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How Much Will an MBA Cost?They say you can’t put a price on knowledge, but MBA grads know that isn’t entirely true. Business schools can be seen as a feeder system, connecting potential managers, marketers, and executives with organizations on the lookout for the crème de la crème of graduating classes.The cost of an MBA degree can vary, but the average tuition for a two-year MBA program exceeds $60,000. If you attend one of the top business schools, you can expect to pay as much as $100,000 or more in tuition and fees.An MBA is often seen as an investment in your future, so it’s no surprise students shell out tens of thousands for the privilege.Although costly, there’s a number of reasons why an MBA works for some: it’s widely recognized, there’s better earning potential, you can expand networking resources, it’s open for all, you can start your own venture, and learn and choose specializations to fit your needs.MBA expenses: What to watch out forOf course, it’s not just the MBA program that has students shelling out their hard-earned cash, there are other expenses too.Before starting the course there will be some pre-MBA expenses, including taking the TOEFL (originally known as the Test of English as a Foreign Language). The TOEFL is a standardized test that measures a test-taker’s understanding of the English language to see if they’re good enough to take a course at university/graduate school in English-speaking countries.The TOEFL costs around $170, but there may be other charges including, $35 for late registration and $20 to reinstate a cancelled score.Whether you need to take the TOEFL or not, everyone will need to take the GMAT (or GRE) exam which measures higher-order reasoning skills; these reasoning skills involve complex judgments, critical thinking, analysis, and problem-solving. The cost to take the GMAT exam is $250 globally.Application fees are one of the highest sources of revenue for business schools; applicants can expect to pay anything from $100 to $275 per application to each business school.Top MBA programs like Harvard and Stanford are said to receive anything from eight to 10,000 MBA applications each year for roughly 1,800 slots. Stanford Graduate School of Business has the highest application fee of the top US business schools at $275, which means the business school could make over $2.2 million if more than 8,000 applicants apply.MBA costs in the USATuition at the top business schools in the US is over US$120,000: Harvard Business School (24-month program); Stanford (24 months)Other b-schools in the US will be slightly cheaper, including Kelley School of Business which costs around $51,182 for Indiana residents or $74,084 for non-residents/international students per year. Tuck School of Business’ MBA (21 months) is around US$70,000-$80,000.Some North American programs have one-year and two-year tracks, but most students opt for the longer version, which lasts on average 21 months.In India, the cost of acquiring an MBA degree is comparatively less than overseas. Several Indian institutions boast collaborations with international universities, allowing MBA students to earn a high-quality education at home.It’s worth noting that Indian business schools are more open to potential students with little to no work experience than most US universities, which prefer candidates with a minimum of two to three years of work experience. However, full-time Indian Executive Management programs (e.g., PGPX / PGPM) at top schools accept only candidates with substantial work experience.How to make your MBA pocket friendlyA full-time program at one of the top b-schools will set a student back just under US$200,000 on average. This large sum includes tuition, accommodation and day-to-day costs totaling $112,000, and an opportunity cost of $106,000.The price tag may seem daunting, but help is available for students if needed. Financial assistance for MBA students comes in many shapes and sizes, but one of the most common forms are sponsorships. These are usually paid for by your employer. Scholarships and grants are also available via the school.More than half of MBA students receive financial help.MBA scholarships in USA: One of the major obstacles that students planning to pursue a degree in management studies from the USA face is the cost of pursuing the course. In that case, MBA scholarships are an excellent source of funding your management course from the USA. One of the reasons why USA continues to hold a predominant position as a study abroad destination for Indian students is the numerous attractive MBA scholarships that its universities offer.Name any top management school in the USA and it is bound to have an MBA scholarship best suited for an Indian student. Do you know that the Stanford Reliance Dhirubhai fellowship offers full tuition fees for each year of your study in Stanford? Not just that, you can also avail the India Trust Fellowship at Booth School of Business under Chicago University.Here is a list of top MBA scholarships in some of the best business schools in USA.Stanford Graduate School of Businessa. Stanford Reliance Dhirubhai fellowship: The Stanford Reliance Dhirubhai fellowship was established by Reliance Industries Limited to support Indian nationals living in India who need financial assistance for pursuing an MBA at Stanford.Up to five fellowships maybe awarded each year under the Stanford Reliance Dhirubhai fellowship.Scholarships benefits:Fellows will receive cost of tuition and associated fees for each year of the two-year