What Could You Do with an Extra $50K? Save Big on a Master’s Degree Abroad
Boost your career and earning potential while saving thousands—studying in France could also mean retiring years earlier and exploring the world. Discover how to make it happen.
Exploring an Affordable and Life-Changing Master’s Degree Abroad
In this article, we dig into how thinking outside the box to pursue a Master's degree abroad can help you up-skill, create new career opportunities, and save tens of thousands of dollars. As a Geo-Arbitrator, studying in places like Europe not only offers a world-class education at a fraction of the cost, but also the chance to immerse yourself in a new culture, learn a new language, and build global connections.
We’ll compare the cost and benefits of completing a Master’s in Business Administration in Australia versus France, showing how studying overseas can open doors both professionally and personally. By choosing a more affordable program in a beautiful part of Europe, you can gain valuable skills, experience life in a new country, and reduce your costs—all while positioning yourself for future success.
Now whilst I created this scenario aimed at an early to mid career adult looking for advancement, the strategy is just as easily applied to a new Graduate who wants to get financially and culturally ahead and live a life less ordinary.
Scenario Time
Imagine you're an Australian professional aiming to enhance your career. You’ve decided on a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) to unlock higher-paying opportunities and boost your prospects. Planning to finish in two years, you hope to advance quickly. However, you soon realise that business degrees, like many postgraduate programs in Australia, are rarely subsidised under the Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) scheme. Since business isn’t classified as a critical skills shortage area like teaching or healthcare, you face full tuition fees, often ranging from AUD $60,000 to $120,000 for a two-year program. Being that you’re an out of the box Geo-Arbitrator, you’re seeking a more affordable option that offers maximum life benefits. You start to explore Europe, drawn by its competitive business schools and the possibility of the same quality education but at a lower cost.
You lay down some criteria to help you find the right program for you:
- The course must be in English
- 2 years or less to complete full time
- Quality and Recognition of MBA
- Cost less than it would just to study and live in Australia over the same period
- Cultural experiences nearby
That looks like a good basis. What's next?
Australian Study & Living Costs
Before you start looking overseas, you need to establish the Australian baseline that you will be comparing your overseas options against.
You decide that Melbourne’s RMIT is a good point of comparison because you did your bachelor’s degree there, their business school is well regarded, and their MBA is very internationally focused.
Now, averaging out the cost of living (shared accommodation) and the course program each year, if you stayed in Australia, you would be spending conservatively $110,000 AUD to live and complete your MBA in Melbourne, over two years.
So with our program and cost points of comparison laid out, let’s begin the search. Start with Masterportal.com because it makes comparing programs easier. (Not a paid promotion..lol I wish).
Using this site you’re able to search for the program type you want and add in parameters like, price, duration, locations etc etc. You find a lot of good options that meet your criteria, but finally, you whittle it down to a choice between a course in Denmark and one in France. With the idea of returning to Australia with “Fluent in French” on your newly updated CV, you finally settle on the MBA from the University of Rennes, France (UoR).
Lets see how were getting on meeting those criteria we set out above.
Course is Taught in English? Yes
Can complete it in 2 years? Yes
So far, so good.
Comparing MBAs
Quality and Recognition of MBA
Next let’s look at the quality of the programs on offer. The University of Rennes, School of Business, provides a very favourable option from a quality and recognition perspective and is particularly well regarded in the European sphere. UoR is ranked in the top 3% of Universities in the world, is triple accredited, and the MBA program is ranked in the top 100 in the world by multiple university rating institutions. So a top school, in a beautiful place, with amazing food and the opportunity to also learn a very sexy language... how are we still discussing this? Why aren’t we booking tickets already?
Cost Comparison
This section will look at the big expense elements to compare how much it will cost not just for the programs, but for living the student life in both locations. All prices are in Australian Dollary-doos.
MBA Program Cost
RMIT - $50,000
UoR - $15,790
Living Costs
Melbourne - $60,000 conservatively for both years
Rennes - $39,792 based on student living data for both years.
Miscellaneous Costs
These include flights, medical and travel insurance, along with visa fees, etc. I have not included extra flights for someone wanting to come back to Australia for Christmas or Poppas' birthday shindig, etc.
