Written By Melanie Lockert
Updated on October 1, 2024
Getting an MBA will cost you a pretty penny. Master’s of Business Administration degrees cost five figures on average. At some top universities, that number can easily exceed six figures.
Unless you have tons of money to spare, you’ll likely need to turn to student loans to fund your MBA. Read on to learn more about funding your MBA and the best MBA student loans.
Funding your MBA
Taking out loans for school isn’t ideal, but it’s obviously a resource that can help pay your way toward an MBA. Before applying for student loans, exhaust any extra money you have, including grants and scholarships. Don’t touch your retirement or stop eating or something crazy like that. But if you have access to additional funds in these ways, utilize those first.
After using those resources, you’ll likely need additional funding in the form of student loans. That’s where federal and private student loans come in.
Federal student loans
The Department of Education offers federal student loans that come with great benefits like income-driven repayment, deferment, forbearance, and student loan forgiveness, if it applies to you. Also, these loans have fixed interest rates. That can be a blessing or a curse. It can be good to lock in a rate, but if the rate isn’t great, you may feel stuck (that’s where student loan refinancing can be helpful).
Federal loans help protect you as a borrower, which is why you should opt for federal student loans first. Since an MBA is a graduate program, your loan options may be limited. One option is Direct Grad PLUS Loans.
Grad PLUS Loans, however, require a credit check and have the highest interest rates among other federal student loan types.
Private student loans
Private loans are offered through different financial institutions. If you’ve exhausted your federal loan options, private loans can be a great way to cover that gap.
Depending on your credit, private lenders may even offer better interest rates. Compare your prospective interest rate with the Grad PLUS Loan rate and decide if you want to use a hybrid approach or to go with just private student loans.
Just be aware of the pros and cons. For example, you might save money on private student loans with a lower interest rate, but you would have fewer protections.
Private lenders offer MBA student loans specifically for borrowers getting their MBA. Lenders that offer private MBA loans each have their own unique offerings and benefits. We’ve done some research and checked out the top three best private MBA loans.
Top 5 best private MBA loans
If you still don’t have enough funding and you’re freaking out, wondering how to pay for an MBA, private student loans can be your friends. Here are the top lenders for the best MBA loans.
1. Sallie Mae MBA loan
Sallie Mae is one of the top two options for MBA students seeking a lower total interest cost than what Grad PLUS provides.
They are the market leader in terms of private loan origination, and they have no origination fees or prepayment penalties on their MBA loans.
Depending on timing, some borrowers could potentially get a lower interest cost than even the Stafford Unsubsidized loan. If you get an APR below 7%, you're already ahead in terms of the level of interest costs with a Sallie Mae private MBA loan. That's because Grad PLUS charges an origination fee of approximately 4.22%.
Most MBA grads will want to refinance their student loans to a lower interest rate after graduation. That means any level of origination fee can significantly add to the cost of using a private loan.
Sallie Mae
- Fixed interest rates: 3.49% APR – 15.49% APR1
- Variable interest rates: 5.04% APR – 15.21% APR1
Sallie Mae Disclosures
1 Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount. Advertised rates are for the Smart Option Student Loan for undergraduate students and are valid as of 10/25/2024.
Advertised APRs for undergraduate students assume a $10,000 loan to a student who attends school for 4 years and has no prior Sallie Mae-serviced loans. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent. Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment.
2. Citizens MBA loan
Another option to consider is the Citizens MBA loan. This option has no application fees, origination fees or disbursement fees.
You can choose from variable or fixed APR options. Additionally, you could score up to 0.50% interest rate reduction. Signing up for autopay will get you a 0.25% discount, and if you already have an account with them, you can get another 0.25% discount.
There are flexible repayment options to choose from as well. You can make immediate payments, interest-only payments, or choose to defer your payments. One of the unique things about Citizens MBA student loans is that they offer multi-year approval, in case you need funding for additional years while in school. You apply once, and you’re good to go.
As we noted above, private MBA loans are an option in lieu of Grad PLUS Loans as well, which can come with a high APR. According to Citizens, borrowers can save an average of $1,003 compared to a PLUS Loan.
