Funding an MBA

Funding

MBA programs are not cheap and for many people personal finance can be the deciding factor on whether or not do an MBA program. It is a massive financial investment and tuition fees are much higher than those from other postgraduate degrees. Fees can be extremely high but vary considerably depending upon the school and the program that you choose. On top of tuition fees, students must take into consideration the cost of living, travel, study materials and the loss of income for the duration of the programme.

Students can normally receive funding from the following sources:

• Family funded- MBAs are extremely expensive but if your family can afford to help you with the costs it is an real advantage.
• Employer sponsorship- many employers now willingly offer to contribute to your fees providing you are working for a company where your job role may be beneficial to have training in an MBA.
• The Association of MBAs Loan Scheme (AMBA) which is operated in conjunction with NatWest. NatWest allows students to borrow up to two thirds of their annual pre-course salary plus course fees. HSBS run a similar scheme. No repayments are required whilst you are studying however part- time and distance learning students will have to begin repayments one month after they receive their funds.
• Low Interest Rate Loans- Many banks and buildings societies now offer MBA or career development loans. Barclays, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland are usually popular for these sorts of loans. They allow you to borrow up to £8,000 at a fixed rate of interest to help towards costs and living expenses. Repayments begin one month after you have stopped training.
• Scholarships or Bursary Schemes from your Business school.- Many schools offer this but are only offered if they are believed to be worthy of them. Most are offered on a competitive basis or offered to applicants from particular countries, ethnic groups or professions that the school wants to attract to their programmes.