What % of your MBA expenses are from savings vs loans?

Question

Just out of my own curiosity - I thought setting up a poll would be useful to get an idea of where people stand.

My question is: What percentage of your TOTAL MBA expenses (including tuition, rent, food, living expenses, books, etc.) will/have come in the form of your own cash savings, vs. money borrowed on loan?

Just trying to get a sense of how much debt students or future students go into for MBA school. Given that most US schools are in the $150k-range for all-inclusive expenses on a 2-yr program, I'm curious as to how leveraged people are when it comes to this. Can't imagine having $150k saved up in cash before I head off to MBA school, that's for sure

Personally, I'm aiming to have about 60% of total budgeted expenses saved up in cash, with 40% on loan... based on a $150k estimate for a 2-yr full-time US program.

(Note: For purposes of this poll, scholarship grants can be included as "cash savings")

Current students, alumni, and prospective students are all welcome to participate!

Personally, I'm aiming to have about 60% of total budgeted expenses saved up in cash, with 40% on loan... based on a $150k estimate for a 2-yr full-time US program. I have about $25k saved up thus far, and hopefully close to $85k by the time I plan to matriculate in Fall 2013. ( Note: For purposes of this poll, scholarship grants can be included as "cash savings". Loans from family members can be lumped under "loans", while monetary gifts from family can be lumped under "savings".) Current students, alumni, and prospective students are all welcome to participate!

mooze · Answer

By the time I enroll (if i get accepted to a good enough school),...I should have 80k saved up. God willing.

pike · Answer

I am assuming I would pay around ~1/3 in cash

eskimoroll · Answer

Hmmm... since I'm married and because housing is obscenely expensive in Boston, my budget for the 2 years is actually closer to $200k (student budgets don't include summer months for rent which is sort of crazy). As far as personal savings go, I'm in for 0% since the current interest rate on my loans are pretty low. Fellowships will take me up to 25% and if my wife finds a job, that'll take us to 50%. Even assuming I get an internship, I'll still probably have about $100k in debt when I graduate.

bb · Answer

60% Scholarship for tuition and 39% loans for living expenses and 1% savings

I still have my student loan with a 2.5% interest rate!

Izvos · Answer

99% loan + 1% of personal savings.

Without taking into consideration Scholarship

Rubashov1 · Answer

I did 100% loans but paid off about 50% of them with savings before actually paying interest.

GMATveteran · Answer

I'm actually fairly lucky in terms of finances. I will be using the Post-9/11 GI Bill to cover 100% of my expenses, so no loans & nothing out of pocket. >;-]

lineitup6 · Answer

does help from family count as savings or loan?

backliteyes · Answer

I'll have been working 3 years this August, and have saved up over 20k towards my MBA fund. By the time I matriculate (if I'm admitted the first go round), I might have somewhere between 25 and 30k.

Not considering any scholarships, I don't think my savings will cover more than 20% of the cost.

bb · Answer

I think that depends on the family 8-)

cheetarah1980 · Answer

I should have roughly $25K-$30K saved by the time I matriculate in Fall 2012. I guess that would cover between 15-20% of the cost (including living expenses). I'm applying for any scholarship I can get my hands on so hopefully I can get at least 50% of the cost covered before needing loans.

Warlock007 · Answer

I feel in indian B schools you have to take 90%-80% of laon
and your savings will go for rest of 20%-10% and your own expenses at B school

refurb · Answer

To give you guys an idea as to what I did...

Savings: $50K
Loans: $105K (with accrued interest, this became ~$115K at graduation)

I basically covered all non-tuition expenses with savings and tuition came completely out of loans. I had more savings that I could have used to pay for tuition, but they were in long-term investments that I didn't want to mess with.

