MBA is an expensive affair. Even to pursue an MBA program in a decent domestic business school, it costs tens of lakhs. The tuition fees of international business schools go off the charts. Hence, it is not that easy to fund your MBA without any aid, support or loan.
Every college provides its avenues to finance an MBA in the form of scholarships and educational loans.
Here are a few most common ways to finance your MBA:
Individually-sponsored banks Loans:
This is the most common way among students to not only finance MBA but any other programs. Many banks provide educational loans up to a percentage of the tuition fees to the students.
If no other way of financing is possible, this can be a go to for all the students who would want to finance their MBA. However, the downside to this method is that generally, the interest rates for the educational loans are much higher when compared to any other methods of financing. Students might have to mortgage collateral to secure an educational loan.
Most education loans cover the following expenses:
- Tuition fees
- Accommodation
- Examination and Laboratory fee
- Library fee
- Books and study material
- Travel expenses
- Essential purchases such as laptops and computers.
School-sponsored bank loans:
Many international universities have tied up with banks in every country to provide easy loans to their students. The details regarding the list of banks a university is tied up with will be available on their website. This is a very quick and hassle-free way of getting an education loan to pursue an International MBA.
MBA Scholarships:
The scholarships in most colleges are on a first come first serve basis hence, applying to the colleges in the first few rounds is always beneficial. Every college would have a set of scholarships that are offered by the colleges themselves, private foundations, trusts or corporate sponsors. These scholarships usually come with a set of requirements that the candidates have fulfilled in order to be eligible for the particular scholarship.
However, it’s just not only the B-schools which are providing scholarship to the students, many other organizations or foundations also provide scholarship. Some popular scholarship programs Indians can avail are as follows:
- B. Akhtarali H. Tobaccowala Fellowship (Chicago Booth School of Business)
- Stanford Reliance Dhirubhai MBA Fellowship (only for Stanford MBA)
- B. Joseph Wharton Fellowships (For Wharton)
- Donald P. Jacobs International Scholarships
- Meyer Feldberg Distinguished Fellowship Program
- McGowan Fellows Program
- AAUW- International fellowships for women
- Fulbright program
- Aga Khan
- Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships
There are many more scholarships like these that consider and offer scholarships to Indian students. Do your research thoroughly and before-hand, as these scholarships are given to a very limited number of students. Hence, if you are strongly looking at a scholarship to finance your education, applying in Round 1 or Round 2 will give you enough time and good opportunities to seek good scholarships.
Non-Bank Educational Loans:
Apart from traditional banks, some NBFCs (Non-Banking Finance Institutions) also offer educational loans. Therefore, NBFC educational loans can also be considered for financing your MBA. One major advantage of taking a loan for NBFC is that the rules and requirements of an NBFC are much relaxed when compared to that of banks.The following are few NBFCs in India which provide education loans:
- Credila
- Avanse Education Loan
- Global Student Loan Corporation
- International Student Loan Program
Internships/Apprenticeship:
It is mandatory in most International MBA programs to do a summer internship. These internships give industry exposure, opportunities to network and experience to the students. Moreover, these internships also offer a handsome pay.
As the summer internships are restricted to a maximum of a couple of months, this can’t be a constant source of income for the students. However, though the funds earned from internship would not be sufficient to fund tuition fees, it may be enough to cover other expenses.
On-campus jobs:
Though not preferable, another way to bring in some income to finance your education is through on-campus jobs. Most universities hire in-house students as research assistants or teaching assistants. However, the number of these jobs is very less and there is generally a lot of competition with it. Additionally, with the packed curriculum and schedules of MBA students, it is very difficult to manage a job. Hence, though it is an income option, it may not be the sole source of income to fund your MBA.