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 Interviewing Guide
    • Getting Off the Waitlist
    • Applying in Round 3 mini-guide
    • Applying to European Business Schools
    • School-Specific MBA Application Guides
      • Columbia 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Harvard 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Kellogg 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • MIT Sloan 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Chicago Booth 2020 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

How are you going to pay for it?

April 10, 2018 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

We admit to being DownerSnark when the subject of MBA scholarships comes up.

Mostly it’s because it’s….one of those things. Where applicants are often woefully misinformed or unaware of the realities of the situation.

If you’re applying for a graduate program in almost any other field, there is plenty of free money available. That’s how society gets smart people to go research important things. If there weren’t funding for, say, archeologists and sociologists and all those other -ologists who are ologisting all over the place to advance human knowledge, then nobody would be able to go do it.

But the MBA? There’s a very high ROI on this here degree.

We covered this good-news/bad-news situation quite directly in the post from the ‘snarchives called They are not going to pay you to get an MBA.

Today we’ll just burst your lil ol bubble with some Truth: Yes there is free money available in the form of scholarships and fellowships to help support you in your MBA dream, but you cannot assume you’re gonna get any.

The GMAT people did a survey of MBA applicants through much of 2017 and here’s what folks were assuming for how their graduate business degree would be funded:

GMAC Chart - MBA applicant survey - funding sources

The only category on that whole chart that resembles reality is the last one, where applicants have some corporate sponsorship lined up and their job is going to pay for their schooling. If you’re getting sponsored, you know it, and you probably know about how much you’re getting, or at least a ballpark.

The other category that’s showing a more realistic percentage is the Parental Support one, particularly for those younger applicants who are going to bschool very early on in their lives and they have their family behind them to make the investment.

But for that first bucket?

No, sorry.

Yes certainly there are many applicants who are accepted by great schools who get significant support from the school. That money comes almost entirely from alumni donations; it’s the generosity of grads from that school who want to pay back. When you go to Harvard and you become fabulously wealthy later in life, then you can get a nice tax write-off for your donation (or at least, you used to get one; who knows if that’s going to hold true as it once did now that we’re post tax reform). It’s a little ironic that the school that’s one of the most expensive is also the one with the deepest pockets and ability to help its students out.

Which is an important point to be very aware of: The further down you go in the rankings, there is often less money available for the schools to give away. All schools have the ability to award something but it’s definitely not the same situation everywhere you turn. There’s also usually less money available for an Executive MBA track, though we’ve more recently heard of a few EMBA programs that have been able to offer more fellowships.

If you’re aiming for a Top 20 school, then your entire focus should be on earning an admit. That alone is going to be plenty of a reward! If you have an especially unique background or are coming from a particular country where there are special-focus scholarships available, then certainly you may win the double prize. But please do not assume you will get anything more than the acceptance. Start planning NOW for the costs of the MBA. Save those pennies. Cut down on your expenses today. And consider the big-picture strategy. If getting financial help for your degree is a critical factor that determines whether or not you will be able to attend, then make sure you’re putting a full-spectrum strategy into place, and make sure you’re operating in the realm of reality on how unique or differentiated or distinctive your background is (especially compared to the list of targets you’re planning for), so that you might be able to accurately hope and pray for free money.

If the free money comes, then that will be FABULOUS! But if it does not come, does that mean you won’t be going to bschool?

Having this conversation with yourself now is super important. It would suck to get all the way through this process and be sitting on a win when Round 1 closes at the end of the year, but with no way to actually afford the tuition. The schools publish this information and have lots of planning resources available. Now is the time to be looking at this, when there’s opportunity to adjust plans and create the right strategies. Given the incredible ROI of a top tier MBA, it’s highly likely that the category “Personal Earnings” will end up being a greater than 13% contribution to paying off the bill. And that’s OK! It’s the whole point of getting the degree in the first place, isn’t it?

You want to get an MBA to get a better job. Well then, doesn’t it make sense that you should plan for that better job to be paying off the cost of the MBA?

Filed Under: tuition Tagged With: financial aid, sponsored for MBA

« Previous: Oh, you want to go to Whanvard?
Next: ($) International applicants to U.S. schools – 2018 landscape »

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!

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 Jan '22 Intake Rd 2
    in 1 month, 2 weeks, 1 day, 0 hours
  • (expected) HBS Class of 2024 app requirements released
    in 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 1 hour
  • (expected) Columbia J-Term/ED app to open
    in 2 months, 3 weeks, 6 days, 1 hour
  • INSEAD Jan '22 Intake Rd 3
    in 3 months, 1 week, 3 days, 0 hours
   
From a BSer January 2020:
"love the guide books!"


CLASS OF 2023 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

     
    The 2020 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2023 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2020-2021 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the main essay, the EQ Endorsement and Pick Six!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2023 essays!
   
    The 2020-2021 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2020-2021 applications
   
    The 2020 Harvard MBA Application Guide - completely overhauled and updated for the coronavirus era!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
    The 2020-2021 Duke Essay Guide - covers the 25 Random Things essay and all the rest too!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Duke Fuqua - up to date for the current season!
   
    The 2020-2021 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the contacts for two references, and additional tips for the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2023!
   
    The 2020-2021 Tuck Essay Guide has been refreshed with latest insights and advice for your essays about "investing generously" and "why Tuck"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Dartmouth Tuck MBA - completely overhauled for 2020, to help you demonstrate how you are nice, aware, etc stuff!
   
    The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2023 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2020-2021
   
    The 2020-2021 Chicago Booth MBA Application Guide - ready to go to support your Class of 2023 essay strategy!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Chicago Booth for this year's MBA app!
   
    The 2020 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with new tips for 2020!
   
    The 2020 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values' -- plus tips on 2020 world events and applicability to your essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - updated and revised for the new realities of 2020!    
      The 2020 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2023
   
    The 2020-2021 UCLA Anderson MBA Application Guide - updated for Class of 2023 on "impact"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for 
UCLA
   
   

Brave Supplicants' latest reviews on The 'Snark


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

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

Apr 10, 2020
by George on Single Shot Express MBA Essay Review
Worth Every Penny

I used the Single Shot Express to decimate essay #1 at my first-choice school. Paired with the school... Read more






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



What were we snarking about at this time in past years?

  • 2020: "What should I do with my summer?"
  • 2019: ($) Got a glitch with your grades? TAKE ACTION NOW!
  • 2018: Should you care who the dean is?
  • 2018: Does it matter who the dean is? 2018 edition
  • 2017: Prediction: Which schools will change their essay questions for Class of 2020?
  • 2016: Another little quiz
  • 2016: ($) When your safety school is actually a stretch school.
  • 2015: ($) Deciding on a school: Does location matter?
  • 2013: Success Story! "It's complicated..."
  • 2012: "School X, or School Y with $$$?" (Part who knows)
My Tweets

See the Top U.S. Business Schools on a Map!


EssaySnark is currently available! We're accepting new clients! Standard turnarounds apply. If you're in a hurry, Speedy Review is available!

EssaySnark® is a registered trademark. All content copyright © 2010–2021 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