| Register/Subscribe Home |
|
UNDERGRADSMain Page2007 RankingsAdmissions Q&AsCareer Q&AsUndergrad ForumReading ListRecruiter Q&AsSchool Report CardsSchool ToursUndergrad 24-7Undergrad VideosNews HeadlinesPREMIUM CONTENT
| |
APRIL 13, 2001 B-SCHOOL Q&A: FINANCIAL AID Meet Cornell's Financial Aid Director A conversation with Ann Richards, director of financial aid and associate director of admissions at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management
Q: Ann, tuition for the 2000-01 academic year was $27,600. Do you expect to see that number increase for the coming school year? A: Yes, we have set our tuition rates for next year. The tuition for the fall and spring (2001-02) combined semesters will be $29,500. We have a very small, specialized program called the 12 Month Option program for students who have an advanced technical degree. They can complete their MBA in three semesters -- summer, fall, and spring -- and finish in 12 full months. Tuition for that program will be $18,000. Q: On top of tuition and fees, what should a student budget for an entire year of study? A: We have a computer requirement for first-year students, so the budget for first-years and second-years is slightly different. But the first-year student budget for the 2001-02 academic year -- that includes tuition, room and board, books, personal miscellaneous expenses, as well as health insurance and a laptop computer purchase -- is $46,045. And our second-year budget is $43,045, because [students] don't have that [$3,000] computer expense in there. Q: The cost for two years of Johnson tuition and living expenses is closing in on the $100,000 mark and is on the rise. Is the hefty price tag a deterrent for prospective MBAs? A: I'm glad you asked that because I'd like to make a plea to encourage students not to discount the possibility of going to school because of the cost. There are resources available to help everyone get their education. Sometimes it's not always easy, but there are resources and people shouldn't assume, because the school is $30,000 to $50,000 [a year], that they can't attend. People should look at the school that's the most appropriate for them, and then use the school's resources to find the most appropriate way to cover expenses. Q: What is the Johnson school doing to ensure that as cost-of-living and tuition expenses increase, the scholarship budget does as well? A: There are a lot of resources at work trying to address the issue of increasing costs. Our corporate affairs office is talking to corporations and businesses all the time about the increased cost of education and any assistance they can provide. We also try to provide students with resources that they can use to help defray costs. We give them information on how to prepare financially for school, how to cut costs while they are a student, how to limit their overall borrowing amount. So there are ways [of keeping costs down] beyond just scholarship. Q: There are two main ways to fund a Johnson MBA: merit-based scholarships and need-based loans. How much scholarship funding is available, and how many students receive merit awards? A: We have about $1 million of merit-scholarship funding each year. The criteria [we use for awarding merit-based aid] is the same criteria that we use [during] the admission process, since our goal is to attract the top students with this funding. We look at academic experience, work experience, [recommendations], essays. We try to select roughly the top 10% of the class and award them with merit scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. [Awards] are renewed in their second year and [are] applied against tuition. Because we have $1 million, and some of our awards are substantial, we can only award funding to about 20% of the class, or 1 in 5 students. Citizenship is not an issue in the selection of the merit based scholarships -- they are open to all students. Q: Is there a special scholarship-application form? A: We have a scholarship-application form that's part of the admissions application. [Applicants] must apply by Jan. 15 in order to be considered for scholarship funding. We try to get notification to applicants within two weeks of the admissions decision. Q: Are there any scholarship awards specifically earmarked for say, minority students, women, or other underrepresented constituencies? A: We do have scholarships which have among their criteria, a preference for women or minorities or folks from New Jersey, as I mentioned. We also have an Office of Women & Minorities in Business, which has been around for a year and a half now. Angela Noble and her staff are actively working to secure funding on a variety of levels, not just scholarships. [They provide] a variety of resources for both women and minorities. It has [been] a tremendous success. Q: Another very appealing financing option is the Park Fellowship Program. What are the prerequisites to becoming a Park Fellow? A: Park Fellowships are [geared to identify] potential leaders, reward them with significant financial support, and, in return, we expect that while they are a student, they will continue to develop their leadership abilities and experiences to the benefit of the school and the students here. [Applicants are required to write] an additional essay to apply. The Park Fellowships are limited to U.S. citizens. Thirty students receive the Park Fellowship each year, and it's a two-year award for full tuition, plus a stipend. Q: A lot of schools don't encourage assistantships for first-year students. Some don't encourage them at all. What is Johnson's stance on this financial alternative? A: We don't have assistantships in the traditional sense -- [we don't offer] tuition remission or tuition reduction. We do have students who work as teaching assistants and research assistants for our faculty, but they're paid on an hourly basis. We really