EssaySnark

  • about
  • contact
  • help
  • sign up
  • login
CLICK FOR MORE!
  • Essay Questions
    • Harvard
    • Stanford
    • Wharton
    • Chicago Booth
    • Kellogg
    • MIT Sloan
    • Tuck
    • NYU Stern
    • Columbia
    • Yale SOM
    • Berkeley Haas
    • UVA Darden
    • Duke Fuqua
    • Michigan Ross
    • UCLA Anderson
    • Cornell
  • Strategy Guides
    • MBA Reapplicant Guide
    • Pitching Entrepreneurship as Your Post-MBA Career
    • Applying to European Business Schools
    • School-Specific MBA Application Guides
      • Harvard 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Stanford 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Wharton 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Kellogg 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Chicago Booth 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Columbia 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • *MORE SCHOOL-SPECIFIC GUIDES HERE*
  • MBA Consulting
    • Free essay reviews
    • What stage are you in?
    • Military MBA
    • BIPOC Program
    • Testimonials & Reviews
    • Guest Posts
  • My SnarkCenter
    • My Strategy Guides
    • My Favorite Posts
    • Discounts & Offers

the cost of education part 2

June 22, 2011 by EssaySnark - Discusses Darden, Columbia 2 Comments

One reason we’re discussing this is per the prompting of Brave Supplicant smriti, who didn’t make it into a top-tier school and then decided that it was for the best, because those schools were financially out of reach. (You can read smriti’s words directly in the comments to this posting.)

It’s true that one component of the bschool decision-making process should be the financial factor. While some financial aid is available at some schools, it’s just not that prevalent and it’s pretty unusual to get a full ride to the best schools. Yes, all schools do offer some funds to some people, and once you’re outside the top 10 — in the middle-of-the-pack still-good-but-not-the-best range of schools — getting offers of a full ride become more common. The “best” schools don’t need to offer such incentives, and the much lower-ranked schools don’t have the funding available for them. Cornell has the Park Fellowship for example, and one Brave Supplicant we know was offered a full ride at Ross. We had a client accepted to HBS get a $20k grant but she was coming from the nonprofit space, and both HBS and the GSB are known to make more accommodations for those types. (ETA 6/14/12 HBS specifically only offers need based financial aid — they give money to admitted students based on your documented financial situation. And, they don’t run out of money; even if you apply in Rd 3, if you qualify for aid at Harvard, you’ll get it.)

If you’re an international candidate, you should look into what the student loan situation will be for you BEFORE you apply. Loans are readily available for American citizens. Foreign nationals can usually get a loan if they have a U.S. co-signer; some schools like HBS have secured partnerships with financial institutions that will loan to international students even without this. If you’re not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you may need to explore your options in getting funding from your home country, and you probably should do this in advance.

Anyone banking on getting some type of fellowship or assistance in financing should also apply in the earliest rounds, as more options are available then. Columbia for example has a fellowship deadline in early January; most people treat that as a “Round 2” deadline and they receive the bulk of their applications then. If you apply after that date, you are still considered for admission but you don’t get considered for any money. And if you’re applying to the Columbia J-Term: Sorry, but there’s no fellowship money available for you at all. So different schools do have different policies on this stuff.

As to whether the actual investment in the MBA is financially worth it? We still haven’t covered that part, have we?

Stay tuned.

PART 3 POSTED HERE

Filed Under: tuition Tagged With: financial aid Bschools: Darden, Columbia

« Previous: Another deep dark truth…
Next: a completely self-serving EssaySnark opinion poll (or, is there anybody out there?) »

So who the heck is EssaySnark, anyway?!

We're the snarky experts in MBA admissions!

Sometimes amused and often appalled by what candidates write in their MBA applications to top bschools, EssaySnark created this little blahg to share common mistakes. Learn from them and avoid making admissions directors laugh (or want to hurl) when they read your essays. If you are hoping to have your essay reviewed anonymously on the blahg for free, submit it for consideration.

Want EssaySnark's personal assistance with your MBA applications? Start with our menu of consulting services and please read the Help FAQ to learn how we operate. Still have questions after doing all that? Email Team EssaySnark at gethelpnow at essaysnark dot com.

