MBA in Minneapolis-St Paul (Maple Grove: credit, living, price)

[lukeache]

I was just curious about the different MBA programs here in the area. I have a background in Economics and want to get a MBA in Finance to be a bit more well rounded professionally. I do not need a prestigious MBA like Carlson's but I understand the Carlson MBA and St Cloud are the only 2 MBA programs here in the metro that are accredited by AACSB and that in a way would influence my decision. The price of a Carlson MBA is ridiculous, although they are top 20, the cost is $920 per credit! Even if my employer paid some of it, I would still be heavily in debt after graduating. St Cloud's MBA program offered at Maple Grove is $637 per credit and I could almost graduate debt free. I was wondering if St Cloud is a bad choice. My area of expertise is financial analysis and a MBA is not really crucial, more of a distinction that would separate me from analysts that only have a bachelor's degree. Any help is appreciated.

[Slig]

I go to Carlson and I agree, it's expensive. However, I feel that you get what you pay for in terms of education and the value of the degree when all is said and done. The main reason I chose Carlson is because I want my degree to be recognized internationally in case I feel like living/working in Latin America or Europe later.