Financing your MBA - International Students

We all know that Ross doesn't offer loans for international students wo co-signer this year. What do to do next? Is it possible to contact any banks asking about a direct loan wo co-signer? If yes, what banks should I choose from?

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Hi all, a bit late for this post but did any body figure out a generic option for covering cost of education in US MBA's for Indian/Chinese students? Apart from Kellogg/Wharton/Booth/HBS which have their own programs, is there any other institution in the US which covers our loans?

I heard somebody above got Citibank for the first year at an exorbitant interest rate, which is what I may be forced to do in the end as I'm Indian, but otherwise what else? What about 2nd year?

Hi Aximili,

I don't think you will find a generic U.S. loan option for international students who don't have U.S. cosigners. If you have a U.S. citizen (or permanent resident) willing to cosign for you then most private student loan options are open for you.

Most top MBA programs however do have loan options for international students which don't require U.S. cosigners. HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, Booth, Tuck, Darden, and Johnson are the schools I am aware of having no-cosigner loans. I am sure there are others. Top schools of note which don't have a no-cosigner loan option are Ross and Columbia.

Hope this helps.

Just keeping this thread active for a second year in a row, thanks first to the OP for bringing this topic up. I was curious to know if you guys had any info on how an international applicant's US credit history impacted securing student loans from the school's credit unions. My background is I am currently on H1B and I have lived in the US for a good 10 years. I have a good credit history. Does this impact the credit rate I might receive should I go for a US loan?

Also, I think this goes without saying that it is important to check if a school offers a loan without co-signer prior to applying. From what I heard last year, McCombs Austin does not offer student loans.

These are the details of Tucks 2011 - 2012 loan program for internationals. Fingers crossed that they don't mind me posting this. Also, the loan program seems to be independent from scholarships, I was awarded a reasonable scholarship and I was still allowed to take the maximum amount out in loans.

• Individual maximum amount varies and is determined by Tuck’s Financial Aid office by performing needs analysis
• Finance up to the cost of tuition and mandatory fees (not to exceed $57,000 annually)
• Apply once and secure financing for your entire graduate studies with a unique Line of Credit structure
• Zero origination or pre-payment fees
• Variable interest rate based on Prime Rate plus 4.00% for student only
• 0.50% interest rate discount for borrowers with an approved U.S. co-signer
• Co-signer not required
• Interest is added to principal upon entering repayment
• Flexible repayment options, including full deferment of payments while in school
• 20 or 25 year repayment period, depending on loan balance – or repay early at any time with no penalty
• 6 month grace period prior to entering repayment
• 0.25% rate discount for automatic electronic payment during repayment
• Optional graduated repayment which provides lower payments during the first two years of repayment
• 24/7 Call Center and Online Application
• Loan is granted and held by your not-for-profit credit union – a lender relationship you can trust

Tuck will determine the maximum line of credit amount the student may be eligible to borrow. This is determined by a needs analysis based on a variety of factors, including cost of the program, their ability to contribute, debt levels consistent with successful repayment, and availability of funds. The school reserves the right to limit or decline educational loans or lines of credit on the basis of a student’s overall debt burden, credit history, or other relevant factors.

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Hello Everyone ,
It seems the post is not active for a long time . I wanted to know about some private funding options for international candidates.
Besides,Can some please post updated list of colleges which offer loans to its candidates without us cosigner?
Preferably categorize colleges in following categories.

1. Full fees+expenses( expenses like room) for international candidates
2. Mandatory fees only for international candidates
3. Can be fully funded but from private lenders.


Please do keep post alive. It's really beneficial to international candidates.

No buddy you're not screwed at all. There are companies who offer loans to international students. Have you heard of Prodigy finance? Its just one of those companies. Secondly I believe MIT Federal Credit Union provides loan assistance up to $170,000 for students enrolling at MIT Sloan program without the need for a co-borrower.

Hope this helps

The loan does sound like a rip, but sometimes we don't exactly have a choice, I know. I had no idea that Columbia didn't offer no co-signer loans, so this is a great heads up for future applicants, even though they might secure one next year.

So Columbia doesn't offer no-co-signor loans but Prodigy Finance is a great place for international students to get non co-signor loans. I am a Columbia student and got a loan from Prodigy at a very reasonable rate and without any collateral. Even the process is very simple.