My pre-MBA spending habits were about $25K per year all in, so I figured the $50K would cover me for the MBA and it did, I had about $20K left over at the end. However, that includes the $20K or so that I made during the summer internship, so in reality my estimate of $50K was pretty accurate.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that you not only have to pay for the 18 months or so that you're doing an MBA, but also the period before you start working. A lot of jobs leave you with 1 or 2 months of vacation before you start and, if you're moving, you'll be responsible for a lot of expenses before you get your first paycheck. For example, I had to move a long distance, find temporary housing, then find a place to live. So I was looking at a deposit and two months rent before I ever got my first paycheck (or moving expenses reimbursed). Came to about $10K, so I'm glad I still have some savings in reserve.

RF

gmatvit · Answer

It's a bit different math for part-time MBA. But still, my breakdown projected to the end of school.
Cost:
Tuition ~ $67.5K
Books & supplies ~$3K

Pay off:
Scholarship ~ $7.5K
Total in Stanford loans ~ $51K

Paid/paying the rest as I go. Since I am already paying off my loans while in school, I expect to have about $43K in outstanding loans by the end of school next summer. Living expenses are not included in calculations since I am doing my MBA part-time and not foregoing the salary.

bb · Answer

Very good point! Also, if you are an international applicant, you can't start working before the OPT kicks in (which may be a few months too) or if you are not as lucky finding a job of your dreams (one reason many MBA grads stay less than 12 months on their first job - they need something to pay the bills and they keep looking). I would highly recommend over-borrowing (can anyone blame me - that's the amereican way of life

) since the interest rates are quite low and the cost of that cushion is not much. I had a different issue when I started - the living expenses that schools often recommend budgeting for are often unrealistic and assume a few things: you have a car (which I did not), you are going out to drink only once every few weeks, no clubs, etc - you get the idea. I would say my school under-reported the living expenses by about 50% in my case. It may not be a big deal but you can only borrow to the extent of the expenses the school specifies, so I was limited at about $20K per year in being able to borrow for living expenses (today's dollars). I want to see one of the finaid officers living on that for a year! I was able to get by having an easy job on campus through the year and then an internship in the summer but it was still pretty tight at the end. Finally, keep in mind that the loans don't come in until some time in late August or early September, so if you are planning to tie up your money in Rent/Car/Las Vegas/etc and counting on loans, do have some money to last you at least a few month that you can use if the loan check is late. There will always be a trip abroad or something else that may come up: car expense, you may have to move to a more expensive apartment, or get a kid (one of my classmates did.... another one got sued, all while at school).

mappleby · Answer

I feel a little less nervous about my financial situation having read this. I'm coming out of the military but no GI Bill for me. The $180k price tag coming off of a ~$60k salary seems rather daunting but I'll probably have about $15k in savings when I matriculate. If I can sell my house for a semi-reasonable amount I could have as much as $50k in savings. Here's to hoping for a scholarship/fellowship somewhere!

MDF · Answer

I have not familiarized myself with the process yet, but this is what I want to do. I'd like to keep my savings intact while in school to use as a safety net. Then once I have a post-MBA job, I'll use my savings to start paying off my debt.

However, I have a question for you. Did the EFC (expected family contribution) come into play when you took out loans for 100% of your tuition + living expenses. Don't you have to show the bank or financial aid office your savings/checking/brokerage account and prove how much money you really have saved up? Or does the EFC just apply to federal loans.

I guess I am under the impression that you cannot take out loans for 100% of tuition + living expense if you have savings of that size.

Any information about this would be helpful...

gmatvit · Answer

I don't know specific answer to your question, but a little observation that might be helpful. This year when I was filling out FAFSA application, the questions about the assets changed from the last year. Before, they used to ask a breakdown of your assets, like how much money you have in savings, in checking accounts, etc. This year the question was more straigtforward, something like, "do you have more than $41K in disposable assets?" So I guess, at least for federal loans, $41 K is a benchmark for trigging further questions to calculate your EFC. Could be that banks also have some pre-set assets level for their calculations on the amount of loan.

What % of your MBA expenses are from savings vs loans?

What % of your MBA expenses are from savings vs loans?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards