These are the 19 best-value MBAs from Europe's elite business schools

Europe has some of the best business schools in the world, and the graduates getting MBAs often see their salaries explode in the years afterwards.

But which are the most financially worthwhile for the students actually going? How quickly can they make back the money they spend on the MBA after they finish?

We took the recently published tuition fee data from the QS/Top MBA global rankings, and used the top 25 European institutions in the ranks as the elite schools.

We also looked at the salary data from the Financial Times' 2014 European Business Schools rankings. The FT looks at the salary of graduates of each school's MBA programme three years after graduation, compared to salaries before the course began. Nineteen of the 25 best Top MBA schools were covered by the FT.

With this, we worked out what proportion of the total fees you could have paid off with the salary increase you saw over the three years after you finished the course. Of course, that salary increase can't all be put down to the school, but it's a good gauge of how quickly graduates are able to recoup the cost of the fees.

18. Imperial Business School: salary gains pay for 64% of fees in three years

Salary three years after graduation: $103,604

Salary gain in percentage terms: 68%

Salary gain in nominal terms: $41,935

Initial MBA fees: $65,691

MBA ranking (Top MBA): 22nd

London-based Imperial Business School comes in at number 9 for the most affordable MBAs in the United Kingdom alone.

With the increase in salaries seen three years after getting an MBA at Imperial, the average holder could pay for 64% of his or her total tuition fees. 

17. University of St. Gallen Business School: salary gains pay for 67% of fees after three years

Salary three years after graduation: $102,158

Salary gain in percentage terms: 65%

Salary gain in nominal terms: $40,224

Initial MBA fees: $60,000

MBA ranking (Top MBA): 15th

St. Gallen is Switzerland's second-best value business school.

That 65% boost in average salaries is nothing to sniff at, but it's a little lower than some of the other schools — and as a result, after three years the typical student's earnings gain would be enough to pay for 67% of the course.

16. London Business School: salary gains pay for 77% of fees after three years

Salary three years after graduation: $156,553

Salary gain in percentage terms: 107%

Salary gain in nominal terms: $80,924

Initial MBA fees: $105,689

MBA ranking (Top MBA): 1st

According to TopMBA LBS offers the best MBA course in Europe, and its students on average have larger salary increases in nominal terms than at any other business school in the continent. 

But that's not enough quite to make up for the cost — which runs to six figures! After three years the salary gain is worth 77% of the price of the course itself.

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