Financing Your Overseas MBA
by Lori Johnston
Although most students pay out of pocket for their education abroad, some programs are available to help offset the cost of a pricey MBA. Whether you're a U.S. student seeking to earn an MBA abroad, or an international student enrolling in a program through an overseas university, you'll want to consider these factors and options to help ease the financial cost of an MBA.
General Requirements
For international students coming to America, you'll need to have a U.S. citizen or permanent resident co-sign on a loan. Some programs, such as the Global Student Loan Corp waive the U.S. co-signer requirement, but require a co-signer from an international student's home country. Residential property is used as collateral to secure the loan.
Either way, if you have any debts, you should start paying them down as much as you can before applying for MBA aid. Income levels and credit scores could factor into your ability to get funding for your education.
The Process
You'll need to be persistent when searching for ways to fund an overseas MBA, as you're joining thousands of other students wanting to further their education but wanting some relief from the financial burden of doing so. Options include private loans, scholarships and loans from universities, and corporate scholarships.
American students seeking to earn their MBA overseas can fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), since the Federal Direct Stafford Student Loans and Federal Direct GRAD PLUS loan might be available to use when studying in another country. Just like applying as an undergraduate student, you will need to show income levels, which are used to determine the amount of aid available. When applying for private loans, other personal financial information may also be required, such as credit scores.
The federal Stafford Loan program offers private MBA loans to U.S. citizens enrolled in MBA programs. You can borrow up to $12,000 (unsubsidized) or $8,500 (subsidized) per year toward tuition and living expenses, with a 6.8 percent fixed interest rate.
As the process continues of getting financing for an overseas MBA, students also can contact their programs of interest to ask about financial aid options from the schools. Some business schools offer scholarships to international students with an excellent academic record, or if the students are from developing countries. It's a competitive process, but one worth considering.
Some MBA programs are partnering with U.S. banks and international institutes to provide students with loans for overseas learning. The London Business School, for example, has a loan agreement with HSBC Bank to cover tuition for international students(students have to open a bank account with HSBC Bank to be eligible). Other U.S. schools such as Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania and the Hass school at UC Berkeley are working with credit unions to finance loans not requiring a U.S. cosigner.
Aid Resources
Stafford Loan: Official website for this federally backed loan program, available to graduate students.
International Education Financial Aid: A massive database of scholarship opportunities and grant listings for graduate and undergraduate students.
Global Student Loan Corp.: Provides interest-based loans for international students, with no co-signer in the host country needed.
International Student Loan Program/Study Abroad Loan Program: Alternative loan program for international students planning to study at U.S. colleges and U.S. students seeking to study overseas.
