.

Thanks in advance.

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Both will have a good bit of math involved. In business you will have math in accounting, statistics, ops mgmt, marketing etc etc.

I hated math and absolutely sucked at it in highschool, but in biz school enjoyed the practical applications of math and did well.

Btw ranking wise last time I checked UT has a higher ranking than Rice. plus it's cheaper.

SAP and MBA are not mutually exclusive, if lets say you guys don't do the restaurant thing or plans change, having an MBA will be of great help moving up and in broader roles.

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

mashaAllah when you say energy corridor I can predict it is one of the foreign county from Europe if my guess is right. Its IT/CS program is also good. other option for you could be UHCL, but that is too far away from Houston (approx. 40 miles). I personally dont think you would prefer that. Memorial is good choice and many doctors/engineer live there. Sugarland is another option where you can see large desi population. NW houston is also good. In your case, you should stick to Memorial area and if you need more help regarding that area I can direct you to a guppan who knows more about that area.

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I will not recommend you to step in restaurant business, it is one of the most riskier business.

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No advice here, but your'e a cool lady Bint e Naeem...inshAllah best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

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I'm not sure of the rankings nor am I in the business field........so don't know if this will help.

But I suggest going to the 'cheaper' school for a bachelor's and the better ranking school for any post-grad degree. That is what I did (and currently finishing up) and it worked well for me.

I went to a state university over a UC for my undergrad because of money and other reasons and then choose the 'higher ranked' school for my post-graduate degree. If you have the grades and work experience you should have no problem getting into a post-graduate school, regardless of what school you did your bachelor's at. However, I've noticed employers definitely do care where I go to school now (post-graduate) and I'm pretty sure I got my current position at work due to connections the school has with my employer.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, wrote it in a hurry.......

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

Bint e,

My biggest mistake was getting an MBA right out of college at 21 and it wasn’t fun. Given a choice, I would have preferred to have had some experience before jumping into the bandwagon. If you decide to get your MBA, make sure there is enough work exp. I’d also suggest getting your MBA from a better school compared to your B’s just because in my experience everyone focuses on your last degree/school more (I am not sure what the rating for UH or Rice is, but I am presuming Rice to be better).

Someone suggested getting an IT degree instead of BBA and I would whole heartily agree. If you are to follow the SAP path, why not get your degree in IT? So much better scope in my opinion and it will give you an option to learn some other languages/programs. I always consider IT to be safer in terms of job security compared to others:-)

Restaurant businesses are such neat ideas and there is so much to play around in terms of creativity and food. All the best. I am sure the MBA degree would be a great asset to the future business.

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Your post regarding the math bit gives me hope. Someone else who lives in Houston told me about UT as well. I'll look into all four schools now. Thank you.


Not sure I understand you here.


I know two guppans who live in Houston, if there is is someone else, I would love to know her. As I said I have many questions & its always nice to hear different perspectives.

STA I am not sure about wanting to live somewhere where Desi doctors/engineers live. More than often Desis living in US in these particular professions are such snobs. If we live across someone sure, but I wouldn't go out of my to find a neighborhood with doctors & such. We were thinking Katy or Cinco Ranch or someone said Eldridge & Briar Forest as well.


:) I know it is. More than 90% of restaurants fail within their very first year. I also know that I have in my own not so big kitchen without any commercial appliances cooked for 250 people at one time & surprisingly pulled it off well.

Every major decision in life we take as a couple is based on an "Istikhaara" Opening a restaurant will be based on that as well. If Allah wills then sure, if not then we might have something else awaiting us.

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I am humbled Sara. Have a lot of goals in life. Trying to tackle them one step at a time. Thank you. In fact Jazak Allah Khair :) Your post means a lot to me.


Guac it makes absolute sense. I am thinking that's what I'll end up doing. University of Houston is cheaper but its reputable for its programs & then post grad I'll look into an even better ranked school.

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Re: Bigger Bang for Your Buck when Choosing Universities?

Well, I dont have much knowledge about Uni's but still I would suggest you, if you really want a degree just get it from any uni. even online maybe, try to save money and invest.Degree is a just a label not gonna help you in any way to make money...I quit my studies after A levels, actually never wanted but I had to because of financial difficulties, I really wnated to see uni. life but today when I look back, think and look at my friends who wasted there time in getting degrees from the so callled famous uni's I feel Thankful to Almighty that I never wasted my time.Frankly speaking, real world is complete opposite to what they taught you in theory.I mean the purpose of life is live contently, its not neccesarly about making money, so whats the purpose of wasting time.I mean after getting a degree you gonna work for a company for few thousands, like my freinds do, and I make Alhamdolilah much much more then they can ever earn.
Khair best of luck with whatever you do but I would really suggest you to always think as an employer not as an employee & make contacts, contact means power.
:)