Business school may be one of the biggest investments you ever make in yourself. Because it can be a large financial commitment, many students use financial aid to make it possible to attend business school. If you do not have sufficient resources on hand to pay for your entire education, you should consider applying for financial aid.

There are different kinds of financial aid, but the two most common forms are scholarships and loans. Most of the financial aid available to graduate business students is in the form of loans. Because the salaries of MBAs are usually higher than those of graduates from other kinds of academic programs, many schools expect MBA students to borrow money to pay for their education because they will have the income to pay back the loans.

If you decide to apply for financial aid, you will need to do so with each school during the admissions application process. Being considered by a school for financial aid and being considered by a school for admission are separate processes, even though they happen in the same time frame.

You should submit your completed financial aid application to each school according to its unique deadlines and requirements. Be sure to leave yourself enough time to fulfill the requirements of both the financial aid and admissions applications. Also make sure you follow instructions—you would not want to jeopardize your chance of receiving financial aid by failing to fill out your application properly.