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FAlam
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GMAT Date: 05-31-2015
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Financing MBA is it worth going for 100% loan 23 Feb 2015, 06:37
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Hi Guys,

I have been reading through many post and now decided to open my post account with million dollar question "How to finance MBA"

I have a family (2 kid) and planning to start applying this summer with no saving, actually what ever I have saved would go into paying off my credit cards, GMAT prep, traveling to the country of University, (I am international candidate, Pakistani nationality)

Planing to apply to 1 year programs in US (Kellogg, Cornell, Emory) - I am not going to details of my fit, post MBA goals etc etc

I have relative in US who are willing to co sign a loan, how difficult it would be to find loan (100%) and repay it. (considering above programs)

would love to hear from guys who have already done this and how is it going with repayments.

Thanks
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hopeful101candidate
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Financing MBA is it worth going for 100% loan 26 Feb 2015, 19:17
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I would also like to hear from recent grads who have started paying back their loans after graduating. How long are you expecting it to take for you to pay off your loans? What sorts of sacrifices are you making, if any, in your lifestyle after getting your MBA, etc? Any insight would be extremely helpful!
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Financing MBA is it worth going for 100% loan 02 Mar 2015, 20:15
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If you haven't seen them already, these 2 threads cover a lot of ground.

financing-your-mba-41568.html?hilit=debt
anybody-else-doing-a-top-10-almost-completely-with-debt-169433.html?hilit=debt
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FAlam
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Financing MBA is it worth going for 100% loan 21 Mar 2015, 14:26
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brandon432
If you haven't seen them already, these 2 threads cover a lot of ground.

financing-your-mba-41568.html?hilit=debt
anybody-else-doing-a-top-10-almost-completely-with-debt-169433.html?hilit=debt
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Thanks buddy I had already seen both of them second is more useful, do u know any thing related to repayment issues
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brandon432
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Financing MBA is it worth going for 100% loan 22 Mar 2015, 13:28
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It would probably be easier to address if you had more specific questions. "Repayment issues" and "how is it going with repayments" are pretty broad.

I am a US student with a working spouse and child and am one quarter away from finishing up. After school, I'll be working for a consulting firm and have spent the last few days calculating my tax liability, locking down a budget, and researching consolidation options. I'm not yet in repayment, but have a pretty precise picture of what it will look like for me.

Specifically, we've set aside about $1,000/mo in after-tax income for "lifestyle improvements." Basically, catching up on some purchases/investments we've put off while I've been in school. With normal expenses and maximizing our retirement contributions, that leaves >$3,000/mo to put towards loans, which is almost double the minimum payments on $200,000 in debt. We figure contributing 75% of future bonuses and raises towards loans. Based on that, we plan to have loans paid down 3.5-4 years after graduation.

Finding a loan - With a creditworthy co-signer who is a US citizen, you should be able to get loans for 100% of the COA. Without a cosigner, my understanding is that international students are only eligible for loans covering a portion of expenses (e.g. tuition/fees only or 80% of COA). Either way, I think you will need a social security number, which you can get as an international student. financing-mba-school-credit-w-o-cosigners-114129.html

Ability to repay - This will depends on the amount you owe, how much you make, and what your other obligations are. How much you make will depend on where (company and geography) you're working. For example, investment bankers might make in excess of $200k their first year out while someone pursuing a startup or social enterprise might make $50,000. Many international students find that only salaries in the US and western Europe are sufficient to pay back loans.

Important questions to think about: What are you interested in doing after school? How much do those roles pay? Can the schools you're interested in lead to those jobs? Is a 1Y program appropriate for your recruiting goals?

Hope this helps. Happy to respond to any followups.
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Financing MBA is it worth going for 100% loan 23 Mar 2015, 06:57
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brandon432
It would probably be easier to address if you had more specific questions. "Repayment issues" and "how is it going with repayments" are pretty broad.

I am a US student with a working spouse and child and am one quarter away from finishing up. After school, I'll be working for a consulting firm and have spent the last few days calculating my tax liability, locking down a budget, and researching consolidation options. I'm not yet in repayment, but have a pretty precise picture of what it will look like for me.

