You are on your way to achieving your ambitious and aspirational dream of obtaining an MBA degree overseas, and the one issue that seems to be a higher mountain than even the acceptance letter that thwarts you is, “How can I arrange affordable finance for my MBA?”
An MBA degree abroad costs between $50,000 and $80,000 per year. And if you’re a student who just finished undergrad or has only a handful of job experience, this might appear to be an impossible number. However, there are several options of funding available for Indian students pursuing an MBA abroad, some of which may even give you with completely funded education. Many institutions even offer fellowship programmes to help you pay for your education.
The following list entails a few alternatives that you can opt for while deciding on how to fund your MBA:
Employer-sponsored MBA
Many firms sponsor their employees’ postgraduate degrees in exchange for a contractual return to the company. The individual must work for the firm for a few years after completing his MBA to contribute value to the company’s operations. This is an excellent strategy if you’re thriving in your field. You can specialise and receive a free MBA while working in the field after graduation.
Self-funding is better if you want to use your MBA to change careers or streams.
Scholarships / Fellowships
There are several sites where numerous colleges list their scholarship programs based on various criteria credits -merit, income level etc. and provide students with a fully/partially funded scholarship for their MBA degrees. All it requires to find yourself the right scholarship is intensive research about the available options for the scholarship programme.
Apart from this, universities in many countries also provide fellowship programmes, which are more or less similar to the scholarship programmes, in which you are provided with a grant that isn’t need to be repaid. There are also scholarships for minorities and underrepresented students, women and students from LGBTQ communities.
To know more about scholarship options for MBA abroad – Click here
Education Loan/ Student Loans
Private MBA loans are a viable option for funding your degree. Still, the only difficulty is accessibility because, as a student, you have neither collateral or credit for security to provide in exchange. Banks are also hesitant to lend to students from particular countries, and because most of the banks are structured domestically, giving international loans comes to a standstill. However, some institutions are addressing this issue. Prodigy Finance is one platform that allows students to take out loans based on their future earning potential rather than their assets/credit or collateral.
To know more about top loan options for MBA abroad – Click here
Self-funding your MBA
The last and probably safest alternative is to self-finance your MBA Degree through your savings or financial support from your loved ones. But this often seems difficult since most students do not have enough savings before deciding to go for an international MBA abroad.
Funding for your MBA abroad won’t be a challenging task if it’s rightly researched and planned. With an increasing demand for MBA graduates with specialised skills such as AI, Data Science, Cyber Security, and so on, various universities & institutions are providing better incentives, scholarships & funding options to MBA aspirants. Remember that nothing, not even cost, should come between you and your ambition of getting an MBA degree from overseas!
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