Good luck on your apps, Brave Supplicant!

Here's what others have said about this:

  1. Smriti Sharma says

    July 24, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    Hi Essaysnark! Wassup?

    Here I am again. You may not believe this, but I keep on thinking about every time a cross a milestone in my ‘MBA’ journey. Well, I am about to finish my internship. I have been working this summer at Xylem Inc. (http://xyleminc.com) as the Digital Marketing Summer Associate. Life sure does has a way of working itself out. You may (or may not) remember, but I was very excited about the internet and digital marketing. And, since Penn State is a more B2B Marketing school, I was worried whether I would be able to do what I want to. Well, Xylem is a huge ($12 bn) B2B firm. However, the company is excited about digital marketing and the internet. and, here I am!

    The internship program is quite competitive. The firm also hires interns from Duke. So, there’s a comparison right there. (But, the fact that I have a full scholarship for my MBA from Penn State makes me particularly happy!)

    Well, I thought I’ll drop in to say hello once more and update you with what is going on at my end.

    How are things at your end? Love the new website! 🙂

    Smriti

    Reply
    • essaysnark says

      July 27, 2012 at 10:50 pm

      Smriti, great to hear from you! We always love to get updates and check-ins from past successful Brave Supplicants! It sounds like you’re absolutely making the best of your opportunities there at Penn State. Hadn’t heard of Xylem before, glad you introduced us to them – digital marketing stuff is increasingly of interest to candidates we come across, so this is good to know about.

      Can’t believe you’re more than halfway done with your MBA – shocking how quickly it all passes by! Glad to know you’re having a good time there and please feel free to drop back over anytime you like!
      EssaySnark

      Reply

Tell us what you think. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for the 'Snark via email

Enter your address to get weekday blahg posts by email.

UPCOMING MBA APP DEADLINES

  • INSEAD Rd 1: Sept. 6
    in 4 weeks
  • Harvard Round 1: Sept. 7
    in 4 weeks
  • Wharton Rd 1: Sept. 7
    in 4 weeks
  • Duke Early Action: Sept. 7
    in 4 weeks
  • Darden Early Action: Sept. 8
    in 4 weeks
   
   

CLASS OF 2025 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

From a former BSer:
"love the guide books!"




    The 2022 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2025
   
    The 2022 Harvard MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2025!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
  The 2022 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with clear guidance for the 2022 essays!
   
  The 2022-2023 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2022-2023 applications
   
    The 2022 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video, plus the new optional short-answer question on "the world you come from" -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2025!
   
    The 2022 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values'
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - revised for 2022!
   
    The 2022 UVA Darden MBA Application Guide gives insights on the essays, Early Action, the possibility of a test waiver, and everything else going on here!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Darden MBA - updated for the Class of 2025 requirements!
   
   
The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2025 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2022
   
    The 2022-2023 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the essays, the EQ Endorsement and test strategies!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2025 essays!
       
   

Brave Supplicants' latest reviews on The 'Snark


2020-21 r1 candidate
Apr 19, 2021
 by 2020-21 r1 candidate on Waitlist Assist
Please get this if you have the resources!

I would recommend EssaySnark to every waitlisted candidate! I was waitlisted by one of HSW in R1 this... Read more

hopeful
Feb 11, 2021
 by hopeful on MBA Interview Prep: Custom Practice Questions
Helpful

Just wanted to say thank you for these questions! A lot of them were really tailored to my profile, ... Read more

George
Apr 10, 2020
 by George on EssaySnark
Great Starting Point

I thought getting over the GRE/GMAT hurdle was fairly straightforward--disciplined study then test execution... Read more






Not sure where to begin with EssaySnark?
Our Snark Selector
will tell you!



   
Get started now - without doing any work! The Comprehensive Profile Review will help you start your strategy for your MBA applications.


EssaySnark® is a registered trademark. All content copyright © 2010–2022 Snarkolicious Press · Privacy Policy

Where should you start with EssaySnark?

Which EssaySnark service is right for you? Answer a few questions to find out!

This field must be set to Everyone - then in the Settings -> HTML -> After Fields screen there's JavaScript to hide it.
Sending