These LA Business Schools Are Helping Low Income Students Pursue Their Dreams
For many low-income applicants, unfortunately, the cost of an MBA program is just out of reach. That’s because, by the time you count tuition (often upwards of $80,000), boarding and books ($40,000), and other expenditures, the average cost of an MBA is around $140,000 according to Investopedia. And that’s all before you count lost salary for two years for a full-time MBA program.
What can you do?
For low-income MBA applicants in Los Angeles, California you don’t have to give up on your dreams due to money. Instead, business schools offer many options to help pay for your MBA program.
California DREAM Act
The California DREAM Act of 2011 is currently available to California residents who attended and graduated from high school in the state and are enrolled in an accredited California Institution of Higher Education. If you meet these eligibility requirements, you’ll be given access to California State financial aid and scholarships as well as specific university financial aid programs. In addition, need-based graduate applicants are eligible for the State University Grant (SUG) program, which awards up to $7,176 to help cover tuition.
California State University’s Long Beach College of Business Administration is just one of the MBA programs that provides this type of financial aid to low-income MBA applicants. The College of Business Economics at Cal State L.A. also accepts DREAM Act Applications for student financial aid.
Scholarships
MBA scholarships for low-income applicants are one of the best ways to help pay for your degree program. Scholarships vary by school and can range from a few thousand dollars per year to full-tuition coverage plus a stipend.
At the UCLA Anderson School, there are six unique fellowships available to MBA applicants.
- Donor Fellowships are awarded to MBA applicants based on professional development, intended career, community involvement, and/or financial need.
- Merit Fellowships are awarded based on the strength of a student’s application.
- External Fellowships are available for a variety of different situations and students. One example is the Girard Miller Foundation scholarship, which is awarded to a graduate student preparing for a career in state or local government finance.
Teaching Assistantships
For California MBA students, financial aid doesn’t stop in the first year. For second-year full-time MBA students, many Los Angeles business schools offer Teaching Assistantship (TA) positions. These positions are usually awarded to students who keep their grade point averages above a certain level and who apply and receive an appointment. The award amount varies by business school but, in some cases, covers 100 percent of a student’s services fee and tuition.
At UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, full-time MBA students who gain a TA appointment receive payment for 100 percent of their Graduate Student Health Insurance Program (GSHIP) premium. They also receive 100 percent of the Student Services Fee and Tuition components per quarter.
Military Veteran Aid
For low-income MBA applicants who also have a history of military service, there are many unique financial aid opportunities. The exact services available will depend on the school, but some of these programs are available at schools across California and the U.S.
First, there’s the Yellow Ribbon Program, which many Los Angeles business schools take part in, including Chapman University Argyros School of Business. This program awards MBA students up to $6,000 for tuition and fees. Another program open to military veterans is the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which includes payments directly to the university for tuition and fees, a monthly housing allowance, and an annual books and supplies stipend up to $1,000 per year.
Individual schools like the USC Marshall School of Business also offer their own specific scholarships for military veterans. The Schoen Family Scholarship Program for Veterans is available to full-time MBA students at Marshall and has, to date, provided a staggering $1.2 million in financial support to 173 students at the university.
Loans
Finally, most low-income MBA applicants in Los Angeles are eligible for federal student loans. Direct PLUS Loans are available to graduate students to help pay for educational expenses up to the cost of attendance. MBA students can request unsubsidized loans up to their full eligibility with an Income-Driven Repayment Plan that allows you to make payments based on your adjusted gross income. In most cases, payment will begin until after graduation.
For MBA applicants at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, financial aid loan application for Federal Graduate PLUS student aid and Federal Direct Stafford Loans is easy. The school provides loan counseling for graduate student borrowers, loan calculators, and more.
For more information about how your business school could help cover the cost of your MBA program, visit your school website and contact their financial aid office. Scholarships, loans, and aid opportunities vary per school. The Simple Dollar also has a handy guide on how DACA recipients may be able to handle financial expectations for students around the U.S.
Graziadio Sports Economist Weighs in on Mayweather vs. McGregor Fight
The most-talked about fight of the year (perhaps decade) between popular mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor and world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather garnered an almost unprecedented amount of attention. The fight broke the previous pay-per-view record, pulling in over $400 million, despite millions of reported illegal streams. Though McGregor, the MMA champion, ultimately lasted longer than most might have expected, he lost by technical knockout in the 10th round to the still-undefeated Mayweather.
VFT Solutions, an organization dedicated to determining how many viewers media companies are losing to illegal streaming, showed over 7,000 live streams in social media platforms, with around 100 million viewers. This is a record high for (monitored) illegal streaming of a single live event.
In an article about this piracy, Forbes asked Paul Gift, sports economist at Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business, for his insight. Gift holds a Ph.D. in economics from UCLA, and is a business and analytics writer for the MMA publication Bloody Elbow.
“For certain fans, ‘The Money Fight’ may have seemed in advance to be a competitively-matched clash of boxing and MMA champions,” Gift said. “But for many others, it was more of a spectacle fight, something you might want to see but not necessarily pay for. Add in a higher-than-usual pay-per-view price of $99.99 for HD and there was certainly a strong incentive to find alternative viewing points.”
Though there are multiple organizations capable of monitoring illegal live streams, there is not yet an effective, actionable solution for having illegal streams of short, live events stopped by social media channels.
It is possible certain unique contributing factors yielded a higher volume of illegal streaming of this event. For instance, UFC’s streaming site crashed a couple of hours before the fight even began, so viewers were likely looking for a substitute. The crossover between MMA and boxing audiences might have also led to more illegal streaming. Additionally, the fight was highly publicized, and many illegal streaming sites advertised offering the event.
“Tens Of Millions Watched Mayweather Beat McGregor On Pirate Streams,” was written by fellow Graziadio professor and frequent Forbes contributor Nelson Granados.
Should You Get an MBA in Los Angeles or San Francisco?
Although Los Angeles and San Francisco are technically part of the same state, Northern and Southern California have long co-existed as opposite poles on the same spectrum; SF is Oscar to LA’s Felix, to use an extremely relevant analogy.
Friday Morning News & Notes: Tax Day Looming, United Fiasco and Deadlines
Good morning and happy Friday!
Here are a few stories you may have missed from the week that was …
Part-Time MBAs: Los Angeles
Whoever said you needed to spend money to make money likely never had to pay their rent with money earned from blood transfusions.
Online MBA Programs in Los Angeles
When you need the ultimate in flexibility for your MBA degree, then you want an online MBA. Online courses allow you to complete your education from anywhere in the world. That means that if you have to head out of town for work, you don’t have to stop your MBA. Or if you want to attend an MBA program that’s not near your home or office, an online MBA is the perfect option.
And if you’re not sure about completing your entire MBA online, there are many flex/hybrid MBA options. These MBAs allow students to spend a minimum amount of time on campus—typically about one weekend a month of four days a quarter—while the rest of the program is delivered in an online format. Hybrid MBAs offer the most flexibility alongside the best learning experience.
So, what if you’re interested in an hybrid or online MBA in Los Angeles? Do you have any options? Yes! You have quite a few, though most are hybrid MBA options. Continue reading…
