{"id":37356,"date":"2017-05-27T15:23:51","date_gmt":"2017-05-27T22:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=37356"},"modified":"2017-05-27T15:25:03","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T22:25:03","slug":"the-importance-of-creating-a-strong-mba-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-creating-a-strong-mba-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Creating a Strong MBA Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Join<\/a><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve heard that an MBA is an investment dozens of times. And after you\u2019ve got those letters in hand, you will say the same. It\u2019s not a clich\u00e9; it\u2019s just truth.<\/p>\n

But, it is a steep investment for many students.<\/p>\n

Figuring out how you afford a degree in your home country is often tough enough, and that\u2019s when you know the financial institutions and your tuition is payable in the currency you earn. Even if you move cities, it\u2019s not difficult to get a solid grasp on the expenses you\u2019ll face in addition to the standard costs you\u2019ll need to pay. Perhaps you\u2019re even lucky enough to live in a country, such as the United States or Australia that facilitate educational loans.<\/p>\n

And then, some students want an incredible education and international experience and need to fly across oceans to get it. A strong MBA budget is critical for these applicants. It\u2019s not just a matter of finding the funding<\/a>; MBA budgets are all tied up with visas and campus experiences.<\/p>\n

You need a budget before you can get a visa<\/strong><\/p>\n

As an international student, you\u2019ll need to obtain a visa to study. While you\u2019re sweating through GMAT prep and rewriting the same sentence time and time again, your study permit may not seem like a challenge, but you\u2019ll jump through hoops to get it. One of those challenges is proving financial ability. And, to do that, you\u2019ll need to have a budget to hand.<\/p>\n

At first, making a budget will seem relatively easy.<\/p>\n

Universities want to make it easy for their students and provide an estimate of costs (indeed, it\u2019s a legal requirement in the US to do so). Harvard\u2019s 2018 MBA cost summary page<\/a> provides an example of costs, broken down into line items. You\u2019ll see lines for tuition, healthcare, and programme materials fees. There\u2019s also a line item that sums up board, personal, and other expenses \u2013 and, being the second-highest amount listed, seems like it should cover everything you need.<\/p>\n

But, it may not cover as much as you think. On Wharton\u2019s Budget and Tuition page<\/a>, you\u2019ll find a similar breakdown, but the business school is careful to point out that summer living expenses, apartment security deposits, furniture, and entertainment, amongst other expenses are simply not included.<\/p>\n

And, even that may not do it. There is a Global Experience Requirement for MBAs attending Stanford<\/a>, and the amount you\u2019ll need to pay towards that varies according to the way you choose to fulfill it. They estimate a spend anywhere between $2200 and $4000. While it may not seem like a high figure next to the $66,540 yearly tuition fee, it\u2019s still enough to concern international students worried about currency strength and fluctuations.<\/p>\n

In order to obtain a visa to enter the United States to study at any of these (or countless other) universities, you\u2019ll need a visa. Before you can apply, however, you\u2019ll need to obtain an I-20 form<\/a> from your school that outlines the cost of attendance \u2013 and your ability to meet it.<\/p>\n

On the plus side, the cost of attendance included on the I-20 form is provided by the school \u2013 and you only need to prove enough funds to meet those line items. On the downside, you don\u2019t want to take the school\u2019s cost of attendance as the final figure.<\/p>\n

Budgets go beyond university cost of attendance<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the cost of attendance information from Wharton and Stanford should suggest, an MBA isn\u2019t the same as pursuing an undergraduate degree. It\u2019s not even the same as other grad-level degrees where travel is far more optional. With networking and international experience at the core of many MBA programs, an MBA budget must include socializing, club memberships, study treks abroad, and competition entries.<\/p>\n

These figures aren\u2019t often included in the cost of attendance provided by the school. At the very least, they\u2019re unlikely to be as accurate you would like.<\/p>\n

And this makes a difference.<\/p>\n

If you pursue financing that meets the cost of attendance provided by the university, it\u2019s enough to secure a visa (provided, of course, that you\u2019ve met all the other requirements laid out by the Department of Homeland Security), you\u2019re doing yourself a disservice.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve sunk a little too much into your apartment security deposit, needed to buy a new laptop, paid more for your travel than expected, couldn\u2019t find accommodation fast enough, or just can\u2019t let that career trek pass you by, you may just find yourself short of cash for essentials (like food and electricity).<\/p>\n

By the time you\u2019ve gotten to that point, you may find your credit is over extended, or you can\u2019t get a loan without being in another country. Finding financing, like obtaining a visa, and just getting a seat at a prestigious business school isn\u2019t easy. A far better option is to pursue the financing you need according to your<\/em> budget<\/a> rather than the school\u2019s cost of attendance.<\/p>\n

After all, you won\u2019t want to negotiate your experience; it\u2019s part of the MBA investment \u2013 and something you truly don\u2019t want to miss.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Katie studied human rights and graduated with a Bachelor\u2019s degree from Kent State University while working with NGOs in Geneva, Switzerland. Although she has since settled in South Africa, with work towards a Masters in Forced Migration through the University of the Witswatersrand, nothing stops her from being a proud American. Although writing is often solitary work, Katie has been part of the Prodigy Finance Team<\/a> as the Content Specialist since 2013. She also loves rugby, sloppy Mexican food and Tudor history which means you could find her in any section of a bookstore.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Paying for Your MBA: Before, During, & After<\/a>, a free webinar
\n\u2022 Tips for Planning Your MBA Budget<\/a>
\n\u2022 MBA Scholarships: How do I Apply and What Should I Emphasize?<\/a><\/p>\n

* This blog post is sponsored by our friends at Prodigy Finance<\/em><\/p>\n

This article<\/a>\u00a0originally appeared on\u00a0<\/i>blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where to apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/p>\n

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0you\u00a0<\/i>get accepted<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve heard that an MBA is an investment dozens of times. And after you\u2019ve got those letters in hand, you will say the same. It\u2019s not a clich\u00e9; it\u2019s just…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,113,243],"tags":[394,47,177],"class_list":["post-37356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-budget","tag-financial-aid","tag-international-student","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37356"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37360,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37356\/revisions\/37360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}