These LA Business Schools Are Helping Low Income Students Pursue Their Dreams
For many low-income applicants, unfortunately, the cost of an MBA program is just out of reach. That’s because, by the time you count tuition (often upwards of $80,000), boarding and books ($40,000), and other expenditures, the average cost of an MBA is around $140,000 according to Investopedia. And that’s all before you count lost salary for two years for a full-time MBA program.
What can you do?
For low-income MBA applicants in Los Angeles, California you don’t have to give up on your dreams due to money. Instead, business schools offer many options to help pay for your MBA program.
California DREAM Act
The California DREAM Act of 2011 is currently available to California residents who attended and graduated from high school in the state and are enrolled in an accredited California Institution of Higher Education. If you meet these eligibility requirements, you’ll be given access to California State financial aid and scholarships as well as specific university financial aid programs. In addition, need-based graduate applicants are eligible for the State University Grant (SUG) program, which awards up to $7,176 to help cover tuition.
California State University’s Long Beach College of Business Administration is just one of the MBA programs that provides this type of financial aid to low-income MBA applicants. The College of Business Economics at Cal State L.A. also accepts DREAM Act Applications for student financial aid.
Scholarships
MBA scholarships for low-income applicants are one of the best ways to help pay for your degree program. Scholarships vary by school and can range from a few thousand dollars per year to full-tuition coverage plus a stipend.
At the UCLA Anderson School, there are six unique fellowships available to MBA applicants.
- Donor Fellowships are awarded to MBA applicants based on professional development, intended career, community involvement, and/or financial need.
- Merit Fellowships are awarded based on the strength of a student’s application.
- External Fellowships are available for a variety of different situations and students. One example is the Girard Miller Foundation scholarship, which is awarded to a graduate student preparing for a career in state or local government finance.
Teaching Assistantships
For California MBA students, financial aid doesn’t stop in the first year. For second-year full-time MBA students, many Los Angeles business schools offer Teaching Assistantship (TA) positions. These positions are usually awarded to students who keep their grade point averages above a certain level and who apply and receive an appointment. The award amount varies by business school but, in some cases, covers 100 percent of a student’s services fee and tuition.
At UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, full-time MBA students who gain a TA appointment receive payment for 100 percent of their Graduate Student Health Insurance Program (GSHIP) premium. They also receive 100 percent of the Student Services Fee and Tuition components per quarter.
Military Veteran Aid
For low-income MBA applicants who also have a history of military service, there are many unique financial aid opportunities. The exact services available will depend on the school, but some of these programs are available at schools across California and the U.S.
First, there’s the Yellow Ribbon Program, which many Los Angeles business schools take part in, including Chapman University Argyros School of Business. This program awards MBA students up to $6,000 for tuition and fees. Another program open to military veterans is the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which includes payments directly to the university for tuition and fees, a monthly housing allowance, and an annual books and supplies stipend up to $1,000 per year.
Individual schools like the USC Marshall School of Business also offer their own specific scholarships for military veterans. The Schoen Family Scholarship Program for Veterans is available to full-time MBA students at Marshall and has, to date, provided a staggering $1.2 million in financial support to 173 students at the university.
Loans
Finally, most low-income MBA applicants in Los Angeles are eligible for federal student loans. Direct PLUS Loans are available to graduate students to help pay for educational expenses up to the cost of attendance. MBA students can request unsubsidized loans up to their full eligibility with an Income-Driven Repayment Plan that allows you to make payments based on your adjusted gross income. In most cases, payment will begin until after graduation.
For MBA applicants at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, financial aid loan application for Federal Graduate PLUS student aid and Federal Direct Stafford Loans is easy. The school provides loan counseling for graduate student borrowers, loan calculators, and more.
For more information about how your business school could help cover the cost of your MBA program, visit your school website and contact their financial aid office. Scholarships, loans, and aid opportunities vary per school. The Simple Dollar also has a handy guide on how DACA recipients may be able to handle financial expectations for students around the U.S.
Los Angeles News: UC Irvine Female Faculty Recognized, and More
Let’s visit some of the biggest news stories coming out of business schools and MBA programs in Los Angeles.
Welcome New EMBA Director Joe O’Hannigan – Loyola Marymount Newsroom
The Loyola Marymount University College of Business Administration has recently named Joe O’Hannigan as the new associate dean and director for the school’s Executive MBA Program. With more than 30 years of experience in both higher education and international business, O’Hannigan will come to the College of Business Administration from Notre Dame, where he helped take the university’s Executive Education and EMBA programs to new heights.
“Our Executive MBA Program plays a valuable role in the community, bridging and strengthening both LMU and the business world with increasing recognition and impact,” O’Hannigan commented. “I can’t help smiling as I reacquaint myself with this wonderful institution; it’s this proud alum’s dream come true.”
Read more about Joe O’Hannigan and LMU’s Executive MBA here.
Entrepreneur and Scholar to be Honored by University – USC Marshall Newsroom
Kathleen Allen, Professor Emerita of Clinical Entrepreneurship at the Marshall School of Business at USC is the newest recipient of one of the University’s highest honors—the 2018 Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award. A Ph.D. graduate from USC Marshall, Allen served as the university’s professor of clinical entrepreneurship at the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies for 26 years before retiring in 2016. She is the author of a number of best-selling textbooks about entrepreneurship, including “Launching New Ventures,” which has been published in six languages and sold around the world. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Allen at the Academic Honors Convocation Ceremony in April.