discourage students from working in their first semester. In fact, few students work in their first year at all. Q: Out of Johnson's total enrollment of 598 for the 2000-01 academic year, how many students receive some kind of loan assistance? A: Probably about 300 students receive some form of loan assistance: either a federal loan, an institutional loan, or a private loan. The federal loans are, for the most part, need-based loans. There's a federal formula for determining financial need, and that's used to qualify some students for a subsidized loan. Regarding institutional loans, we have a very limited amount of funding that we award on a case-by-case basis. The maximum [award] is $5,000 per year. It's used primarily to help students that have encountered some unexpected expenses or an emergency situation. Lastly, private loans are a huge resource for [our students]. These loans are not need-based; they're credit-based. There are private lenders -- like Citibank, MBA loans, the Access Group -- who will perform a credit check and use the information accessed on the student's credit report to determine the terms of the loan (origination fees, interest rates, etc.) The most attractive borrowers get the most attractive rates. Q: Some say that the poorer a B-school applicant looks on paper, the better his or her chances of getting financial aid. Is that true? A: So many students think they're going to be penalized by having resources when it comes to funding their graduate education, and that is simply not true. The costs of an MBA education are so high that it is unlikely that a student will put themselves in a position where they won't qualify for loan assistance. Because more and more schools are offering merit-based as well as need-based awards, the fact that [prospective students] have prepared for their graduate education won't have an impact on whether or not they're selected for a scholarship. Q: When should prospective students begin the financial aid research process, and when will they hear back from Johnson about their eligibility for loans and/or merit-based aid? A: When an applicant first requests information or submits an admissions application to our office, we send them a letter telling them how to apply for loan assistance. We explain that they have to submit the Student Aid Report and a copy of their tax return. We try to notify [incoming] students [of their financial-aid status] within two weeks of their admissions decision. If [prospective students] wait until they're accepted before they apply [for financial aid], it could be four months before they hear about loan eligibility. [When domestic students] apply for federal aid, we recommend they use the online FAFSA application. It's very quick. And if they have a copy of their tax return, it's [even easier], because the questions are all referenced to lines on the tax return. If [applicants] haven't filed their taxes for the year yet, they can use their estimated information. Q: Securing funding can be complicated for international MBAs. Is there a foreign-friendly loan program that, for example, doesn't require a resident co-signer? A: We're working on that. We don't have a loan program specifically for international students that does not require a U.S. or permanent resident co-signer yet. There are some resources that students can use to secure loans either through their own country or through an international organization. Canadian students, for instance, may qualify for the CanHELP Loan, which this Canadian Higher Education Loan Program. There's also The International Education Finance Corporation (IEFC), which will provide funding to international students. There's a special section that covers international loans on our Web site. Q: The average age of a Johnson student is 29, a bit older than some of its peer schools. Are married students impacted at all when it comes to financial aid? A: [An applicant's] status as part of a married couple isn't relevant to securing funding. It's not a factor that's taken into consideration in approving a private loan, for instance. Certainly, we may make adjustments to the cost of attendance for a student with a spouse or with dependent children, which means that they may qualify for additional subsidized loans. But generally speaking, it means additional private loans, because most of our students qualify for the maximum subsidized loans. Q: Does an incoming Johnson student have to worry about competing with the entire Cornell community to get assistance from your office? A: We really try to be an advocate for all of our students, whether [they are] new or returning. We're fortunate at the Johnson School, because we do have a dedicated financial-aid office. We're not farmed out from the university's financial-aid office, and we have a serious commitment to our students. We have an open-door policy, so students don't have to make an appointment or phone weeks ahead to see us. The student's purpose in coming to Cornell is not to deal with all the paperwork and red tape, it's to get an education. Q: What tips does the school have for someone setting out to finance an MBA? What should future B-schoolers be thinking about as they head into this financial commitment? A: In the very investigative stages, [prospective students should] begin to curtail their consumer spending, get rid of any credit-card debt, and save bonuses. Consumer debt is probably the biggest burden that haunts students when they get to school. It impacts them on two levels. First, it's a monthly obligation that they have to pay when they no longer have any income. And it has an impact on their credit rating and the rates that they end up borrowing their education funding on.  | | Learn about your online education options |
 Copyright 2001 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Policy |
MBA Insider
Printer-Friendly Version