Stanford MBA Program (approx $145,000).Within two years of completing their MBA, fellows are required to return to India for a period of at least two years to work for an Indian organization.Upon their return to India, the fellows are integral members of Stanford University, Stanford GSB and Reliance Dhirubhai Fellows communities.Eligibility criteriaUp to 50 Reliance Dhirubhai Fellows finalists will be selected based on:MeritCommitment to developing IndiaFinancial needProgram finalists must meet all Stanford GSB application requirementsBooth school of Business (Chicago University)A. The India Trust Fellowship: One of the popular MBA scholarships in the USA, the India Trust Fellowship is a merit-based fellowship, which offers a one-time $10,000 tuition award to two students from India who want to pursue Full-Time MBA at the Booth School of Business, Chicago University.Offered at Chicago University, the scholarship is offered to the candidates who are committed to advancing the interests of women in business. Students with leadership, academic and extracurricular achievements are shortlisted for this scholarship.Eligibility:Full-Time admitted students are eligible for the following Chicago Booth fellowshipsThe candidates should be living and working in India at the time of admission.Application:There is no formal application process for Chicago Booth fellowships. However, aspirants can contact the Office of Admissions office.B. Akhtarali H. Tobaccowala Fellowship: Introduced in 2011, the Akhtarali H. Tobaccowala Fellowship is open for full –time MBA students from India. The scholarship was launched as a result of a $1 million gift from the Tobaccowala Foundation of India, in memory of the 1952 graduate of Chicago Booth School of Business.Eligibility:Aspirants should be pursuing Booth’s full-time MBA program.The primary address of the aspirant should be in India at the time of admission.Application: There is no formal application process. However, prospective students will be selected when they apply for the programme.Wharton School of Business:The Wharton School of Business has a range of scholarships for talented aspirants with financial constraints. Below are some scholarships:A. Emerging Economy Fellowships: This MBA scholarships in the USA have been specially established for students from emerging economies. Applicants are required to pursue full-time MBA at Wharton and the fellowship covers both the years of your course.Eligibility: Only first year students can apply for the scholarship. Below are the required criteria:Academic achievement,Compelling leadership,Exceptional professional development,Unique personal qualities.Application: Students who are admitted to Wharton will be automatically considered for the Emerging Economy Fellowships. Also, there is no formal fellowship application procedure. Students have to apply through the usual MBA admission application procedure.B. Joseph Wharton Fellowships: Named after the founder of Wharton, the Joseph Wharton Fellowships are awarded to students with outstanding academic, personal and professional records.Eligibility: All admitted students of Wharton are eligible for scholarships.Application: There is no formal fellowship application procedure. Students have to apply through the usual admission application procedure.C. Social Impact Fellowships: Social Impact Fellowship provides undergraduate and graduate students across Wharton the opportunity to strengthen strategic, operational and leadership skills while making a positive difference in the world.Fellows are a part of a program which includes mid-project evaluations and a final project presentation.Eligibility: Aspirants have to show leadership in public and non-profit sectors.Application: There is no formal fellowship application procedure. Students have to apply through the usual admission application procedure.Tuck School of Business (Dartmouth College)The Tuck School of Business offers a host of scholarships for talented individuals with financial needs.Below are some scholarships:A. Need- And Merit-Based Scholarships: The Tuck School of Business offers both need and merit based MBA scholarships in the USA to international students. The scholarships can range anywhere from $5,000 to full tuition and students are notified about their scholarship at the time of their admission.Eligibility: Tuck considers factors like academic performance, leadership and professional accomplishments.Application: Candidates must complete an application for Tuck School of Business Scholarships in accordance with the deadlines.In addition, candidates also have to write a brief biographical essay to be considered for admission.B. Center For Business & Society: Two programs developed by the Center for Business & Society provide financial support to students. While the ‘TUCK GIVES’ program, provides financial support to students planning to enter non-profit or public sector summer internships, the Tuck Non-profit Fellowship program provides financial assistance, mentoring and networking support to graduating Tuck students who join a non-profit or public sector organization. Recipients can use the non-profit fellowship to pay off loans as well as provide cash to transition to their new job.Eligibility and application process are same as the Need- And Merit-Based Scholarships.Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University)Kellogg School of Management offers many merit based MBA scholarships in the USA, which are awarded throughout the admission process.A. Donald P. Jacobs International Scholarships: Established by Donald Jacobs, the Donald P. Jacobs International Scholarships are awarded to international students to pursue the two-year and MMM Programs.B. Diversity Scholarships: The aim of this scholarship program is to attract candidates who enhance the diversity of Kellogg’s student body. These awards are presented to students who demonstrate academic excellence, career advancement and leadership ability.Eligibility: Admitted applicants are automatically considered for all merit scholarshipsApplication: Merit scholarships are awarded through the admissions process.Columbia Business SchoolColumbia offers both need and merit based scholarships to international students. It offers full- time and partial-tuition fellowships to talented students depending on their academic excellence and financial needs.A. Meyer Feldberg Distinguished Fellowship Program: The Feldberg Fellowship is given each year to select students who demonstrate leadership qualities, as well as academic competence. The fellowship provides full tuition and membership of the group of Feldberg fellows.Eligibility:Fellows should have a record of success in areas as entrepreneurship, finance, military and social enterprise.Fellows should have an excellent record in academic, personal background and professional experience.Application: There is no separate application for merit-based fellowships. Candidates must apply for admission to the full-time Columbia MBA Program.Sloan School of ManagementMIT Sloan awards several competitive, merit-based MBA scholarships in the USA to new and second-year students.A. Master's Fellowships: The master’s fellowship is available to students from all citizenship and backgrounds, as the objective of the fellowship is to increase the diversity of the class. The scholarship ranges from US $5000 to full tuition fees.Eligibility: All admitted candidates are considered for these fellowshipsB. McKinsey Award: The McKinsey award scholarship is provided to 4 first-year students. The award is open to all incoming MBA students at the MIT Sloan School of Management regardless of professional experience and background.Eligibility: The award emphasizes on academic excellence, personal impact; and professional, campus, or community leadership.Application: The McKinsey Award Committee selects the recipients of the scholarship based on the MIT Sloan application and possible interviews.The awards are generally announced in early fall of the first semester.David A. Tepper School of Business (Carnegie Mellon University)The Tepper School of Business offers many MBA scholarships in the USA to full-time MBA candidates admitted at Tepper.A. McGowan Fellows Program: Established in 2010, the McGowan Fellows Program is funded by the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund. The purpose of the fellowship program is to create talented business leaders who are dedicated to making a global impact by improving the conditions of the society.Eligibility: One fellow is chosen from each of ten B-schools ranking in the top 20 MBA programs in the USA. The partner schools are Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Duke, Georgetown and Northwestern Universities; the Universities of Chicago, Michigan and Pennsylvania; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Dartmouth College.Application: Eligible students are required to complete an application form, due in the spring of the first year of study.Harvard Business SchoolHarvard Business School has its own fellowship plan for aspiring students.A. HBS Fellowship Programs: The Harvard Business School (HBS) awards need-based fellowships to provide access to admitted students with limited financial resources. According to Harvard, nearly 50% of its class receives an average of around $32,000 per year in need-based HBS Fellowships.B. The Robert S. Kaplan Life Sciences Fellowship: This fellowship is offered to ten students who can show outstanding performance in life sciences. The value of the scholarship is $20,000 and is provided at the time of admission.However, preference is given to aspirants who want to join science-related businesses or organizations.C. Horace W. Goldsmith Fellowship: The Horace W. Goldsmith Fellowshipis offered to 7-10 students who show willingness to work in the non-profit sector. The value of the award is $10,000 and offered to first year MBA students. More than 100 students have received this award since its inception in 1988.Eligibility: Recipients must have served full time in the non-profit sector prior to applying to Harvard Business School.Haas School of Business (University of California, Berkeley)Two types of scholarships can be sourced in Haas - Institutional scholarships from Haas and scholarships from other organizations. According to the Haas School, it had awarded over $5.5 million in scholarships to domestic and international students in 2012-2013. Some of the available scholarships are:a. Haas Achievement Awards: Approximately $50,000 is awarded to individuals who have achieved success despite economic, educational, health-related or other obstacles.b. Diversity Scholarships: Diversity scholarships are awarded to those who can show their ability in promoting diversity. The value of the award is $50,000.c. Marketing Scholarships: The Marketing Scholarship of $50,000 is awarded to MBA students pursuing careers in marketing.I may also do a shamless plug of my company Leap Scholar Study in USA for Indian Student. You can know more about the cost of education in US and the financial aid available by connecting to our student mentors.

