Show me the money

One thing that most MBA applicants (leaving out the independently wealthy, those with wealthy parents, those with company sponsorships, those with a rich husband/wife... hang on, so maybe not most MBA applicants, but a lot of them) worry about is money. I worry about money. Not all the time, but every so often (usually at the end of the month). I thought I'd write down some of the resources I'm using, in the hope someone else might find them useful as well.

General tips:
* Start saving. NOW. The whole MBA application process is not only time-consuming at times, but also can be expensive. Visit a couple of schools, an MBA fair here or there, study for (using a course or books, both of which will of course cost money) and take the GMAT and maybe TOEFL, and wham, there's at least a couple of hundred euros down the drain already. Not to mention that each application costs money too. And then when you're accepted, there's the admit weekend, shipping stuff to your new home, finding a place to live etc etc. You get the idea.

* Start getting your credit up to scratch. Pay off credit card bills, outstanding student loans, etc. The cleaner your credit, the more likely you'll be able to borrow more money.

* Start researching scholarships and other possible sources of money early on. There are numerous websites (see Nuffic for Dutch grants or have a look at this page which was created by Dave) which will give out information on grants and scholarships. Some of them have early deadlines, so it's crucial to do this research early on.

* For people who live in a country of which the native language is not English, find an official translator, in all likelihood you'll need one to get your documentation for the loan translated (see also MBAEurope's blog-entry on this).

Some specifics related to LBS and money: have a look at this page for more information about fees and financing at LBS, this page for information on scholarships and this page for funding information (this also has some specific area-related information on funding for download in pdf). There's a special pdf-file with information on the HSBC loan-scheme. There's also a specific email address for finance related questions: financialaid at london dot edu. A last tip: all but one scholarship at LBS have deadlines before R4 decisions are announced, so if you want to join the lottery that is the scholarship-handing-out, you need to have applied in R1-R3.

[edit: this post by Poweryogi had me in stitches.]
[edit 2: Completely forgot to mention the commitment fee. All schools charge them, usually around 1500 or 2000 euros, payable about six weeks after your decision comes out, so long before your loan comes through and you need to make sure you've got it lying around so you can reserve your place.]