How to Financially Prepare for Business School in 2 Years

Hello WSO,

I have been accepted to a deferred MBA program, and I begin in 2 years. Besides saving a portion of my income, what actions should I take to afford B school? If I continue to save at my current rate, I will have about 80,000 in loans. How else can I decrease this beginning principal?

- Any scholarships I could apply to this early?
- Any tricks to get more fellowships?
- Other Advice?

Additionally, are there any other non-finance related objectives I should add to this list before I begin?

I feel this situation is a bit different than most threads on this board because I do have 2 years before I begin as opposed to 1 year.

18 Comments
 
The Sour Patch Kid

Yale has the Silver Scholars program, and I think MIT Sloan has a similar deferred program.

From my understanding, Silver Scholars does not let you defer. It is a three-year program designed to admit students straight from undergrad to MBA without allowing any work experience in between. That's why they require you to spend your entire second year doing a FT internship.

(http://mba.yale.edu/MBA/admissions/apply/college_seniors.shtml)

 
Best Response
pnb2002 The Sour Patch Kid:

Yale has the Silver Scholars program, and I think MIT Sloan has a similar deferred program.

From my understanding, Silver Scholars does not let you defer. It is a three-year program designed to admit students straight from undergrad to MBA without allowing any work experience in between. That's why they require you to spend your entire second year doing a FT internship.

(http://mba.yale.edu/MBA/admissions/apply/college_s...)

I could've sworn they allowed a year's deferral, or maybe a deferral of 1 year to get 2 years experience before the second year of b-school. You're probably right though.

 

ISB in India does it..they too have a scholar program...but it aint much expensive though compared to US schools..and certainly not worth one to incur a 80k loan even after 2 years of +ve cash inflows..

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." ~George Moore
 

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that school based scholarships are awarded at the time of admittance rather than when the program actually starts. As a result, I'm not sure you're going to receive consideration for future fellowships / scholarships since you've already accepted the offer. I'm far less familiar with deferred programs though, so discount this thought appropriately. Even if I'm wrong, there isn't much you can do to increase your scholarship potential beyond strengthening your application as a whole. Go to your MBA program's website, usually they have a scholarship page, and look for the criteria that they look for. Usually it is a generic combination of academic + professional success combined with demonstrating integrity and the core values of the school. Not much help there in terms of specific activities you could engage in...

For example, Wharton's website says: "Criteria for selection of awards may include academic achievement, compelling leadership, exceptional professional development, and unique personal qualities. There is no formal fellowship application, and notification of fellowship support is included with the admissions decision."

Source: http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/admissions/grants-and-fellowships.cfm

As for external scholarships, my experience has been that these are generally given based on very specific criteria, primarily sex/race/country of origin. If you are a minority in any of these categories, I'd recommend you do some Google searching for available funds for someone of your background. Some scholarships you're automatically considered for as a member of that sex/race/country, but others require a specific application. If you are comfortable sharing demographic information here on the boards, folks with a similar background may be able to point you in the right direction.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

I went through a similar program, and got a full ride for the MBA (nontarget). (I'm assuming you are going to the same school as your undergrad.) The best thing you can possibly do is start talking to the professors you've already had. Someone will probably know who it is that decides who gets the grants/fellowships, and what the timeline is. Once you know that, you can ask a few of your professors if they would recommend you to the approving individual/committee when the time comes, then remind them again when you get closer. If you have multiple professors saying that you were one of their best students and you have the work experience to back it up, your chances go way up. The availability of scholarships and fellowships can vary from year to year depending on funding and internal needs, so doing this will at the very least give you the peace of mind of knowing why you didn't get anything.

 
CompBanker

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that school based scholarships are awarded at the time of admittance rather than when the program actually starts. As a result, I'm not sure you're going to receive consideration for future fellowships / scholarships since you've already accepted the offer. I'm far less familiar with deferred programs though, so discount this thought appropriately. Even if I'm wrong, there isn't much you can do to increase your scholarship potential beyond strengthening your application as a whole. Go to your MBA program's website, usually they have a scholarship page, and look for the criteria that they look for. Usually it is a generic combination of academic + professional success combined with demonstrating integrity and the core values of the school. Not much help there in terms of specific activities you could engage in...

For example, Wharton's website says: "Criteria for selection of awards may include academic achievement, compelling leadership, exceptional professional development, and unique personal qualities. There is no formal fellowship application, and notification of fellowship support is included with the admissions decision."

Source: http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/admissions/grants...

As for external scholarships, my experience has been that these are generally given based on very specific criteria, primarily sex/race/country of origin. If you are a minority in any of these categories, I'd recommend you do some Google searching for available funds for someone of your background. Some scholarships you're automatically considered for as a member of that sex/race/country, but others require a specific application. If you are comfortable sharing demographic information here on the boards, folks with a similar background may be able to point you in the right direction.

I have a general idea of how much I'm going to get from the school. I was more directing my questions towards outside scholarships. Most scholarships are for students in school.

 
808

I went through a similar program, and got a full ride for the MBA (nontarget). (I'm assuming you are going to the same school as your undergrad.) The best thing you can possibly do is start talking to the professors you've already had. Someone will probably know who it is that decides who gets the grants/fellowships, and what the timeline is. Once you know that, you can ask a few of your professors if they would recommend you to the approving individual/committee when the time comes, then remind them again when you get closer. If you have multiple professors saying that you were one of their best students and you have the work experience to back it up, your chances go way up. The availability of scholarships and fellowships can vary from year to year depending on funding and internal needs, so doing this will at the very least give you the peace of mind of knowing why you didn't get anything.

I'm going from a non-target undergrad to a target grad.

 
CompBanker

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that school based scholarships are awarded at the time of admittance rather than when the program actually starts. As a result, I'm not sure you're going to receive consideration for future fellowships / scholarships since you've already accepted the offer. I'm far less familiar with deferred programs though, so discount this thought appropriately.

Some of the deferred programs specify in the agreement that you sign after getting accepted that you will be reconsidered for fellowships and scholarships for the academic year which you decide to commit. (Most of the deferred programs are non-binding as far as I know.) So the OP could receive additional scholarships and fellowships at the time of enrollment.

 
pnb2002 CompBanker:

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that school based scholarships are awarded at the time of admittance rather than when the program actually starts. As a result, I'm not sure you're going to receive consideration for future fellowships / scholarships since you've already accepted the offer. I'm far less familiar with deferred programs though, so discount this thought appropriately.

Some of the deferred programs specify in the agreement that you sign after getting accepted that you will be reconsidered for fellowships and scholarships for the academic year which you decide to commit. (Most of the deferred programs are non-binding as far as I know.) So the OP could receive additional scholarships and fellowships at the time of enrollment.

Awesome, I appreciate the insight pnb2002.
CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

Id fuga consequatur cupiditate quia accusamus itaque. Hic vitae officiis minima dolor expedita non cum assumenda. Magnam dolorum aspernatur et consequatur reprehenderit. Aut qui qui sunt ut reiciendis odit.

Laborum in nesciunt temporibus sit quae. Dignissimos accusantium qui laborum nihil hic exercitationem eum. Qui dolores et qui voluptas aspernatur necessitatibus nihil.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”