What Do You Do If You Can’t Afford an MBA?
An MBA is expensive. There’s no doubt about it. So, how do you afford one?
According to U.S. News & World Report, the average cost of an two year, full-time MBA from one of the top business schools in the U.S. is over $130,000. That number doesn’t include the cost of boarding and books ($40,000), peripheral expenditures ($20,000), and the cost of lost income ($120,000). Altogether, your total opportunity cost could come to around $300,000 for a two-year MBA.
If that number sounds astronomical, you’re not alone. While earning an MBA can advance your career path and greatly enhance your future earnings, few people feel blasé about the upfront cost. However, with a little bit of research, insight, and know-how, paying for your MBA doesn’t have to be out of your reach.
If you’re a prospective MBA student worried that you can’t afford an MBA, here are a few ideas to help you pay.
Loyola Marymount Makes the ‘A-List’, Scholarships, and More – Los Angeles News
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest news coming out of the Los Angeles business school community from the past week.
Loyola Marymount ‘A-List’ Students Engage in Social Enterprise – LMU Newsroom
Loyola Marymount University’s business students gained exposure to some real world possibilities in social enterprise through a recent event at Vector90, which provides co-working space to underserved entrepreneurs.
The “Rethinking the Marketplace” course is part of the ‘A-List Pathway’ program (Applied Learning in Societal Transformation). Conceived by two LMU marketing professors, Mitch Hamilton and Julian Saint Clair, A-List motivates students to achieve the goals of both growing a business and creating positive change for their communities.
Dr. Saint Clair notes, “Part of LMU’s mission [is] educating the whole person and fighting for social justice.”
Hamilton and Saint Clair contacted developer David Gross and hip-hop artist Nipsey Hussle in coordinating the event at Vector90 earlier this month. The two spoke to students about how they could apply knowledge out of school for ventures such as Vector90. The discussion kicked off a competition for A-List students in which they will submit startup ideas for possible hosting and funding by Vector90.
The open office space of entrepreneurship enterprise Vector90 / Photo via Vector90
Located in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, Vector90, which Gross founded, allows members to collaborate with one another and with residents on community improvement projects and creative endeavors. Residents can also attend the center for support and mentorship opportunities.
You can read more about the event and the A-List Pathway here.
Cal State Long Beach Fall Scholarships Now Available – CSU Long Beach AcademicWorks
California State University, Long Beach College of Business Administration has announced its fall scholarships for 2018.
Two specific awards are open to MBA students: the John C. Molina MBA Scholarship (worth up to $3,000) and the Wan-Lin Kiang Endowed Scholarship for up to $1,500. While many of the awards are offered only to undergrads, multiple scholarships are open to any student in the business school.
The Cal State Long Beach scholarship deadline is September 27, 2018. More information on donors can be found here.
Americans Want to Believe Jobs Are the Solution to Poverty. They’re Not. – NY Times
Princeton University sociologist Matthew Desmond’s newest, all-consuming piece for the New York Times, entitled “Americans Want to Believe Jobs Are the Solution to Poverty. They’re Not” illuminates a profound disconnect that many American labors feel, despite routine record-breaking stock evaluations and near full-employment.
U.S. unemployment is down and jobs are going unfilled. But for people without much education, the real question is: Do those jobs pay enough to live on?#Employment | #Wageshttps://t.co/7Q8ReiKWJT
— UCLA Anderson (@uclaanderson) September 12, 2018
Desmond writes, “These days, we’re told that the American economy is strong. Unemployment is down, the Dow Jones industrial average is north of 25,000 and millions of jobs are going unfilled. But for people like Vanessa, the question is not, Can I land a job? (The answer is almost certainly, Yes, you can.) Instead the question is, What kinds of jobs are available to people without much education? By and large, the answer is: jobs that do not pay enough to live on.”
He goes on to note that much of the conversation is bogged by political and cultural assumptions that are simply not statistically correct. For instance, the majority of the 7.6 million “working poor” Americans (those who spend at least half the year working or looking for work, that earn below the poverty line) are over the age of 35, and, as Desmond writes, “not primarily teenagers bagging groceries or scooping ice cream in paper hats.”
Despite modern data, the assumptions of poverty are still incredibly pervasive.
“According to a 2016 survey conducted by the American Enterprise Institute, nearly two-thirds of respondents did not think most poor people held a steady job; in reality, that year a majority of non-disabled working-age adults were part of the labor force. Slightly over one-third of respondents in the survey believed that most welfare recipients would prefer to stay on welfare rather than earn a living. These sorts of assumptions about the poor are an American phenomenon. A 2013 study by the sociologist Ofer Sharone found that unemployed workers in the United States blame themselves, while unemployed workers in Israel blame the hiring system. When Americans see a homeless man cocooned in blankets, we often wonder how he failed. When the French see the same man, they wonder how the state failed him.”
