Options for Paying for Business School

While the costs of an MBA can be quite high, there are options for reducing the financial burden. A few of the most common routes are:

• Company sponsorship

  Many companies will provide funding for enable their employees to pursue educational opportunities. Typically, companies fund part-time programs, with the employee continuing to work full time. Some companies will pay for full-time or executive programs; in this case, employees are often required to make a commitment to stay with the company for a certain number of years or be required to reimburse the company. In a few industries, such as consulting and investment banking, some companies have paid all or part of the tuition costs of students who interned with the company between their first and second year and agreed to return to the company full time. This practice has become less common with the financial crisis.

• Full tuition scholarships

  All schools offer some full-tuition scholarships, but these can be difficult to secure. Unlike other masters programs like engineering or history, professional schools (business, law and medical schools) have so many students that providing funding to all students is impossible. Even with a full tuition scholarship, recipients are responsible for living expenses (occasionally, a stipend is included). Depending on the school’s financial aid philosophy and the size of its endowment, schools will provide scholarships to attract top candidates to their programs. Note: these are generally merit-based scholarships.

• Partial scholarships

  The majority of full-time MBA students get some funding to offset the cost of tuition. Now $5,000 off of a $50,000 tuition bill isn’t much but every dollar counts. Schools provide partial scholarships, as do outside professional organizations.

• Need-based scholarships

  Need-based scholarships can be full or partial tuition. Most MBA students do not qualify for need-based scholarships because the income requirements are very low. If you were pursuing service work (such as through Peace Corps) or were in school full-time previous to starting an MBA program, then you may qualify.

• Loan forgiveness

  The cost reduction opportunities listed above, generally offset the cost of business school on the front end so your financial burden is reduced. With loan forgiveness, the offset happens after you have incurred the debt. Some MBA programs offer forgiveness of a portion of the loans that you secured to pay for your MBA (as do some employers), if you pursue a lower paying job in non-profit or government. This is a relatively new option and so each school has its own restriction and requirements.