Let me tell you my story. I have been a proud Canadian citizen since I was 12 years old. I love this country more than you can ever imagine. Yet my life/experiences have put me in an unenviable position, where I know exactly what you mean by this question.I was born in Qatar, although I am not a citizen. I came to Montreal when I was 8 years old, on December 1995. I spent several years growing up in Montreal, I went to school at l’école secondaire Dorval-jean-xxiii and L’école secondaire des Sources. I fell in love with this place and everything about it. I always say, if it were ever up to me, I would have lived and stayed here for the rest of my life. But life does not always give us what we want. I had to leave at age 13 to live with my father, who put tremendous effort into affording my education at the Doha College, a British school in Qatar so I could come back here one day. Perhaps one of the best schools I had ever had the privilege of going to around the world.Unfortunately, I was unable to return to Canada to pursue undergraduate/graduate education. Indeed, I was accepted at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) back in 2004, but I was unable to go. Reasons mainly included finances, family situation/status and several others. I still remember my father walking into my room in 2005 with MUN’s re-acceptance offer. Seeing how much I wanted to go and my state at the time, he actually contacted the university’s admissions office to keep my spot for a year so I can go later when it may be possible/feasible. Of course I refused, since it would have cost us an arm and a leg to go there, metaphorically speaking of course. You might ask why couldn’t I apply for a student loan, well, I was not a resident in any Canadian province then (since I was residing in Qatar) hence I was not eligible, at least for student loans with affordable interest rates that I knew of at the time. I found myself in a position where my only choice would be to go to Cairo University-Egypt to obtain my medical degree, since I am also an Egyptian citizen and hence my education there would be free. This was the most difficult decision I ever took in my life, I do not wish it upon any 17 year old. Since prior to this point, I had never actually “lived” in Egypt for more than 1-2 months at any given time and I didn’t really think or feel like I would “belong” per sae. Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience which opened me up both culturally and intellectually. I also made friendships from across the world which will last me a full lifetime. If I could ever go back, in light of my circumstances back then, I still think it was my only feasible option.I graduated from Cairo University-faculty of medicine on January 24th 2011, one day before the first Egyptian revolution. I travelled to Canada on the 28th of January 2011, which was/is referred to as the “Friday of Rage” since it marks the point during which the revolution turned violent. I was lucky, since my ticket was booked several months earlier and the following day airports were closed. However, once things settled down, I decided I needed to go back to Egypt to complete my medical internship. Without my internship, I cannot receive or be awarded my graduation certificate (medical school in Cairo is 6 years + 1 year of medical internship/practice). While I know friends who decided to stay in Canada during this period, I also know other Canadian/Egyptians who went back to practice during this time since they felt like they had an exceptional responsibility on their shoulders. Given our sense of duty, love and commitment to medicine, we decided to go back to Egypt to practice during this difficult time. I felt like this was something I had to do, otherwise, I would regret not doing it for the rest of my life. I tell you this to simply point out what practicing this profession represents to me.I also did 4 months of externship during my internship year in Northern Ontario School of Medicine (OB/GYN) and in Tufts-Brockton hospital (Boston, USA-Psychiatry and Gastro) since I knew how important North American clinical experience would be for the start of my prospective career as a medical resident in Canada. I finally returned back to Canada on April 28th 2012. I had everything one would need; on a professional level, my career was ahead of me. On a personal level, I was in a happy relationship and I was finally back home. My whole life was ahead of me back then, I often think to myself about how it actually “felt” to look forward to something. I stopped looking forward to anything for nearly a year now. It was a different time, a time when I was happy, motivated, filled with passion and optimism towards my future.Things were still not easy though, I was living in a small apartment in Scarborough Ontario. I sold my car, and all my belongings in Egypt before returning to Canada since I was never planning on leaving again. I finally had a “full time/permanent” home where I could grow and equally contribute to society and medicine. With limited finances, I worked exceptionally hard to pass the Canadian equivalence exams in the first take since I could not really afford to take exams twice. I actually completed my first Canadian equivalence exam, the MCCEE during my internship in Egypt. I still remember sitting at the back of an ambulance doing a cross country campaign in Egypt to collect blood for the hospital I worked in during the aftermath of the first revolution while I studied Obstetrics less than 3 weeks before my exam. I eventually completed all required exams (MCCEE, MCCQE1 and NAC-OSCE) within 18 