How Will I Pay For My Cornell MBA? Good Question.

I got my initial loan award notification the other day and nearly fainted!  I knew that would be coming but it was like looking at an employment offer!  I mean actually… 1 year’s tuition is definitely someone’s yearly salary!  I can’t say that I was shocked because I knew what it would say but it’s the magnitude of actually seeing your name at the top of the paper instead of “John Doe.”

I know some people who saw that paper and said, “Yeah, I’m not doing this…”  For me though when I look down the road 10/15 years I need to have my MBA.  And by Need I mean Want and anyone who knows me knows that they are one in the same. I’m okay with putting down my deposit given calculations in the initial notification letter.

So all of my friends right now are looking for money from schools.  One thing I’ve seen from them is that they’re able to leverage a Consortium fellowship from a “safety” school to get more money out of the school that they really want to go to.  This has been fascinating for me to see since I am not experiencing it myself first hand.  I will say that the correspondence with schools does NOT end once you’ve been admitted.

I found it comical to a degree when some of my friends would get a phone call and say “ut oh… I was admitted to school ______ with $$$$$”  and then I would reply “OH MAN.. sorry to hear that.”

I remember one time I said to my friend “doesn’t that sound weird?”  It’s like “oh… sorry to hear that you just got offered $100,000 to go to school for 2 years!”  We definitely had to check ourselves.  Out of my friends who applied to Consortium schools, I am the only one that I know who did not get a fellowship.

There are many reasons for this which I probably won’t go in to, but I will say that the knowledge they gained by being MLT members definitely gave them a leg up in terms of information throughout the application process.  I mean my ranking could have been different but of course I’m going to say that knowing what the outcome was!  Don’t cry for me Argentina I’ll be okay… but I do play the lottery on the regular now!  #RealTalk

I’m not complaining at all, because I’m still on my grind trying to find money out there.  THERE IS DEFINITELY MONEY OUT THERE!  TRUST THAT.  I’m seeing it being handed out left and right.  I just need to figure out how I can get in the same lane.  One of my friends told me about a scholarship application that’s opening up today and I told him that if he’s truly my friend he won’t apply for it because he’ll be competing against me! I was half serious.

So even though I’ve applied and been accepted and will be putting my deposit down later today – once my paycheck gets deposited — there is still a crap load of work to be done.

1.  Need to stay motivated at work.

2.  Need to make sure my credit is on the up and up (oh trust me there will be a whole post on this after June)

3.  Need to fill out paperwork for the Consortium so I can attend Orientation Program in Minneapolis in June.

4.  Later this evening is the NYC Johnson School at Cornell Admitted Students Happy Hour!

5.  Next weekend is Destination Johnson.

I think I may have some down time between 4/15 and 6/1.  I know that my second deposit will be due on June 1st but I’m going to try to get that in sooner so that I can start really saving up money for school. Plus the Orientation Program for the Consortium is in June so that’s going to cost money.  Actually I think it’s just going to cost the flight.  The hotel and food is paid for and then they’ll reimburse us up to $300 of the flight.

So that will be good.

This report is adapted from Richard Battle-Baxter’s blog posts at “Ellipsing My Way…To Business School.”

Previous posts by Richard at Poets&Quants:

Should You Hire an MBA Consultant?

Study for the GMAT or Polish Off an Essay?

Am I Really Cut Out For This?

My First Round Applications Are Looking Elusive

A Frustrating Day and Night on GMAT Prep

Having Trouble Hitting the Submit Button

It’s Nearly Midnight. Where Are All My Friends?

“Why An Admissions Consultant Objected To My Essay on Coming Out”

“Brain Racing at 4 a.m. Thinking About Business School”

“After Scoring a 620 on My GMAT, I Want To Die”

“Walk Me Through Your Resume” – My Interview at Dartmouth’s Tuck”

“My GMAT Students Are ‘Totally Obsessed Weirdoes With Unbelievable Work Ethics”

“With Apologies to Paul Simon, 50 Ways To Tell You’re Getting an MBA”

“My 30-Day Countdown to an MBA Acceptance”

“Tis’ The Season For Racing Hearts & Sweaty Palms”

“East Coast Blizzard Means More Time To Work on MBA Applications”

“Fear, Loathing & Panic In the Wee Small Hours of the Night”

“The Waiting Game Kicks In & It’s Brutal”

“If I Get Into a Top B-School, It Will Be the Happiest Day of My Life. If not….”

“25 Reasons I’m Over Obsessing About B-School.”

“An Invite to Interview from Cornell”

“Eight Things for New B-School Applicants”

“The Sheer Joy of an Acceptance”

“After Getting An Acceptance, I’m Thinking About…”

“A 20-Day Emotional Roller Coaster: One Acceptance, Five Rejections”