There are various sources of funding available to postgraduate business students, including scholarships, bursaries, loans and part-time work.
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Grants and scholarships
These financial-aid awards do not have to be repaid, so competition for them is fierce. Universities and various organisations offer grants and scholarships to qualified applicants.
Loans
Special educational loans offer students lower interest rates and the option of delaying repayment after their degrees are complete. If you have insufficient funds to pay for your education yourself, you are likely to rely on loans for funding, whether from the school, the government, a special educational loan programme, or a private bank.
Part-time work
Few programmes offer students part-time employment opportunities during their studies. The reason is that most programmes (rightly) see themselves as too demanding for students to have the time to work as well as to study.
Employer tuition fee benefits
Some firms offer special funding to employees to help them acquire postgraduate education. Most require beneficiaries to continue working for the company during the programme (if part time) or to return after the programme is complete. You should consider whether tuition fee reimbursement by your employer will be worth any limitations to career mobility.
Self-financing
Most business master’s students fund their studies independently. This can be done in one of several ways: following a part-time programme while continuing to work; saving sufficient funds to pursue a full-time programme; borrowing money; tapping one’s parents; or relying on the support of a partner. (If a partner plans to move with you, investigate local visa requirements and enquire whether your programme can help with finding employment.)
Many students fund their studies through loans. Fortunately, there are plenty of low-interest loan programmes for postgraduate students, so you should not have a problem finding one that suits your needs and repayment plans. Still, you’ll need to determine how much debt you can reasonably take on to finance the degree.
The general rule is that the better the school you attend, the more you can expect to earn from your first job and throughout the remainder of your career. Attending a better school thus makes a higher level of debt affordable. The question of how much debt is appropriate, however, will depend upon your individual circumstances.
As a rule, it’s easier to find funding for your studies at home than it is abroad, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should stay at home for your programme. Similarly, attending a lesser programme for a reduced price is not necessarily wiser than paying more to attend a better school. You are making a long-term investment, so think in terms of value rather than cost. Indeed, the more likely it is that you will be able to enter a high-paying field, the less heavily debt should influence your decision.
In some countries, funds paid toward a business master’s degree may be tax deductible. In France, for example, tuition fees can be deducted from your personal income tax if the course ‘improves your own professional profile’, which is arguable the case for all business graduates. In the US, it is easier to deduct fees for part-time coursework than for full time.
The more expensive the programme and the higher your marginal tax rate, the greater the value of being able to deduct your expenses.
To prepare for your future master’s programme and for gaining financial assistance, begin by familiarising yourself with the financial aid application procedures and needs-determination methods at your chosen schools. Your financial situation should be organised well before you begin your programme. Give yourself time to arrange your finances in the most beneficial way before applying for financial assistance.
When it’s time to apply for aid, read all the materials thoroughly. Make appointments to speak to financial aid officers at your target schools, and be prepared to explain your financial situation in order to find the best funding options at their schools. Keep track of what forms you need to fill out and the deadlines. Some scholarships have very early deadlines; other financial aid forms and scholarship applications must be submitted with your application; and still other materials may not be due until after a decision about your admission has been made.
When investigating your degree options, remember that the benefits of a good programme usually outweigh its cost: improved job expectations, a network of contacts, greater career mobility and flexibility, and an increased income.
When looking for scholarships, keep in mind:
• Scholarships are given more often for merit than for need (the reverse is true for loans), so your odds improve with your own demonstrated professional promise prior to applying.
• Consulting services touting their abilities to find you scholarships are likely to be expensive and not very successful. Given that the field is rife with charlatans, you should avoid them altogether.
Start your research by taking an inventory of the groups to which you belong: your employer; union; religious, ethnic, veterans, and social (eg Rotary) clubs; and so on.
Next, look at the websites of the most famous, internationally orientated schools in countries you have targeted for your degree: they are excellent sources of scholarship information. France’s HEC, for instance, describes the relevant sources of financial aid (scholarship and loan) for nationals of some 20 countries. Some of these are specific to HEC; some are specific to those applying to French programmes; others are available to such nationals applying anywhere. Thus, someone interested in applying to another French programme would benefit from HEC’s extensive financial aid listings.
Then take a look at some generalist sources of information:
• websites (eg Institute of International Education (IEE), International Education Financial Aid (IEFA), FinAid, FastWeb, Education UK)
• worldwide scholarship guides (eg The Grants Register (Macmillan) (UK)).