As well, the understanding of what is modern full-time employment has become largely stilted, he argues. “Nearly 40 percent of full-time hourly workers know their work schedules just a week or less in advance,” he says. “And if you give it your all in a job you can land with a high-school diploma (or less), that job might not exist for very long: Half of all new positions are eliminated within the first year. According to the labor sociologist Arne Kalleberg, permanent terminations have become ‘a basic component of employers’ restructuring strategies.'”
You read the rest of Demond’s story in the New York Times magazine edition here.
What Rice Jones MBA Scholarships are Right for You?
With the nation’s overall outstanding student loan debt exceeding $1 trillion, an intimidating price tag may deter talented students from pursuing higher education. Though the cost of business school can seem dispiriting, more and more schools are offering competitive scholarships to allow promising students to go after an MBA.
Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business is a leader in offering merit-based scholarships to ambitious students. According to the school, eighty percent of the full-time MBA students from the class of 2018 have received scholarships. In fact, all applicants are automatically considered for merit-based awards upon admission. These merit-based awards are granted only to full-time MBA students, and can range from covering 10 percent to 100 percent of tuition. Rice also offers a variety of flagship scholarships. For those Houston metro-bound b-schoolers, we’ve laid out some of Rice University’s best scholarships for aspiring MBAs.
Rice Jones MBA Scholarships
The Jones Graduate School of Business has a host of endowed scholarship options, which allow donors to aid promising students:
MBA Scholar
This coveted scholarship includes full tuition and a stipend for school materials and living expenses. The selection process for this award includes an interview process, and recipients should hold themselves to a high academic and leadership standard as they pursue their MBA.
Full Named Dean’s Endowed Scholarship
The Full Names Dean’s Endowed Scholarship contributes $2,000,000 to Rice’s scholarship resources, and supports recipients’ full-tuition and fees.
Named Scholarship
A new student is selected for the Named Scholarship each year. Awardees receive a portion of their Rice tuition.
Flagship Scholarships
Rice’s Flagship Scholarship opportunities may be right for students who meet the specific qualifications and require additional funding to obtain their MBAs.
Military Scholars Program (MSP)
At Rice, active or veteran military applicants to the full-time MBA program may be eligible to receive scholarships that cover tuition and other living expenses. Class of 2017 alum Will Lyles said, “The MSP afforded me the chance to be at one of the top schools in the country and be part of something that is continuing to improve and evolve. It’s hard to put into words how grateful I am for that scholarship and this institution.”
Crownover Scholars Program
This scholarship gives students the opportunity to personally connect with the award’s namesake, former Rice Board of Trustees Chair, James Crownover. In addition to providing financial aid, this award creates a link between recipients and the experienced James Crownover, who takes on a mentorship role, introducing students to industry leaders and offering his guidance and insight.
Jones’s Partners’ Leadership Scholarship
Jones Partners is a collaboration of professionals devoted to bridging the gap between Jones Graduate School of Business and the surrounding business community. This network offers a scholarship for full-time MBA candidates with the potential to be outstanding leaders. Students awarded this coveted scholarship have two years of tuition and fees covered.
The McNair Scholars Program
Each year, one Rice MBA applicant is chosen for the McNair Scholars Program, based on scholastic performance, aptitude and leadership skills. The McNair Scholars Program provides opportunities to promising candidates from low-income backgrounds (generally first generation students), covering full-tuition costs for its recipients.
For more information on the Rice Jones MBA scholarships, visit the school website.
Find The Right UCLA Anderson Scholarships And Fellowships
Though earning an MBA is ultimately a fruitful endeavor, the initial cost can leave students tapped out. Luckily, more schools are making an effort to help talented students ease the financial burden of getting a degree, via scholarship support. Many institutions now have a host of resources that counter-balance the intimidating price tag of pursuing an MBA.
The Rising MBA Student Debt
Getting your MBA isn’t cheap. In fact, according to Fortune, MBAs from the top 10 business schools alone walked away with a total of $317.4 million in graduate student loans last year. Continue reading…
Best LA MBA Programs for Financial Assistance
When you have to come up with almost $200,000 over two years, there’s no doubt that funding your MBA is of vital importance. Unless you have a spare couple hundred thousand dollars in your pocket, scholarships, loans, grants, and teaching assistantships are necessary to help you graduate with your MBA without swimming in debt. If you’re looking to get your MBA in Los Angeles, there are a few programs that offer the best financial aid assistance, and we’ve outlined those below. Continue reading…
