Hello everyone,

I am planning to apply to MBA programs in the Fall of 2013.

As an eastern European, before even thinking of what schools are my dream schools, I had to write some off immediately because of the lack of financing options - I do not have a strong income or assets that could provide me with an option to heavily contribute towards MBA financing. Many schools require international applicants to have a US co-signor so I cannot apply to them. It is unrealistic for me to expect that I would receive a full scholarship at any good program. Thus, my primary financing options would be through loans and scholarships.

Some schools have set a limit on how much money an international student without a co-signor can borrow. For example, at Goizueta one can borrow up to 50K a year, with the total borrowing cap of 84K in two years. That leaves 50K for two years that would have to be financed through personal savings, scholarships, fellowships etc. However, I am not sure whether it would be possible to get both scholarship and loans to fully cover the total cost. I looked at some statistics and it said that average financial aid including all the options at Goizueta is around 45K/yr. There are a couple more schools with similar rank as Emory that I am looking into, and the whole situation is pretty much the same.

After my recent research I am really not sure if it would be reasonable for me to apply to schools with financial aid option like Goizueta. On the other hand, I have no clue how to other international students get by. Maybe there is a way. I would really like to keep Goizueta as a realistic option.

Could you please give me some input?