months (2012-2013). Unfortunately, I was unable to match to a residency in Canada (applied first to Psychiatry, then tried family medicine as well), nor was I able to go back to Egypt to pursue or commence a residency during the 2013 revolution given the escalating political situation back then and my Coptic identity (http://carnegieendowment.org/2013/11/14/violence-against-copts-in-egypt-pub-53606).I did not give up, I moved to Montreal and completed a master’s degree of science in clinical psychiatry (McGill University) on resistant depression and the use of mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics for augmentation therapy. I ended up writing my thesis on 78 patients, most of which I had been following during my time there. I also used to do patients assessments at the mood disorder clinic whenever second year residents were unavailable; under direct supervision much like any resident. I can even tell you that my evaluation/assessment notes were well recognised by my supervisors as being exceptionally well written, I was really adamant about learning as much as possible about psychiatry. I also gained a tremendous amount of clinical and research experience in bipolar disorders, major depression, substance use disorders, anxiety disorders, and the use of rTMS, biomarkers and endocannabinoids (2013-2016). I even rotated in the psychiatry emergency unit during my free time on night shifts. Yet, this was not enough and I still didn’t match. Ironically enough, a few weeks after my rejection, my master’s thesis gained recognition at the American Psychiatric Association (APA-2016) in Atlanta-USA and was hosted on Medscape-WebMD (till present date) as part of a report on novel forms of psychopharmacology in resistant depression under “Key Issues in Depression: Highlights from APA 2016”, Continued Medical Education (CME).Fortunately though, I still didn’t give up! I landed a clinical postdoctoral fellowship at Université de Montreal (since 2016) in addiction, where I wrote part of the first pan-Canadian research protocol for the current Canadian opioid crisis and I used to see patients on a daily basis who were started on methadone or suboxone treatments in our clinic. I can tell you that in this study and in capacity of post-doc, I recruited the first patient in Canada who received treatment the following day. I also trained first year residents on using SCID and MINI for psychiatric diagnoses and patient encounters. Since then, I also learnt how to speak French again by taking evening bi-weekly 3 hour courses after work for nearly a year, and I published over 8 clinical scientific papers in high impact journals since 2015. I also received multiple awards from both the Canadian and American Psychiatric Association (CPA and APA). Last award was from the APA in 2018, where I received the research colloquium award for young investigators, an award offered to 52 scientific researchers in psychiatry chosen from the world every year (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3785098/). I was the only awardee from Quebec/Canada; one of 7 Canadian awardees and the only one who was still not a resident in the entire event, apart from a last year medical student from the US. I even received resident-fellow membership status in 2018 from the APA because of this award, which I originally received because of my work in Canada. Just last week, I also became a peer reviewer for a journal with an above average impact factor (IF: 2.6, average IF in psychiatry=2.0; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5618825/). Essentially, everything I know about psychiatry is self-thought, mainly through experience at both McGill and Université de Montreal, the two most prominent Anglophone and Francophone Canadian institutes.Since my return in 2012, I have done over 10 interviews in psychiatry spanning all the way from British Columbia to Montreal, in both French and English Canadian institutes. Some were good, some were bad, a few were exceptionally good, but eventually you learn the hard way that it just doesn’t matter. No one really cares about what you have done or achieved so far, or your actual CV. This is the sad reality of the present system. I can even tell you that I went as far as trying to apply to medical schools in Canada in 2016. Queens for instance, seemed appealing to me since I wrote a recommendation letter for a science student during my time at McGill who was accepted into their medical school program. I did not needed an MCAT, and my cumulative GPA in pre-med + med school in Egypt was 3.8 (according to World education Services, Ontario) which was within/close to the required range. Yet, I was told that they do not accept applications from individuals who have already completed their medical education at accredited institutes. Well, if my undergraduate degree is from an accredited institute, why do you not treat it as one even after I present you with everything you need and much more? I can tell you that I even tried applying to the Medical Officer Training Program for Unmatched Students (MOTP Surge 2018) only for my application to be denied since it was only open to Canadian medical graduates (decision taken by the Canadian institutes offering these positions). By the same logic of having worked in Egypt during the revolution, I was genuinely passionate about the possibility of working for the Canadian armed forces anywhere, given that I essentially grew up in several countries spanning across three continents, and speak French, English and Arabic (in different dialects) fluently.I can tell you