This is the second article on Paying for Business School (click here to read Part 1). Short of having a rich uncle that has dreamed of you getting your MBA for years and wants to pay for the whole thing, there are a couple of options for you to help ease the burden.

Loans: Student loans.  Most MBA students who are not rich or on a full scholarship use this option.  There is not much to say as it is really your only way to borrow money for living and tuition and the rules are changing for these loans as the Federal Government assumes a larger role.  I do suggest that you read the loan terms carefully and become aware of your obligations and rights, as it will be a lot of money.  If you are coming from overseas this process can be a lot more painful and the Feds will not be there to help you out.

I signed up for one that gave a discount on the interest rate if you signed up for direct withdrawal for a year after school.  That’s not a bad deal and something that is not very hard to do, although I did feel a bit surprised when the first withdrawal took place a month earlier than anticipated.  Also don’t forget that you can defer these loans if you, like many current graduates, cannot find employment right after school.

Taxes: Tax write-offs exist for both your tuition and the interest you pay on your loans.  Ask your accountant to determine if you qualify for the tuition write-offs, but almost all of you will be able to write-off your interest.

Jobs: The final piece of advice is to find employment.  There are two types of jobs one can get during business school and I suggest both of them.  The obvious one is the summer internship, and even if you don’t go into banking or consulting gigs you can still make a decent amount of money for three months of work.  Some even offer signing bonuses.  Secondly, there are many teaching assistant jobs for students, which basically consist of grading exams and leading some study sessions.  At least at my school they paid fairly well for not being very taxing.  If you want one of these you need to both excel in the class and become friendly with the professor.

I was fortunate enough to land an Economics TA position and it helped me at least stop the hemorrhaging from my checking account for a couple of months.

That’s all the advice I have on this.  It will be expensive any way you run the numbers, but if you do some of these things it will be slightly easier.

Good luck.