I think you are calculating this a bit wrong.
For all three choices, you should calculate your estimated costs over three years, and also your estimated salary over three years. If the tuition reimbursement requires you to stay at your job for a certain period afterwards, then you should include that time as well. You are going to be paying living expenses no matter which option you choose; it's not like your rent is free right now. The difference is that if you go full time, you won't be earning a salary for two years (but you will then, perhaps, earn more when you graduate?). Plus the tuition differences, of course.
Yeah, you're absolutely right. I tend to focus on *debt*, which is why for a full-time program, I'm also thinking about living expenses, because it's all being paid by debt, whereas in my part-time program, it's not as much of a concern. But you're right.
Below is what I calculated for Fall 2016 thru Spring 2019 (when I would graduate from a PT program). I should add that it's hard to accurately estimate what my salary will be post-graduation. There's a broad range of things I'm interested in (and could potentially be) doing. If I were to work for a multinational company doing business in Africa, surely my salary would be on the higher end, but if I stay somewhere more towards the "social good" end of the spectrum (impact investing, public-private partnerships, international development, etc), the salary would be lower.
Maryland PT:
-tuition costs after work's tuition reimbursement: $47,852.00
-living expenses: ~$53,500
-salary, after taxes: ~$108,000
-contributions from work to retirement account: ~$16,500 (in addition to a 4% match, they also have a contribution they give that does not depend on my own contribution. It's currently at 2.5% but I need to work another year for it to be vested. After that, I begin getting *another* 4%, that is immediately vested)
Net: ~$23,150Georgetown PT:
-tuition costs after work's tuition reimbursement: $92,262.50
-living expenses: ~$53,500
-salary, after taxes: ~$108,000
-contributions from work to retirement account: ~$16,500
Net: ~$-21,375Maryland FT:
-tuition and living expenses during school: $73,000
-living expenses third year, after graduating: $20,000
-conservative estimate of post-tax salary after graduating: $47,000 (assuming $65,000 salary)
-less conservative estimate of post-tax salary after graduating: $56,000 (assuming $80,000 salary)
-Conservative net: -$46,000
-Less conservative net: -$37,000]/Tufts Fletcher School FT:
-tuition and living expenses during school: $95,450
-living expenses third year, after graduating: $20,000
-conservative estimate of post-tax salary after graduating: $47,000 (assuming $65,000 salary)
-less conservative estimate of post-tax salary after graduating: $56,000 (assuming $80,000 salary)
-Conservative net: -$68,450
-Less conservative net: -$59,450By a purely financial standpoint, doing Maryland PT is a clear winner. I just worry that if I want to make a little bit of a transition, that it won't open that opportunity for me as much as other options would. I've also been talking with some Fletcher school grads recently, and being a school that focuses on public policy, diplomacy, and development, the Masters in Business students are getting jobs in things that I find really interesting and want to do (and as one alum told me, he thought everyone at the traditional business schools were boring...which is kind of how I feel). And no one there says that they regret the debt they took on.
I'm attracted to the Maryland PT program because of the finances, but sometimes when I think about my career, I worry that I'm being too short-sighted or myopic in my focus on finances - I want to be financially independent, but I also want to enjoy life and do work that I love until I get there. If money wasn't a consideration, Tufts is the program I would most enjoy. And though I could get the type of jobs that I want to do with either an MBA or am MIB, the alumni network of Tufts seems more relevant to me.
I've been talking with a lot of people in my field/the fields I'm interested in working in, as well as people who are in the programs I'm looking at. I feel awkward explaining to them my financial goals of being financially independent. As most people on this forum experience, people don't get that. Perhaps even more so in my field, where people pursue this work because of their passions, not for money. This is the only place where I can really talk about that goal. At the same time, since my career field is so niche, I feel like no one here truly understands the dynamics and issues in my field and how that should affect my decision.
In other words, I wish I could find someone who I feel truly understands both my values of financial independence as well as the career field I'm trying to succeed in!