that I spent over twenty thousand dollars on my master’s degree (9,800$) and residency applications (over 8,000$), excluding travel and hotel expenses during interviews. In contrast, I lived off a 728$ biweekly pay during my time at McGill, which had a tremendous negative impact on my personal life and relationship at the time in light of my expenses. Not to mention, money related to Toefl/Ielts and ACLs exams which I took twice during the past 6 years (still trying to afford the third time!) since they all expire within 24 months and are required by many Canadian institutes.I still remember my first interview in British Columbia during March 2012, which I did online from Egypt as I was still completing/processing my graduation documents. Fast forward to 2018, the same residency spot in Vancouver remained unfilled till the third iteration after implementation of the CAP assessment in 2018. To do the CAP assessment, you have to be a current permanent resident of British Columbia for a prolonged duration of time (https://imgbc.med.ubc.ca/resource/clinical-assessment/). It is still uncertain if that position was even filled. In contrast, my nephew who lives in Guelph Ontario had to wait over 10 months to see a child psychiatrist, he was 13 when he was referred and had his consult at age 14.I still remember my second interview in Saskatchewan in 2013, when I was still in my mid 20’s, and only 10 months prior I was doing my psychiatry externship in Boston. When I interviewed in Saskatchewan in 2013, we were 20 candidates for 1 available position. When I re-interviewed in 2016, we were nearly 40 candidates, for the same, single position. I still remember my interview in 2018 at another Canadian institute, where I was no longer the young candidate per sae, and my clinical and research experience in Canada did not “reflect” the way I had hoped it should, or would during the related social event. Perhaps I was too pushy. I still remember contacting MUN during the second iteration of 2018, only to be informed that they do not consider any of my work in research/publications as practice, hence, to them I have been out of practice since 2012 (6 years) and their medical education office could not process my papers in accordance with provincial guidelines. If it’s not relevant to practice, then why was I offered resident-fellow membership status from the APA because of the same work in Canada? Another question would be, what alternative did you offer me? I was a returning Canadian student who did everything he could to gain this experience on his own without anyone’s help, when the alternative would have been to abandon what I had worked so hard for nearly my entire life.Matching international graduates are often Canadian student who studied in the UK/Ireland/Australia and graduated within the last two years. However, even some of those students have a lot of difficulty returning home. I remember once being asked if I had citizenship status from Qatar by a colleague since I was born there and being informed that this might perhaps help me get into residency. Much like Saudi Arabian residents who are highly competent and occupy a prominent part of Canadian residencies, because their country pays Canadian institutes 100,000$ per year, per candidate (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadian-teaching-hospitals-scrambling-to-resolve-how-saudi-student/). I replied no, I am just a Canadian student trying to return home.At the moment, I am staying in Canada till April 2019, then I will travel abroad, possibly for good. Maybe I will come back when I retire. Yet, I will try to apply one more time in Carms 2019, one last time before I pack up my bags and close this 20 year old chapter of my life (from age 13 to 31). I have the comfort of knowing that I have achieved the impossible on my own during 6 years. My conscience is guilt free, there is genuinely nothing else I could have done to be able to practice this profession here. My health and mental state are truly suffering to the point of beyond return. I had a seizure, or possibly a vasovagal syncope on the 30th of April. I really don’t know what it was exactly because 3 days later I had to attend the 2018-APA in New York to receive my award and APA resident-fellow status. It’s amazing the amount of things that can actually run through your mind during only a few minutes/seconds of paralysis. But I arrived at an ultimatum, I will always choose my profession. Without my profession, I am miserable and incomplete. Without a home, well, I can always start again; and hopefully find one that will not try this hard to force me into giving up my dreams.

YES. Yes, absolutely. What more, it is more than likely we will do so within the next 100 years. Here’s why, here’s how.First of all, the “why” of 100 years comes from the thought which led to the creation of well-known interstellar space grant project, 100 Year Starship. It goes something like this. In 1865, author Jules Verne published his successful and influential early science fiction book From Earth to the Moon. Approximately 100 years later, humankind actually goes to the moon.Bear in mind, even as late as the 1930’s and 1940’s intelligent people believed human beings would never visit on the moon.It was with the model of 100 years from concept to fruition that NASA and DARPA (Defense Advance Research Project Agency, aka the agency which invented the digital protocols which led to the internet) that inspired the 100 Year Starship Project to engender an organization charged with fostering an interstellar accomplishment within 100 years–the same time it took for idea to reality of human beings on the moon.That 100 year countdown kicked on in 2011 in Orlando, FL at the 100 Year Starship Study Public Symposium.Here’s where it gets good. The stated purpose of 100 YSS is to excite multiple generations to commit to research and development of breakthrough technologies to advance the eventual goal of interstellar space travel.Indeed, since that time a number of organizations have sprang up and stepped to the forefront. The Dorothy Jemison Foundation fronted by astronaut Dr Mae Jemison won the leads 100 Year Starship but there is also Tau Zero Foundation, The Lifeboat Foundation, The Initiative for Interstellar Studies (I4IS), the newly-founded (and well-publicized) Project Starshot, and the organization Icarus Interstellar.