Financing (indian student)

Question

I just attended Columbia j term interview and now I am getting anxious about the financing. I have little liquid money and in no mood to liquidate stocks etc in these times. I am keen on using loans to max.

Columbia price tag seems one of the steepest - close to 150k. Can you guide me

- how easy it is to manage an finance from US for international students? I have close to nil credit history in the US. I may be able to manage guarantors but not very sure of their credit history as well. Loans at my home country (india) will not cover even half of this cost.

- I need to understand if I am dreaming too big - I can manage close to 50K USD immediately but may have to depend on loans in the US for everything else.

CompanyMan · Answer

Did you ask them if they are assuring loans without US cosigners like Harvard and Stan?

mba07 · Answer

AFAIK, Columbia clearly says that it doesn't offer loans to internationals without a co-signer.

nink · Answer

I went to an information session for Yale MBA program few wks ago and this one Indian guy asked if he can pay for his MBA via Government of India issued bonds....

My jaws dropped and I was speechless.....my row in the back was trying really hard not to laugh.....

But I hear UK schools accept them.....

abhyudaya · Answer

I have received acceptance from Duke. But Duke, like other schools, is not guaranteeing loans w/o co-signer. I guess all schools are waiting for the economy to improve. I talked to Sally Mae; they said they could give loans w/o co-signer for select schools, but then the applicant should fulfil the credit requirements.

This automatically discounts 
1) internationals who will be coming to the U.S. for the first time, as they don't have SSN
2) ppl like me who have stayed in U.S for some time (in my case close 1 year), but don't have a long enough credit history.

Indian applicants can take loans from back home, but 2 concerns
1) Interest rates are very high, close to 15%.
2) Recent currency fluctuations have made it much more expensive. In Jan, $1=INR 40, now $1=1NR 50. So now we can get a max loan of 40k, which will cover only 30% of the expenses.

At the moment I really don't know whether I shall make it to school in 2009. However, I intend to present the case of international admits to Duke.

antapple · Answer

columbia should have some type of agreement with some credit instituition.
then you just need to be able to control yourself in NYC... it is an expensive city!

spideyeclipse27 · Answer

Looks like even Citi Assist does not give loans without a cosigner.

fall09 · Answer

Dollar will eventually crash.By the time,you attend school,it will come down.

abhyudaya · Answer

Maybe dollar will crash when its time to repay the loans: "duhri maar" as they say in Hindi.

spideyeclipse27 · Answer

the same thing happened when I did my MS... and now I want to do my MBA...

fall09 · Answer

It was around 40 when I was doing mine.

abhyudaya · Answer

Hey spideyeclipse27 & fall09,

Couldn't help but notice your GMAT score breakup, mine is exactly same Q50, V41 !!!
When dollar climbed to 45, I transferred some of what I had..and now I dearly need it..poor planner me!

pm4553 · Answer

Strange GMAT scores!
spideyeclipse27 - 760 Q50 V41
fall09 - 750 Q50 V41

10 points difference??

fall09 · Answer

Probably Spidey answered difficult questions when compared with me.

Right now,$ reached 50.This is good time to send money and make investments there.

spideyeclipse27 · Answer

haha! good one fall..

when did u take the GMAT? I took it in Aug 2008

fall09 · Answer

same!

abhyudaya · Answer

I agree with fall :-D

..mine is 750 (Q50, V41), but I took long back in Dec 2006, and then went in hibernation. And when I resurface, I see this loan situation. But sure, its the best time to invest in India.

Financing (indian student)

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