Category — Financing Education

Applying for business school can be an agonizing process. How do you differentiate yourself from all the other highly qualified candidates? GMAT preparation courses have been around for a long time to help you get the highest GMAT score, but as the competition grows more fierce, you need to set yourself apart in other ways. It may be time to consider hiring a business school admissions consultant.

Do You Really Need an Admissions Consultant?

According to Stacy Blackman, most applicants to top business schools are qualified to attend. That doesn’t mean everyone gets in. The role of consultants like Blackman is to make sure your application stands out. Blackman and others offer personalized services that are also customized to the schools the student is applying to.

Consultants can help with everything from developing a strategy to assisting with essay writing and interview coaching. Premium services can include planning campus visits, coordinating school communications, and access to online resources to make your application as good as it can be.

If you’re thinking these services don’t come cheap, you’re right. That’s where the competition can help.

Beat the GMAT Competition

Qualified prospective MBA candidates can bow compete for scholarship packages that include GMAT preparation courses as well as expert consultation by a business school admissions consultant. The fourth annual 2009 Beat The GMAT Scholarship Competition is open for submissions. Applications will be accepted until May 8th.

Applicants must have completed college or be in their final year of college, and plan to attend business school within two years. 2009 Beat The GMAT Scholarship Competition is open to U.S. and international candidates.

“In these difficult economic times, there is a surge in business school applications, making it increasingly competitive to get into business school. We aim to support deserving candidates with this scholarship program,” said Stacy Blackman, President of Stacy Blackman Consulting.

Stacy Blackman Consulting and her team of professionals have hands on admissions experience, MBA’s from top schools, and strong writing and marketing skills. They’ve helped prospective students gain admission to every top business school in the world and they’re partnering with Manhattan GMAT to offer the prizes for the competition.

Enter to Win Free Services

The Beat the GMAT competition provides potential business school students with financial help assistance to help them achieve their educational goals by awarding the following prizes:

• First prize ($5,490 value): $500 cash, one full Manhattan GMAT course, 1 school comprehensive package with Stacy Blackman (business school admissions consultant).
• Second prize ($2,310 value): $500 cash, one full Manhattan GMAT course, 2,500-word editing service with Stacy Blackman.
• Third prize ($2,210 value): $500 cash; one full Manhattan GMAT course; 1,000-word editing service with Stacy Blackman.
• Fourth prize ($2,020 value): $500 cash, one full Manhattan GMAT course; copy of the MBA APPLICATION ROADMAP book by Stacy Blackman.
• Fifth prize ($2,020 value): $500, one full Manhattan GMAT course.

So how do  you enter? This link takes you directly to the 2009 Beat The GMAT Scholarship Competition site.

Applying is as simple as writing an essay. And if you find a consultant for that, let us know!

Soon universities (and possibly others who offer business education) will have access to an additional source of funding.

The folks who bring you the GMAT, the Graduate Management Admission Council Board, earlier this month approved $10 million to establish a fund to advance business and management education around the world. This in support of the Council’s initiative to make strategic philanthropic investments for the benefit of business and management education globally.

GMAC president and CEO, David A. Wilson states:

"We recognize that substantial change will only occur with substantial investment. That is why we think the board’s action can make a difference. These are investments against which the Council expects no return other than the advancement of the objectives for which grants are made."

GMAC Projects

Although the fund is new, GMAC’s sponsorship of projects that further business and management education globally is not. Two groups that have received support from GMAC in the past are The Ph.D. Project to increase the number of minority business school professors and their own Management Education Research Institute (MERI), which provides funding for faculty research on issues affecting management education, among others.

• Programs currently offered by MERI include the following:
• Grants up to $100,000 each for research that will impact management education.
• Faculty Fellowships designed to support innovative and thought-provoking management education leaders. Currently they offer up to four annual faculty fellowships up to $50,000 each for research at the fellows’ institutions.
• Doctoral Student Fellowships for doctoral students and beginning faculty. Up to four annual year-long doctoral student fellowships with awards up to $20,000 are available.

The Fund Formalizes GMAC’s Commitment

Over the next several weeks, the Council Board will put together a formal structure for the fund. Judy Phair in the council offices stated that the guidelines and process for applying for funds will be decided by an advisory committee to be selected by the board in early 2009.

GradeFund is a new tuition financing tool that lets students garner sponsors online who pay for good grades. This web application allows students to enlist friends and family to ease the burden of heavy tuition bills. The system works like a charity sponsorship pledge, where sponsors agree to pay a certain amount per specified grade.

“Understandably kids get disheartened when contemplating the rising costs of education,” said Michael Kopko, CEO of GradeFund. “The debt load of the average graduating student is nearly $20,000 and growing every year. However, where many people saw a problem, we saw an opportunity.”

How GradeFund Works

After creating a profile and inviting sponsors on GradeFund.com, students periodically upload their transcripts to the site. GradeFund charges the credit cards sponsors have on file credits the student’s personal account or makes payment directly to an educational institution, depending on the sponsor’s choice. (GradeFund’s site states that they verify the grades.)

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A business student is someone that goes to business school, takes courses, graduates and looks for a job. An entrepreneurial student is someone that starts their own business while still in business school. If you lean to the latter, here are a number of low- to medium-capital businesses that you can start while still in business school, either singly or with partners.

Some people are natural entrepreneurs, even students. Numerous successful business powerhouses – such as Dell Computers, Microsoft, FedEx and Apple – got started in college. You don’t have to be a geek, but you do need some basic accounting, advertising, market research and business skills, and a specific salable skill (how you’ll earn your income). College is actually an ideal place to start a business because students tend to be bright-eyed, passionate and unjaded. As well, classmates tend not to mind other classmates promoting their business.

Here are a few businesses you can start in college for relatively low capital, then build on them as income comes in. Because you’re in charge, you can take as much or as little work as fits your study schedule.
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If you’re headed towards business school, you already know it can be expensive. The Sallie Mae also just announced that they will no longer give private loans to students who have low (below-prime) credit scores. These days, with credit cards being sent to dogs (really), it’s not hard to fall to the temptation of easy credit at some point and then find negative marks on your credit report. You’ll have to rebuild your credit, but what do you do in the meantime, especially if you’re already in school or have been accepted?

Here are some tips for alternate ways to fund your business school degree that won’t leave you scared of debt when you graduate.

1. Loan from family. Money from family/ friends is often easier to gain than from other sources. The typical downside is that unresolved money issues often divide families. You could make things more official by having loan papers drafted, which include a clause that you pay some sort of percentage return. So your loaners get something in return for their investment in you. On the other hand, if you’re undisciplined in paying off debt, this is a bad idea. So, then, is going to business school.
2. Awards. Many schools offer awards to students with top marks. Check your college’s website for awards, scholarships, grants, etc., then check with your college counsellor. Don’t forget that in the United States, there often really obscure grants/ scholarships that have the oddest acceptance criteria, but which you might qualify for. The downside is trying to find such awards.
3. Government or military assistance. This falls into a vein similar to awards, but funding comes from the government or the military, rather than schools or private organizations. The downside is that to qualify, you often have to be in a “minority” group, such as a veteran, disabled, single parent, etc.
4. Work part-time. Many students have worked their way through college. It’s quite a common practice. But if your marks are high, you might even land a department job as an assistant to a professor. This does not always pay more than some outside job, but it’s very good to have on your resume. The downside is that some departments only let full-time students work 10-20 hours. You have to weigh out the pros and cons. [Read more →]