An MBA is one of the most expensive financial degrees. The best MBA courses can cost over £20,000 a year. In addition to that should you be taking a full-time MBA you will not have any income (unless you take a part-time job during the course – which isn’t advised with the amount of work you’ll have to do). So you need to find some way to finance taking the course, and it isn’t easy.

On the other hand, this isn’t a one way street, where you ship money away and get little back, You should be able to reap some very good long-term rewards once you have finished your MBA, because of the career options that will become available to you.

Financing your business education needs serious budgeting and planning because you have to put up the money first. Lets look at the costs you will need to bear.

Tuition costs: As we have said, this will vary depending on the program. Tuition costs make up a massive part of all MBA expenses. You can find yourself paying anything from £8-9 up to over £50000. Resident students will sometimes be subsidized by the school and conversely some foreign students may find themselves having to pay higher tuition fees.

Other academic costs: these can frequently be under-estimated. You need to pay for a large amount of study materials. These can include your textbooks, which are more expensive than you would think, software – which is needed for the more quantitative subjects, your trips to companies, the costs of extracurricular academic activities and participation fees for professional student organizations.

Living Costs: - These will depend on your individual spending habits along with the location of your school. Most business schools, in order to retain links with business, will be located in proximity to the major business centers in their respective country. This means that the cost of living can be very high. Should you be planning to take your MBA course in a foreign country it can be a lot more expensive. You need to pay for transportation expenses, employment restrictions and medical insurance.

In order to finance your MBA course, you need to look at many sources. There are bank loans, many of which can be low-interest student loans. You can also use your own personal funds, although we would suggest you make sure you keep some funds aside as a savings safety net. You may also be able to apply for scholarships which can be received from governments, universities as well as foundations – these are given to students who have outstanding professional and academic backgrounds. Should you be from a developing country, you can expect to find getting a scholarship slightly easier.

[此贴子已经被作者于2004-10-7 19:33:32编辑过]