Discussions & Chats

QUICK LINKS

STUDENT2STUDENT

DISCUSSION FORUM

  • Worst case scenario!
    From: CarolKumar  Oct 05, 2011 Posts 1

    Hi,

    I'm a prospective applicant for the year 2011-2012 from India. I've a small question regarding the financial-aid/scholarship and I'd really appreciate if I could get an answer for the same.

    Historically, has there ever been a case where an applicant had to withdraw his/her admission to Wharton due to lack of financial-aid/scholarship? I understand that MBA is a significant yet worthwhile investment and one I'm willing to make. But, given my financial situation, I can only rely on some kind of financial aid to pursue my MBA. I feel that I've good chance of getting an admission, but assuming the worst-case scenario, where I end up not getting the necessary financial aid, what is the way forward?

  • Re: Worst case scenario!
    From: victormlee  Oct 05, 2011 Posts 2,530
    In reply to

    Hello, Carol,

    A significant portion of every class takes on some form of financial aid, so you certainly will be in good company. An MBA is an expensive proposition, and fewer people will have the "cash position" to pay for it at once without some form of assistance. 

    If you haven't had a chance to do so, yet, check out http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/admissions/financing-your-mba.cfm and http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/admissions/financing-your-mba-faq.cfm.

    Now, to answer your question, it is possible that you may not receive the total amount of aid you seek or need. Each applicant would be assessed on a case-by-case basis. If you end up not getting the amount of aid that you sought, you have at least three options:

    a) you could pursue other external sources of aid or merit awards;

    b) you could reinvestigate whether or not you are willing to take on more loans/debt;

    c) you could *maybe* defer admission - with a compelling reason - and try to return the following year after saving more money; or

    d) you could decline your acceptance to Wharton. 

    I suppose theoretically you could appeal to the Financial Aid office if you have a very compelling reason to do so (just saying I need more money will probably not work, as the Financial Aid office will already have evaluated your profile, if and where applicable). But I would not count on this option.

    In any event, I would discourage you from giving up at once until you have further explored options, perhaps in conjunction with the Financial Aid office.

    -Victor

    WG '11

     

  • Re: Worst case scenario!
    From: Fanaticalfan  Oct 06, 2011 Posts 1,159
    In reply to

    Roughly around 25% of the class gets a scholarship, with the average award being about 25% of tuition. (although there would be a number of students on non-Wharton scholarships).

    Most students fund the bulk of their studies through student loans.

    While in the current financial environment it is difficult to make 'cast-iron' guarantees into the future, Wharton currently (and historically) provides non-cosignor loans for students, including international students, and would hope to continue to do this into the future.

    I did have a classmate who had a fair bit of credit card debt, and it was suggested to her by the Financial Aid office that she defer a year to get her personal finances sorted out. This was a suggestion, not a firm direction, and she saw it for what it was - good advice from the Fin Aid folks.

    FF

S2S: Scholarships & Loans