[Full disclosure: I am a board member of Icarus Interstellar.]All of the organizations I named either were empowered by or created after 2011’s 100 Year Starship Study Public Symposium. There is more credible work and real effort being generated to “advance the goal of interstellar accomplishment” than ever before.In other words, the original stated goal of the founders of the 100 Year Starship Project–Pete Worden, Peter Schwartz, Stuart Brand–is working.Now if you think that’s exciting, you should. But that’s not all. It gets better.Before I elaborate let’s be on the same page.Interstellar travel means from one solar system to another. It implies from ours to another. Our solar system is called Sol, named after our system’s own star.The nearest star system to the Sol system is Alpha Centauri B (α Cen B). It is a K-type (orange dwaf) star nearly as large as Sol itself but only about half as bright. One of the most interesting things about the α Cen B system is scientists have recently identified a planet in the habitable zone of the system which may be what is called a “super earth”. This is good for us. In addition to habitability, there is the potential for other life.So yes it’s good for us that the nearest star system to our own may have an earth-type planet in that star’s habitable zone, and if so there is also the potential for life.One catch, and it’s a doozie. The α Cen B system is 4.37 light years away from our system.A light year I will remind you is the distance light travels in one year. Light, for the record, travels at 186,000+ miles per second.At the speed of light it would take us approximately two quick blinks of the eye to travel from the surface of the earth to the surface of the moon.At the speed of light it would take us just over three minutes to get from earth to Mars. (Presently at best it takes us eight+ months.)At the speed of light it would takes us 43 minutes or so to get from earth to Jupiter. The Juno probe just did that journey–as the fastest object ever sent from earth–in just under five years.To put a fine point on it, even with an astounding breakthrough in propulsion engineering, it is unlikely we are going to able to push anything from our solar system to another.(One notable exception is direct impulse beam-powered propulsion which uses a beam of directed energy to push an object, such as a teeny tiny lightsail or “starwisp” [R. Forward] from one place to another. It’s feasible but would generally take one heck of a powerful directed energy beam. Aside from the incredible energy requirements, such a theoretical beam of energy if it existed and was located in space (no atmosphere to block/filter/dilute the beam) could likewise theoretically be weaponized and turned back towards the earth, classic super villain style.)So, aside from something like Very Large Energy Beam propelling Very Small Object to Very Far Away Place, the question remains:How would we get to another star system?Like I said, it gets better.You saw Interstellar. You know about the Alcubierre warp drive. It’s a way to travel from one place to another in a way that transcends moving across vast distances.The general expression of this form of travel is FTL aka faster than light. Which as a way of moving is absolutely impossible. It is absolutely impossible to move faster than light.However, being in one place and then being in another–without regard for distance or time and without having to move at all–is a whole other story.There is no strict limitation (energy demands, costs, and and engineering withstanding) in the physical universe that forbids us from doing that.Ever seen the old tv show I Dream of Jeanie where Jeannie blink’s her eyes and moves from one place to another? Warp field mechanics is exactly like that except with actual physics. Essentially, a warping field is generated around a spaceship/transport/something with an absolutely impossible amount of energy which makes space around the spaceship/transport/something get all wibbly wobbley timey-wimey (for lack of a better term). And then it ceases and the spaceship/transport/something has not moved but everything around it has.There are plenty of analogies on the internet as to how this takes place–here’s one I found that is smart and mathy (just google warp field drive)–but the important thing is this: The math looks good and we are doing actual experiments to prove and disprove the work right now. AND some actual science is showing results. Most exciting of all? Initial results look, well, at least interesting.In fact, the findings have been good enough that the internet has gone through several spates of ZOMG! NASA DID IT WE GOT WARP DRIVES newscycles but NASA hasn’t and we don’t. Yet.However, what we do have is some interesting science findings which are