RMIT - $0
UoR - $4,077
Total Cost for completing your 2-year MBA… drum roll please…
RMIT - $110,000
UoR - $59,823
Wow! That’s a huge difference and a significant opportunity cost right there. What could you do with that? Perhaps a year off your retirement schedule. Also think of what you could do with that extra 50k. Put it towards a house deposit, a big chunk for the investment portfolio, a year off work to travel the world later down the track?
If you’re from the United States, this difference in price could be 2-5x more! Imagine being able to get your MBA and not be saddled with 200k in extra debt. How many years does that put you ahead of your US peers? So much less stress and more income in your pocket from the outset.
Ultimately you were going to spend almost twice the price or more to achieve the same or similar outcome, but because you thought about the problem like a Geo-Arbitor, now you have at least 50k worth of new possibilities. Well done you. Treat yourself!
Cultural Experiences Nearby
Now this is going to be subjective as each person will consider "nearby" to be different things. But I’m assessing nearby to be somewhere that a student who only has access to public transport could get to and experience during their weekends or semester breaks. The train network makes getting around France/Europe a piece of pain au chocolat, and your course includes 250 hours of French lessons. With that being said, it seems to me that the wineries in nearby Bordeaux are the perfect place to take your newly learned French vocabulary for a spin.
But perhaps you’re more refined? Seeking more culture? Fancy Paris for the weekend? Just a 90-minute train ride away, and you can be exploring the museums and walking the banks of the Seine. How about seeing the iconic Mont-Saint-Michel? A short bus ride away from your university. Brittany is also famous for its rolling hills, coastal cliffs, and tasty cheeses. Not to mention a huge range of local foods like its seafood and cider.
Sounds like the University of Rennes is a student's dream and has plenty for you to do and explore in your downtime. Perhaps i’m just biased.
Summary
How did the two compare overall?
I’m not saying that Melbourne doesn’t have Cultural Experiences nearby but if you already live there (as in the scenario, i’m assuming you’ve already done them :-)
By thinking outside the box and pursuing a Master's degree abroad, you can save tens of thousands of dollars while unlocking valuable career opportunities. Studying in places like France offers world-class education at a fraction of the cost, along with the chance to learn a new language and immerse yourself in vibrant cultures.
This article has compared the costs of completing an MBA in Australia versus France. The University of Rennes offers a high-quality, internationally recognized MBA for just $59,823, compared to $110,000 in Melbourne. In addition to financial savings, you’ll gain cultural experiences and explore regions like Bordeaux and Paris.
Think about what you could do with a new MBA on your resume, a new language up your sleeve, an extra $50K in the bank, and a contact list full of global connections. All this, simply by approaching your education in a different way. Studying abroad not only cuts costs but also enriches your career and personal life. Start planning your future today.
Cheers
Andy
Valencia/Madrid/Panama
Petsitting this good boy was a not only a highlight of our visit to Valencia but was a great way to get 10 free days of accommodation and make new friends. Win Win Win.
Sources
CSP Supported Programs - https://www.fees.uwa.edu.au/Browse/BrowseCourses?feeType=DPG&feeYear=2021
Masters Programs - https://www.mastersportal.com/?redirect=false
Melbourne Cost of Living - https://www.rmit.edu.au/study-with-us/moving-to-melbourne/costs-of-living
Melbourne Cost of Living - https://www.monash.edu/study/why-choose-monash/our-locations/life-in-melbourne/cost-of-living
Melbourne Cost of Living - https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Melbourne
Melbourne Vs Renne Cost of Living - https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=France&country2=Australia&city1=Rennes&city2=Melbourne&tracking=getDispatchComparison
University of Rennes - https://www.igr.univ-rennes.fr/en/formation/en-france-mba-international-management/
MBA Rankings - https://rankings.ft.com/schools/350/esc-rennes/programme-portfolio
French Student Visa - https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en/student
Cost of Living in Rennes - https://erasmusplay.com/en/rennes/erasmus-in-rennes.html#:~:text=How%20much%20does%20it%20cost,about%20€800%20per%20month.
Flights to Paris - https://www.skyscanner.com/transport/flights/mel/pari/250311/?adults=1&adultsv2=1&cabinclass=economy&children=0&childrenv2=&inboundaltsenabled=false&infants=0&originentityid=27544894&outboundaltsenabled=false&preferdirects=false&ref=home&rtn=0
Medical Insurance for Students - https://www.april-international.com/en/international-student-insurance/international-student-health-insurance-plan
