JD/MBA: My Final Answer

This week there was another informational meeting about the dual JD/MBA program.

The idea keeps tempting me, but after long, careful contemplation, I am not going to go for it. The first time I considered it I decided not to because my debt from law school at Baylor and undergraduate at TCU is too great to justify spending any more on credentials before I get some income. But when I get new information, I reconsider my position. I learned that with my GMAT scores, I would very likely get a full ride. The dual degree program would save me from spending tuition for 12 hours at the law school rate, saving me some real money.

It wasn't enough to make it irresistible, though. There's the opportunity cost of the 15 months it would take me to do the program. In the long run, I probably make up for that time because of the extra credential. In the short term, however, the MBA isn't considered as valuable in the practice of law as the JD is in business. I want to practice law.

Despite my continuing interest in business subjects since high school, and good scores when I took the GMAT, law school was still my first choice. An MBA wasn't my second choice either; I set my sights on a masters in finance program at a top school, even though I'd have to pick up a couple more math classes before I'd be eligible to apply. MBA programs followed those options.

If the value is knowing the material, I want intellectual rigor in the instruction. I am not sure that MBA programs have enough of it. Law does (or at least Baylor's program does). A masters in finance program does too, because of the emphasis on accounting and finance. An MBA, though, is less accounting and finance and more marketing and management. I find those subjects interesting and consider them important, but they aren't rigorous.

If the value is knowing the material, I can learn it myself. I have access to the internet, to the local public library, and to the research libraries of Baylor University. I'm the kind of guy who has been known to read economics textbooks for fun.

The value of an MBA isn't knowing the material, though. The value is in the connections with the other students. At Wharton the connections are generally going to be higher placed than those at Hankamer. At some point I'll have the work experience that when combined with my test scores would make me a competitive applicant at any top school (granted my scores will expire before then, but I can do as well again). From that perspective, if I care to get an MBA, I ought to wait and go to a top school.

Maybe I will go after an MBA at some point. But the JD/MBA is a no.