Read more about Allen’s tenure at USC Marshall and the Lifetime Achievement Award here.
UC Irvine Merage in FT Global MBA Ranking 2018 – Financial Times
The Financial Times has recognized the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine as a stand out in their latest ranking of the best MBA programs in the world. According to data from the publication, the Merage School is the first business school in 20 years of FT’s rankings to have a majority (52 percent) of female faculty. This is significantly higher than the average rate of 28 percent for other ranked schools. The Merage MBA program has remained consistently ranked since the first listing in 1999, and since then has witnessed a steady growth of female faculty each year.
Find out more about the Financial Times’ annual ranking here.
Get Ready for these February MBA Deadlines
Don’t delay your future! Being timely when submitting graduate school applications can increase your chances of scholarships and other not-to-miss opportunities when applying for your MBA. Stay up to date with this month’s MBA admissions deadlines!
New York City
With a application due date of February 21, applicants to the the Columbia Business School EMBA program should be ready for the quickly approaching deadline.
Many other programs in the New York City metro have deadlines coming up in early March, so it’s important to remember that February is a short month! The Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University and NYU’s Stern School of Business both have deadlines within the first couple weeks of March. To see more information on upcoming events and deadlines in New York, click here.
Los Angeles
The Online MBA program at USC’s Marshall School of Business has a deadline approaching at the end of February, while three more schools in the Los Angeles metro have important deadlines quickly approaching. Students interested in applying to the part-time MBA at USC Marshall or both summer and fall starts for an MBA at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles should be prepared to submit their applications by the first of March.
Click here for more information on important deadlines in the Los Angeles metro.
The first round of theUSC Marshall Online MBA deadline arrives Feb. 21.
Toronto
Two programs at the Rotman School of Management—the Morning/Evening MBA and full-time MBA—have deadlines coming up in late February. Another deadline quickly approaching for schools in the Toronto metro area is for Rotman’s EMBA program, which is in early March.
More information on Toronto deadlines can be found here.
Philadelphia
February is a busy time for business schools in the Philadelphia metro, with several deadlines approaching throughout February and early March. Programs with a mid-February deadline include the Villanova School of Business Fast Track MBA and EMBA, and it is also the last opportunity for applicants for the Summer Intake Priority Scholarship at Temple University’s Fox School of Business‘ Online MBA. The La Salle University Online MBA also has a quickly approaching deadline in early March.
For a deeper look at upcoming deadlines in the Philadelphia metro, click here.
Washington DC
While there are no upcoming deadlines for February in the Washington DC metro, there are a number of quickly approaching deadlines in early-to-mid March. Applicants to the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland should be aware of a deadline on the first of March for the school’s full-time MBA, with other deadlines in mid-March for programs at the George Washington University School of Business and Kogod School of Business.
More deadlines for the Washington DC metro can be found here.
For updated deadline information in Chicago, Boston, Baltimore, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London, click here.
USC Marshall Alum’s Startup Making its Mark in International Basketball
Brandon Smith, an alum of the USC Marshall School of Business, has changed the way international basketball teams recruit and train. His company, Global Sports Analytics (GSA), offers a proprietary, web-based software that provides different types of analytics and data to teams that compete within the international basketball community.
For players, the GSA developed a sports agency that leverages the software’s algorithm to help guarantee better contracts for clients. He recently shared his success story to his alma mater in an article published by the school.
“We use advanced metrics to help build rosters for European teams,” Smith told USC Marshall. “Basically, we identified a hole in the ecosystem, and we’re bridging the gap—matching up teams and players—so that everyone can thrive.”
Starting up GSA has taken Smith across Europe, but his journey began at Marshall. Smith gives a lot of credit to the USC faculty for helping shape his entrepreneurial mind.
“There were so many people at Marshall who influenced me,” he recalls. “David Carter and Courtney Brunious at the Sports Business Institute were instrumental in my thinking about how GSA could work. [Entrepreneurship and Viterbi professor] Andrea Belz was my mentor—we talked every week. And, of course, everyone at the Greif Center was amazing.”
“Marshall was the perfect mix: a school that lives and breathes entrepreneurship, housed within a university with a big-time athletics program,” he added.
According to the company’s projections, GSA has provided services to 11 European teams in 2017 and is on track to do so for 31 teams in 2018. What’s next for the startup? Smith says GSA has secured funding through the second quarter of 2018, and believes his company is poised for positive growth in the New Year.
“Basketball’s popularity is exploding internationally, and we’re excited to enter markets in the Middle East and South America,” he said. “Ultimately, our goal is to strengthen the global basketball community—contributing to better team play and connecting fans through a common language that can bring people together no matter where they live.”
USC Marshall Professor Explains the Return on Investment of Gratitude
Glenn Fox, the Head of Design, Strategy and Outreach for USC Marshall’s Performance Science Institute, believes that being thankful comes with a significant return-on-investment in business. According to a press release, Fox has focused his latest research on correlating gratitude and human performance. Continue reading…
Temple, Carnegie Mellon Top U.S. News 2018 Online MBA Rankings
The annual U.S. News & World Report 2018 Online MBA rankings are officially in, with the Fox School of Business at Temple University, once again, taking the top honors.
