Hi,I was wondering how people go about financing an MBA at a good school?Most of the consulting firms are going to cut back on spending which means a lot less sponsorship (though I’m sure some will provide help). So, aside from hoping and praying for scholarships, and assuming you are not already rolling in cash, is it a case of spending years of savings or taking out a loan and then spending years paying it off? An aside from the 30-50k tuition, also having some money to live and eat.I’m wondering what those who have done MBAs did?Thanks

At LBS, most people were working through their savings from pre-MBA work experience (or re-mortgage cash for the older guys). Most gamble on getting an internship mid-way that will help offset expenses.

Savings and loans and some earnings through the course

Thanks for the info.Seems like quite a lot of financial risk, particularly in this climate.

Sure, it is.But here's the thing:There are literally thousands of people that want the shot at the top consulting firm or the career change to finance or the leadership rotations at the top corporates, and are therefore prepared to do whatever it takes to get there, including putting themselves into considerable debt.I am one of them and now I have considerable debt.Recruiters know this and they hire these people in part for that reason - a little bit of hunger and ambition and a willingness to put some personal risk on the line. This is one of the reasons that full-time MBAs have entirely different recruiting options to part-time ones.So if you come to me and say "I really really want to work at McKinsey, oh but I am not prepared to take on a bit of debt to have a shot - I want to have my cake and eat it - then you have no hope because:a) you don't want it enough relative to other peopleb) you most likely don't have the ambition to succeed at it anywayIf you are not prepared to take the risk, then just stay where you are.

So Q, following the completion of your MBA, were offers from top calibre institutions available to you fairly quickly?

Am not sure what you mean by 'quickly'The top consulting firms actively recruit at top schools for internships and then again for full-time positions. For full-time September starts they will be on campus in October/November of the previous year, so everyone that ended up at a consulting firm, or a bank for that matter, had their offer long before the end of the course

Q - Did it work, were you offered a top spot?

Yep, I did ok