After spending hours on your applications, filling out financial aid forms, and waiting for what might feel like an eternity to get an answer, it can be tempting to accept the first offer that comes along. They like you, they really, really like you! And you like them—what’s the problem? We’ll tell you on the show. We’re also talking to a former Wharton admissions officer about MBA’s—what it is and whether or not it might be right for you. In Office Hours, we’ll be exploring test optional policies to help listeners better understand how they might work to a student’s advantage.

Graduate school study, including business school, can come with funding opportunities that are not typically available to undergraduate students. These include the potential receipt of fellowships and assistantships. In her latest contribution to the Fortuna Admissions blog, College Coach finance expert and former Babson College financial aid officer, Michelle Clifton, explains what fellowships and assistantships are, and how to win them.

Guest Post by Caroline Diarte Edwards, Fortuna Admissions

Presenting yourself as a strong contender for a top business school means proving can you handle the quant-heavy coursework. You’ll need to be astute with critical reasoning, language and, of course, math. Your academic track record, as demonstrated by your undergraduate GPA and GMAT score, are critical elements of your MBA application.

Guest post by Joanna Graham, Fortuna Admissions

Most students look forward to taking a standardized exam about as much as getting a root canal, so I get that my love of them is uncommon (standardized tests, not dental work). I was 11 years old when I took my first standardized test, and since then I’ve sat for just about every exam under the sun – the ACT, SAT, GRE – even the LSAT and MCAT. So I speak from experience when I say that the GMAT, which is the beefy exam favored by business schools worldwide, is special. (Disclaimer: I spent nine years working at GMAC, the entity that administers and develops the GMAT exam.) Coupled with your academic credentials, your GMAT is also an integral component of your MBA application.

Many students decide to pursue an MBA on a part-time basis. It can be more affordable, particularly when considering the alternative opportunity cost of giving up your income for two years to attend business school full time. Still, paying for an MBA is rarely easy, even when maintaining a full-time income. Many students are in the market for financial aid and aren’t sure how to begin.  If this sounds like you, check out the latest contribution by College Coach finance expert and former Babson College financial aid officer, Michelle Clifton, to the Fortuna Admissions blog.

The decision to go back to school to pursue an MBA is not an easy one. Adding studies to a plate already full with work, family, and more can be a lot to take on, and that’s before even considering the cost of furthering your education. A related decision to contemplate is whether you want to pursue your MBA on a full-time or part-time basis, and how the cost of these two options may compare and fit into your life as an adult student. College finance expert and former Babson College financial aid officer, Michelle Clifton walks you through how to decide between a part-time and full-time MBA in her latest article on the Fortuna Admissions blog.

Guest Post by Matt Symonds, Fortuna Admissions

Common sense suggests you should apply to business school when you’re ready. But let’s demystify how things work behind the scenes of MBA admissions and the reality of how seats are allocated from one round to the next.

It is not uncommon for high school seniors to launch an extensive private scholarship search to help fund their education. Unfortunately, however, senior year tends to be both the first and last time many students look for scholarships. Alternatively, we recommend continuing the scholarship search process throughout your college years, and, if graduate school is in your future, for your graduate education as well. College finance expert and former Babson College financial aid officer, Michelle Clifton, outlines her best tips for MBA students to track down scholarships in her latest article on the Fortuna Admissions blog.

Guest Post By Matt Symonds, Fortuna Admissions

A college friend once confided that her dad – at his emphatic insistence – wrote all of her undergrad admission essays. Given that she was a physics major with near-perfect grades at a top 10 undergrad institution, this parental intervention struck me as irrational (not to mention unethical).  Given the news we’ve all heard this week about parental overstepping to a criminal extent, I guess I shouldn’t have been shocked by my friend’s confession.

From rescuing to over-praising, we’ve been warned of the perils of helicopter parenting and its implications for children. Yet when a child expresses their intent to apply to a top business school, there’s plenty you can do to help without overstepping your bounds.

You understand that an MBA is an investment in your future—that it will, in all likelihood, pay off in terms of future earning potential. There’s no getting around, however, that this investment in your future requires a significant up-front cash outlay—one that is prohibitive for many people. But what if an MBA didn’t require such an up-front investment? What if you could get a scholarship to cover some or all of your MBA program?