Citizens
- Possible to refinance without degree
- Allows cosigners with cosigner release available after 36 months
- Fixed interest rates starting at 3.99% APR
- Variable interest rates starting at 5.50% APR
3. Ascent MBA loan
Ascent offers private student loans to help pay for MBA school with competitive fixed- and variable-rate options. Loan amounts range from $2,001 up to $400,000 (aggregate) for graduate-level loans. However, borrowers living in Massachusetts have a minimum loan of $6,001.
Ascent borrowers can choose between deferred repayment, $25 minimum repayment or interest-only repayment while in-school. Additionally, Ascent offers a generous 9-month grace period after graduating or dropping below half-time enrollment status.
Note that Ascent also offers over $80,000 in scholarship opportunities each year.
Ascent
- Fixed interest rates starting at 3.69% APR
- Variable interest rates starting at 5.66% APR
4. College Ave MBA loan
MBA student loans with College Ave come with flexible repayment terms, ranging from five years to 15 years (3). You can choose to make payments during MBA school, whether you want to make full payments, interest-only payments or a $25 flat payment. Or you can choose to defer payments altogether with College Ave's no in-school payment option.
There are no fees to apply, and its online application only takes about three minutes to complete.
College Ave
- Fixed interest rates starting at 3.59% APR (1)
- Variable interest rates starting at 5.34% APR (1)
Disclosures: College Ave Student Loans products are made available through Firstrust Bank, member FDIC, First Citizens Community Bank, member FDIC, or M.Y. Safra Bank, FSB, member FDIC. All loans are subject to individual approval and adherence to underwriting guidelines. Program restrictions, other terms, and conditions apply.
(1)All rates include the auto-pay discount. The 0.25% auto-pay interest rate reduction applies as long as a valid bank account is designated for required monthly payments. If a payment is returned, you will lose this benefit. Variable rates may increase after consummation.
(2)As certified by your school and less any other financial aid you might receive. Minimum $1,000.
(3)This informational repayment example uses typical loan terms for a freshman borrower who selects the Flat Repayment Option with an 8-year repayment term, has a $10,000 loan that is disbursed in one disbursement and a 7.78% fixed Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): 54 monthly payments of $25 while in school, followed by 96 monthly payments of $176.21 while in the repayment period, for a total amount of payments of $18,266.38. Loans will never have a full principal and interest monthly payment of less than $50. Your actual rates and repayment terms may vary.
Information advertised valid as of 11/01/2024. Variable interest rates may increase after consummation. Approved interest rate will depend on creditworthiness of the applicant(s), lowest advertised rates only available to the most creditworthy applicants and require selection of the Flat Repayment Option with the shortest available loan term.
5. Earnest graduate loan
Earnest graduate loans can be used for your MBA or any other graduate-level degree. It provides generous borrower benefits, such as a 9-month grace period, 0.25% autopay discount and flexible terms and repayment options.
Earnest makes it easy to get a loan decision quickly, with most borrowers receiving an answer within 24 hours of application. Additionally, Earnest offers a rate match guarantee that includes an Amazon gift card. Note this rate match applies to approved offers from other lenders, not estimates or preliminary rate offers.
Earnest
- Fixed interest rates starting at 3.69% APR
- Variable interest rates starting at 5.62% APR
Get started with an MBA loan
Trying to figure out how to pay for school can be stressful, but you have options. Consider your federal student loan options first and, if necessary, look at the best MBA loans to help cover the gap.
If offered a significantly lower rate with private MBA loans, you might want to go that route, but be aware of the federal protections you’re giving up. Do your research, look at the fine print and weigh the pros and cons to choose what’s right for you.
| Lender Name | Lender | Offer | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sallie Mae |
|
Competitive interest rates.
|
Fixed 3.49 - 15.49% APR
Variable 5.04 - 15.21% APR
|
| Earnest |
|
Check eligibility in two minutes.
|
Fixed 3.69 - 16.49% APR
Variable 5.62 - 16.85% APR
|
| Ascent |
|
Large autopay discounts.
|
Fixed 3.69 - 15.96% APR
Variable 5.66 - 15.92% APR
|
| College Ave |
|
Flexible repayment options.
|
Fixed 3.59 - 17.99% APR (1)
Variable 5.34 - 17.99% APR (1)
|
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