encouraging.Don’t get carried away (for instance) but Dr Harold “Sonny” White of NASA Eagleworks has performed experiments at a very small and fine scale on some of the expected results necessary to prove Dr Alcubierre’s work has practical (warp field) applications and found results which appear to begin to compliment the math predictions of Miguel Alcubierre. To quote Dr White, experiments done by Eagleworks have produced “exciting, non-negative results”. Here is Dr White presenting at SEDS Spacevision Conference in 2013 discussing this work, the data, and their findings.As it happens, I was there in the auditorium that day and, let me tell you, the feeling was electric. SEDS, which stands for Students for Exploration and Development of Space, is the largest organization of space science degree seeking students in the US. That 2013 SEDS Spacevision conference was, as always, a room full of smart scientifically-trained people. Listening together to Dr White’s presentation, I can tell you we in the Spacevision audience were literally on the edge of our seats. Before us was an intelligent and informed scientist discussing fascinating work which is precursor to the most exciting movement in the history of humankind:The movement to move earth’s humankind across a very tiny section of the universe.The movement to Build A Starship.Build A Starship is more than a turn of phrase. It is an open source grassroots campaign slogan initiated and spread by Icarus Interstellar and others inside and outside the interstellar community. The slogan encapsulates the idea, the plan, and the goal of the DARPA’s 100 Year Starship Project and runs with it into the future. An interstellar future. One with starships.In fact, campaigning is precisely the stage where are we now in the process of building a starship. We have beginning physics and a slogan. Without mincing words, that is where we are. We are at the very, very beginning.That said, imagine if you will how it was to start the building the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the greatest achievements of humankind and a process that took 100,000 people working 12-hour days non-stop for approximately 20 years to finish sometime in 2500 B.C. Such a feat of technology, engineering, and organization seems incomprehensible to us today.Building the Great Pyramid is one of humankind’s greatest achievements. Yet the stage in the process we overlook in the building of the Great Pyramid is also the the single most important step for us as we contemplate interstellar travel: It is the beginning.When we imagine how it was to build the Great Pyramid we completely ignore or fail to recognize the campaigning, the planning, and the movement that must have been implemented in order to facilitate such a monumental conquest. No one individual person woke up and thought “Let’s build a pyramid today!” and then everyone just did it. The actual accomplishing of the building first demanded conveyance of the idea, creating a workable concept, building layers of support (among aristocrats, common people, even all the people who were enslaved and used for labor), fostering understanding and comprehension, and subsequently an extraordinary amount of conversation and dialog.All of this had to have taken place even before the first step towards the first stone to be first moved was first made.In other words, the beginning of building the Great Pyramid of Giza most certainly required a movement. Likewise, in the building of a starship that is where we are, we must foster a movement.The good news is the interstellar movement is underway. All the organizations listed above and their collective members and memberships are part of this movement. It is even more exciting to realize that once we human beings set our collective eyes on a prize–no matter how seemingly unattainable or audacious–history shows us, again and again and over and over, we hit that mark bullseye. If humankind can build a kind a starship–a Great Pyramid that lasts 4000 years, traveling intact through time and space–in 20 years, with our tools of technology and developed math and science today think of what we can build given 100 years. Say, another kind of starship, the kind which travels to other stars.We built the Great Pyramid 4000 years ago. And just 100 years ago cars, planes, radio, electrical lighting or tools, antibiotics, x-rays, and were all brand new inventions. Television had not even been invented yet. Yet look where we are today. Each of us literally has the entire repository of the Library of Alexandria in our pockets. And it talks. Today we have robots on Mars. Only 50 years ago we didn’t even have luggage with wheels! To say we are on a roll is to put it lightly.In closing, consider this. Once upon at time, there were two kinds of people. Those who said we couldn’t fly and those who pursued flight. Then, once upon another time, there were another two kinds of people. Those who said we would never go to the moon and those who pursued a moonshot.So today there are two more kinds of people. Those who say we will never achieve interstellar travel and those who pursue building a starship.At the end of the day the question is not will we–we will!–but which side are you on? Are you on the side that says no and calls it a day?Or are you on the side that says yes, the side having fun doing the work and experiments of math and science, the side whose members look up beyond the sky and past the atmosphere and who in discovering an absurdly large universe absolutely chockfull of stars can only think one irresistible thought:You decide.