Specifically, we've set aside about $1,000/mo in after-tax income for "lifestyle improvements." Basically, catching up on some purchases/investments we've put off while I've been in school. With normal expenses and maximizing our retirement contributions, that leaves >$3,000/mo to put towards loans, which is almost double the minimum payments on $200,000 in debt. We figure contributing 75% of future bonuses and raises towards loans. Based on that, we plan to have loans paid down 3.5-4 years after graduation.

Finding a loan - With a creditworthy co-signer who is a US citizen, you should be able to get loans for 100% of the COA. Without a cosigner, my understanding is that international students are only eligible for loans covering a portion of expenses (e.g. tuition/fees only or 80% of COA). Either way, I think you will need a social security number, which you can get as an international student. financing-mba-school-credit-w-o-cosigners-114129.html

Ability to repay - This will depends on the amount you owe, how much you make, and what your other obligations are. How much you make will depend on where (company and geography) you're working. For example, investment bankers might make in excess of $200k their first year out while someone pursuing a startup or social enterprise might make $50,000. Many international students find that only salaries in the US and western Europe are sufficient to pay back loans.

Important questions to think about: What are you interested in doing after school? How much do those roles pay? Can the schools you're interested in lead to those jobs? Is a 1Y program appropriate for your recruiting goals?

Hope this helps. Happy to respond to any followups.
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Extremely helpful, dude! Thanks a lot!
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FAlam
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GMAT Date: 05-31-2015
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Financing MBA is it worth going for 100% loan 26 Mar 2015, 01:38
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brandon432
It would probably be easier to address if you had more specific questions. "Repayment issues" and "how is it going with repayments" are pretty broad.

I am a US student with a working spouse and child and am one quarter away from finishing up. After school, I'll be working for a consulting firm and have spent the last few days calculating my tax liability, locking down a budget, and researching consolidation options. I'm not yet in repayment, but have a pretty precise picture of what it will look like for me.

Specifically, we've set aside about $1,000/mo in after-tax income for "lifestyle improvements." Basically, catching up on some purchases/investments we've put off while I've been in school. With normal expenses and maximizing our retirement contributions, that leaves >$3,000/mo to put towards loans, which is almost double the minimum payments on $200,000 in debt. We figure contributing 75% of future bonuses and raises towards loans. Based on that, we plan to have loans paid down 3.5-4 years after graduation.

Finding a loan - With a creditworthy co-signer who is a US citizen, you should be able to get loans for 100% of the COA. Without a cosigner, my understanding is that international students are only eligible for loans covering a portion of expenses (e.g. tuition/fees only or 80% of COA). Either way, I think you will need a social security number, which you can get as an international student. financing-mba-school-credit-w-o-cosigners-114129.html

Ability to repay - This will depends on the amount you owe, how much you make, and what your other obligations are. How much you make will depend on where (company and geography) you're working. For example, investment bankers might make in excess of $200k their first year out while someone pursuing a startup or social enterprise might make $50,000. Many international students find that only salaries in the US and western Europe are sufficient to pay back loans.

Important questions to think about: What are you interested in doing after school? How much do those roles pay? Can the schools you're interested in lead to those jobs? Is a 1Y program appropriate for your recruiting goals?

Hope this helps. Happy to respond to any followups.
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You just hit the nail, bang on.

I have been little nervous about this loan thing and wanted to take different opinions.

I have forwarded you my profile.

My target schools

1) Columbia (j Term)
2) Kellogg
3) Cornell
4) Emory

I am targeting to work (2-5 years)

1) big 3 investment companies

2) big4 firms corporate advisory

post above experience

transiting to strategy and general management

I hope my targets along would my profile would enable to you comment on my plans
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the770clubber
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Financing MBA is it worth going for 100% loan 30 Jun 2016, 07:53
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It depends a lot on the individual's profile and the market that one could access after MBA for jobs. One should never go by the tips "blindly take it", regardless of whatever it is. The thoughts put into assessing how each option could pan out, can help you in future to be sure about whatever you decide to go with.