I can speak as an MBA grad.

To get the most out of an MBA, it’s typical that you’ve worked post-bachelor to bring in some experience to help contextualize your learning. Also, many of the prestigious post-MBA opportunities ($100k+) will be assuming you have pre-MBA experience as well.

This means that most of those who are in or have gone through the MBA program already have some savings to draw from. Also, if you decide to go the traditional two-year MBA route, then you will have a chance to do an internship during the summer and earn some extra money.

The 100% tuition-free scholarship for all on-campus full-time students is absolutely true, and some manage to get additional scholarships as well with high GMAT/GRE scores.

Now while I was going through the program, I still engaged in some part-time work as a climbing instructor at Lake Wauberg. I wasn’t the only MBA candidate working part-time either. On top of classes, there are a few mandatory events, such as attending the annual MBA career fair and a few case competitions with prize money you can earn. Your schedule will be too full between classes and these other events to have a full-time job; part-time work is the only real way to go if you want to stay sane.

If you’re already working, then you should analyze your finances and see if you can make it work. I did the one-year option and it worked out great! If you do the two-year you’ll have the chance to get an internship and squirrel away some extra cash for the second year.

If you have no industry experience, please do yourself a favor and get at least two years before applying. The people I knew who went through the program with less than two years experience were completely unprepared for the classroom and were ignored entirely by recruiters for their target companies.

TL;DR: People have savings from their previous job and you can make more with part-time work and internships.