Got An MBA Fellowship = No Student Loans!
Today I got a letter from the University of California, San Diego’s Business School. They’ve offered me a full fellowship for the MBA program! I think it was based on my GMAT score.
It consists of a complete waiver of all tuition and professional fees for both the years of the course. Getting this means I won’t need any student aid, nor will I have to sell any of my investments to fund my education. Considering that I have a very pessimistic outlook on the direction of the US economy, I believe the unemployment rate will be a lot higher when I graduate in 2 years time. I’d rather save up my money for the rainy days ahead (which means they’ll be more opportunity for good investments at that time). Not having to sell my investments also means I’ll be able to use the income they generate for living expenses.
Not having to worry about student loans or money when I’m going to school will be a great relief. The last time I went to school, lack of money caused me a lot of stress. I’d rather not have to worry about my finances and solely focus on maximizing my experience and enjoying the whole process.
I read an article in Businessweek about a Harvard MBA student who had dreams of working on Wall Street. With the current layoff and poor economic outlook (and with huge student loans looming) he prudently settled for a job working at Mattel. But I can’t help think that he must be very disappointed that the best job he could get after spending $150,000 on a Harvard MBA was working for the makers of Barbie dolls.
I also have an interview with UCLA’s Anderson School of Business lined up. I’ll give it my best shot since its an awesome school. But unless I get some sort of financial scholarships/fellowships, it’s going to be tough to beat the financial attractiveness of UCSD’s offer. In fact, the fellowship makes this MBA the cheapest possible way to get a business education, putting its cost on par with that of the Personal MBA program which costs $1,267.
If I go to any other good school, the education is likely to cost me around $100,000. Since my wife might be in another city, thats twice the living expenses plus traveling to meet each other. If I go to a private school, the cost might escalate to over $125,000. By living in San Diego, I might be able to work part-time after the first semester, so that’ll further decrease the loss of income during that time. Instead of working part-time, if I want to set my own venture, being local will again help since I have a lot of contacts here.
However it plays out, my desire to go to Business school will be fulfilled in September!
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April 19th, 2008 at 3:58 am
Congratulations! I think full scholarships for MBAs are relatively rare?
April 19th, 2008 at 4:52 am
Congrats! That is a huge savings. Just think of all the places you can invest that money that you won’t have to spend on tuition.
April 19th, 2008 at 5:36 am
Congrats! That is definitely good news. BTW, Mattel can use the help…
April 19th, 2008 at 7:42 am
Congratulations! I am looking forward to seeing what you do with your degree when you are finished!
April 19th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Congrats! A fellowship was my springboard during my grad school days, so it’s definitely a big win for you. Regarding the hit on your income, it’s almost a certainty you will be presented with money making opportunities once in school. Companies are always seeking a 3rd party who is “independent”, and academia is usually the first choice. Plus, it looks awesome on your resume!
April 19th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Congratulations. A full scholarship for the MBA program is indeed very rare. I am sure id you go with UCSD, your MBA will cost you far less than your MS at USC.
I have a close friend doing his MBA at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business. If you need any information I can forward you his email address.
April 19th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Congratulations, that is wonderful! Other than the studying, it will be steady as she goes!
Best Wishes,
D4L
April 19th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Getting that money will really help and you can concentrate better on your studies, instead of worrying about the bills. Good luck on getting through.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:16 am
You must be so proud! I am happy to see that you made it and look forward to reading about your experiences.
By the way, you’ve been tagged for a meme over at my blog!
April 21st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Wow, that is really awesome!
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal today about the government pressuring colleges to give out more scholarships. They made the case that the government offers amazing IRS incentives for colleges to build endowment funds, but then the cost of school keeps rising.
The senate committee on education wrote letters to all the colleges asking them how holding onto all of this money was helping people pay for college. The result, more scholarships etc.
Anyway, Congrats on a sweet sweet ride to an MBA!
April 21st, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Congratulations! That’s a great way to start out after MBA school - knowing that your investment of time and effort is going to have an unlimited return without having spent a cent. Kudos!
Steve