I'm going to do an online MBA program but I can't make up my mind between IU Kelley and IE Business School.

I'm American and plan to stay in the US, so I would assume that IU Kelley has a wider network for potential jobs. On the other hand, with the exchange rates, IE is a fair bit more affordable now for me. Plus, it's ranked higher. I just don't know how much weight this degree would add to my resume in terms of American employers. My career field is supply chain and I want an MBA to give me more leverage in applying for higher level jobs that pay better.

I think that very few US firms will know the international MBA scene. Since the supply chain is not a major hirer of MBA talent, in the way of finance or consulting, I would say that Kelley is certainly the better choice unless the firm you are looking at has IE alumni.

Try this: How to use LinkedIn to find the best school www.find-mba.com/board/33571

This makes sense. Another option would be for me to do a part time MBA program at a local school here in eastern PA. I know that the University of Scranton offers a part time MBA which is less than the cost of either of the online programs that I am looking at. I doesn't have the same kind of reputation as IU or IE, though.

One place where part-time programs excel vs. online programs is that they can better help you develop your soft skills like leadership and teamwork.

In terms of post-graduate career advancement, I would think that the part-time programs like the Scranton one would have more connections locally, whereas IU's would have a bit of a broader network. However, as far as I know neither school publishes placement reports for these programs, so you'll have to do some legwork -- ask them, or scour Linkedin -- to see where graduates end up.

I've had the same thoughts. To assuage my fears about soft skill development, the Kelley rep that I talked to told me that they do have on-campus residency weeks and a global business project option. Not sure if that's really an ideal substitute for actual weekly classes, though.

I'll ask the schools about their placement reports. Thanks for your help!

I'm curious if whether you opted for Kelley. I'm considering it as well as well as a few others.

Actually went in an entirely different way and am now doing the part-time MBA at Katz.

I'm curious: are you doing any of the curriculum online? It looks like they're offering this as a blended option now.