Sometimes, business school applicants with a military background qualify for more than enough service-related scholarship money to attend graduate school for free.
If you want reassurance that it is possible, consider the story of John Healy, a first-year MBA student at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business who received a full ride by capitalizing on service-related scholarship programs.
Healy, a husband and father of two who spent 10 years in the U.S. Army and now serves in the U.S. Army Reserve, maximized his scholarship opportunities by choosing a business school that participates in the federal Yellow Ribbon Program.
Schools that opt into this program give grants to students who qualify for maximum benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and the federal government matches whatever money the school provides.
Before Healy applied to business school, he says he researched which business schools participate in and provide significant grants through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Then he focused on applying to the business schools where he could earn an MBA without acquiring any debt.
“That was very attractive, because really with the position I’m in, I wasn’t interested in taking out a loan,” he says.
Here are six tips from financial aid experts on how to fund an MBA if you, your parent or your spouse have served in the military.
1. Determine eligibility for federal education benefits. The Department of Veteran Affairs offers a variety of education programs that members of the military community can use to subsidize their education, including an MBA, and the requirements for these programs are listed on the VA’s website.
If you are unsure of whether you qualify for one of these programs, experts suggest either asking employees at a VA regional benefit office or seeking guidance from a veterans liaison or a VA certifying official at one of your target business schools.
2. Consider military-specific scholarships. Experts say numerous private, nongovernmental groups offer scholarships that are strictly reserved for people with a military background. In fact, experts say some scholarships are reserved for alumni of a specific branch of the U.S. military, such as the Army or Navy, or for people who had certain military jobs, such as that of an officer or pilot.
3. Identify business schools with scholarships for military students. Adam Scheer, a first-year MBA student at New York University’s Stern School of Business and a recipient of its Fertitta Veterans Scholarship, says the availability of this scholarship, which reduces tuition to a flat $30,000, was a contributing factor to his decision to attend the school.
“It was definitely a difference maker,” says Scheer, a former Navy SEAL and current Navy reservist. He says that without the scholarship, the cost of living in New York City would have been formidable.
4. Explore all scholarships. “I wouldn’t limit myself to only scholarships that have the right labels,” says Greg Eisenbarth, executive director of Military MBA, a nonprofit education network that supports military MBA applicants.
He says MBA applicants with military experience are often highly competitive for nonmilitary-related, merit scholarships, especially if those scholarships are designed for people who have demonstrated leadership and performed community service.
Isser Gallogly, associate dean of MBA admissions and program innovation at Stern, says military MBA applicants are often highly competitive for a business school’s general merit scholarships, even if their test scores and grades are a little below the school’s norm.
“Most of the schools understand that if people are on duty that it can be a bit more challenging preparing for the standardized tests, so we always take that into account in terms of the context,” he says.
Gallogly says most MBA admissions officers are also aware that military academies have a difficult grading system.
5. Apply for as many scholarships as possible. Andy McCarty, director of Northeastern University’s Center for the Advancement of Veterans and Servicemembers, says military MBA applicants who win the most money through scholarships tend to be the most persistent. “You get out of it what you put into it,” he says.
6. Broaden your school options to find the most cost-effective school. “You can go to a number of schools that will help you defray the cost of your education or completely cover the cost of your education, and you graduate debt-free with the same degree,” McCarty says.
“It just may not have the name recognition you were originally looking for, but you have to weigh what’s most important to you,” he says, adding that many veterans can graduate debt-free with a degree or two before starting their careers. “That’s a huge leg up.”
