Bloomberg Businessweek

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 SOLUTIONS Bloomberg Businessweek March 11, 2019

When Marcelo Mazzafera was accepted into the MBA

program at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business,

he couldn’t afford the tuition and living expenses. He

also couldn’t find financing in his home country, Brazil.

Mazzafera ended up taking loans recommended by Duke

for students who don’t have a U.S. co-signer or collateral.

The interest rate was steep—about 7.25 percent plus

the three-month London interbank offered rate, com-

pared with the 2 percent to 3 percent plus three-month

Libor paid by fellow students with co-signers. When

Mazzafera graduated in May 2018, he owed about

$180,000 plus interest. Then he heard about a new refi-

nancing product that could reduce his interest rate to

5 percent plus three-month Libor. “It’s not ideal, but it’s

better,” says Mazzafera, who earns $150,000 annually

at his investment banking job in New York.

More

Funding for

International

Students

Prodigy Finance extends credit to

postgraduates across borders

ILLUSTRATIONS BY JUSTYNA STASIK

Full results can be viewed at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/bschoolrecruiters

The full-time MBA programs

with the highest brand value

Reputation matters, especially when it comes

to hiring. Stanford leads this and three other

categories—no surprise, since the school topped

the 2018 global B-schools ranking.

① Stanford

② Harvard

③ Pennsylvania (Wharton)

④ Georgetown (McDonough)

⑤ MIT (Sloan)

The best reputation

for entrepreneurship

In response to growing numbers of students

who want to start their own businesses, most

top-ranked MBA programs now emphasize

entrepreneurship.

① Stanford

② Washington (Foster)

③ UC at Berkeley (Haas)

④ Georgetown (McDonough)

⑤ Rice (Jones)

Graduates who demonstrate

exceptional entrepreneurial skills

Recruiters grade schools based on the quality of

entrepreneurial training and the skills they see in

prospective hires.

① Stanford

② UC at Berkeley (Haas)

③ Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)

③ Georgetown (McDonough) (tie)

⑤ Washington (Foster)