Most business schools do not offer financial assistance to international students for programs like the MBA. Students who manage to secure tuition waivers and assistantships usually get them after they reach the business school and usually after a semester.

When you choose to study abroad, the following types of financial aid may be available to you:

• Grants and scholarships
• Loans from an financial institution in India or from a financial institution based in the country in which you will be studying

Grants and Scholarships

Grants and scholarships are awarded by schools, and are based on merit or need. You'll need to consider the following:

• Grants and scholarships are limited in number and even more limited for graduate business students.
• Check with the admissions office at each school to see what kinds of grants and scholarships they offer, and to verify all application deadlines.
• Eligibility criteria may be restrictive. The schools are the best source for scholarship information, and the earlier you engage them, the better.
• Consider using a web-based scholarship search service, although some may charge a fee for their services.

A full scholarship would pay for a student’s entire living expenses at that university, whereas a partial scholarship would require additional funds from the student. These awards are few and very competitive.

Student Loans

Students generally avail of education loans for pursuing a management program. This is because they expect their career prospects after graduating to be better and therefore foresee paying off the loan in due course of time. You want to consider the following when weighing loan options:

• A student may qualify for private loans or campus-based loans.
• A typical loan required for an MBA program in a mid-tier university in the US would be between USD 50,000 – 60,000 (INR 25 to 30 lakhs) and this can be availed from nationalized as well as private banks.
• Upon graduation, typical salaries range from US $60,000 to US $75,000 per annum. This is an indicative range and will vary depending on individual performance in the program, quality of the program and the overall economic environment. However, as the range indicates, repayment of an education loan in due course should not be a challenge.

If you study abroad, you will need to decide if you’ll want to secure a loan from a financial institution in India, or from a loan provider in the country in which you’re studying. Here are some important factors to consider:

• Whether or not collateral is required to access the loan
• The interest rate at which the loan will be priced
• The date that repayment shall begin
• The terms of loan repayment and the flexibility of repayment