MBA Financing, Financing your MBA
Once the decision to return to school to get your Online MBA has been made, the next issue that most prospective students will need to consider is the options available for MBA Financing. There are a number of choices that students have with several that can considerably lower your overall costs. All of them deserve thorough research before you commit to any specific college or university. MBA financing can include one or a combination of the following:
- Government funded student loans
- Bursaries
- Scholarships
- Grants
- Student line of credit
- Traditional bank financing
- Personal loans from family
- Tuition reimbursement through an employer
As most students apply to several business schools, applications for college scholarships, grants and bursaries should be completed at the same time as your admissions applications. All of these funding sources can make a significant difference in the amount of funds you will need to complete your MBA programs. This is a crucial step as these are monies that do not have to be repaid. Once you have exhausted all possible bursaries, scholarships and grants the next step should be to make a detailed list of all costs that will be incurred while studying for your degree.
Some of the expenses that should be included when Financing your MBA are:
- Computer software that may be required for many MBA quantitative classes
- Extracurricular activities
- Room and board if attending school away from home
- Cost of books
- Travel expenses including those while traveling to and from internship programs
- Professional memberships
Both Canada and the United States offer government funded student loans that generally have better interest and repayment rates. Canada has a National Student Loans Service Centre for Financing your MBA where one can access a number of government funded student loan program such as:
- Canada Student Loans
- Saskatchewan Integrated Student Loans
- New Brunswick Integrated Student Loans
- Ontario Integrated Student Loans
- Newfoundland & Labrador Integrated Student Loans
- Canada Student Loans for Part Time Students
This comprehensive site which can also be reached at www.canlearn.ca allows registered users to access such services as:
- Transaction and payment history
- Update personal information
- Get information on the status of a student loan
- Review any or all loan balance(s)
The United States Government also offers low interest student loans through the U.S. Department of Education. Students can apply for what are referred to as Direct Loans by filling out a free application on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) website. Registered users can manage their student loans at www.dl.ed.gov 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
American students also have other MBA financing options such as:
When researching possible MBA business schools remember to ask about their own financing options as most colleges and universities do have their own loans services departments. While the initial cost of financing your MBA may seem high, with a little investigation most students are able to lower tuition and other related expenses considerably. The key is to first exhaust all possible funding such as grants, bursaries and scholarships which do not have to be repaid.
