I'm in the market for a b-school. My nirvana would be for UNC-Chapel Hill to have a program in RTP such as NC State University has, alas, no such program exists. (If memory serves, in the early 90s their evening program was held in the park, but later moved back out to Chapel Hill.) At any rate ,hiking out to Chapel Hill multiple times a week is just not gonna happen. Duke's jumbo mortgage tuition? I just have a philosophical problem with that. I cannot tell you how many highly-rated MBA program grads I knowhave told me, " I could have just gone to (insert for-profit school here) and done just as well." So, I've broadened my search to accredited online programs; so far East Carolina's program tops my list there. The more I research, I think the Univ. of Phoenix-type schools have merit (hey, Shaq got his MBA from there...) but the tuition is kind of pricey to me.

And I'll be honest, part of me wants to be a "real" Tar Heel. I am a Carolina fan since Michael Jordan was there, but I feel like such a wannabe since my degree is not from there. I think the sports competition is heightened here since the major schools are in such close proximity, but there is a mystique and fervor I've never seen around Carolina, Duke, and State, as the locals refer to them. No matter how grown you are, you just feel like an outsider if you aren't an alum.

Back in the summer, Erskine Bowles, the UNC system president, announced he'd kicked off work effort to investigate a Univ. of Phoenix model for the UNC system, so maybe I will wait.

Love to hear from all sides on this.


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