MBA scholarships aren't as mysterious as many assume when it comes down to it. When applying for financial aid, the same criteria that make you competitive for admission to MBA programs will be taken into consideration. Consequently, you must make your application more competitive if you want to improve your prospects.
Let's start by thinking about why MBA programs offer scholarships. The main objective is to convince the applicant to enroll in their program. This is a praise, not a sinister bribe. A school might want to give you a million reasons to enroll in their program if you are a strong prospect.
The good news is that the top programs have substantial financial endowments, which is helpful if you're applying to them. There are more than $4 billion in scholarships available from Harvard Business School. So how do you acquire a piece of the pie?
1. Your GMAT exam score is the leading factor.
A high GMAT exam score is the best way to receive a scholarship. This is due to a variety of factors. The reason, according to admissions professionals, is that one of the most important indications of future academic success is the GMAT.
Your GMAT score is particularly important to MBA programs since test performance is linked to performance in the classroom. However, the fact that the GMAT is a factor in the U.S. News MBA ranking is another significant reason why they care. Business schools pay great attention to this ranking, and in order to preserve or improve their program's ranking, they admit candidates with strong GMAT scores.
2. Are your submission materials as competitive as possible?
Making a strong application is a crucial component of winning a scholarship, which is another thing to take into account. A few candidates are sought after by MBA schools due to the experiences they can bring to the table. Veterans of the armed forces, for instance, who have led numerous soldiers into battle. Other candidates, including private equity professionals for family business candidates, are sought after because MBA institutions anticipate that they will achieve amazing professional success in their post-MBA jobs.
Because of their prominent positions and potential for future donations, admissions officers anticipate that these applicants will stand out in the alumni network. Whatever your edge, being explicit about it in your scholarship applications will increase your chances of being selected.
To be eligible for merit scholarships, you must have a good GMAT score, but you must also demonstrate your quality through your GPA, personal writings, performance in the MBA interview, and general familiarity with the program's culture.
3. Do you belong to an underrepresented group?
You have no control over some of the criteria for receiving an MBA scholarship. Identity is one factor. There is a higher likelihood that you will be awarded a scholarship if you belong to an application category that is underrepresented. Only Black and Latinx applicants are eligible for several institutions' and organizations' MBA scholarships.
For example, one-third of MBA applicants are women while approximately two-thirds of applicants are men. However, MBA programs strive for gender parity in the classroom. Therefore, assuming all other circumstances are equal, business schools must work harder to accept and enroll women, and they are more likely to provide financial aid to women than men.
4. Do you have a big financial need for funding?
The majority of MBA Scholarships are merit-based, but there are two exceptions: Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business. The scholarship program at these institutions is solely based on financial need. This implies that in order to qualify for a scholarship, MBA students must show a need for funding. To be admitted, you must submit a strong application and a great GMAT score, but neither of these requirements will earn you any scholarship money.
MBA scholarships from outside sources are another exception. These are still based on merit, but after being accepted into the school, a different application is needed. For instance, the Berkeley Haas School of Business offers a sizable number of MBA Scholarships. An additional personal essay outlining your compatibility is required for applications. The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program at Stanford provides full-tuition scholarships to a relatively small number of exceptional graduate students, including MBA candidates.
5. Have you negotiated your MBA scholarship?
The fact that you can negotiate your scholarship is a little-known fact. Winning scholarship grants from your desired program's rival institutions, with whom they compete for MBA applicants, is the best approach to negotiate your scholarship financing.
A former client's ideal school was MIT Sloan. She received full funding for her acceptance to Yale SOM and no scholarship for her acceptance to MIT Sloan. She explained the scenario in a letter to Sloan, highlighting the reasons she liked Sloan and the financial challenges she faced coming from a developing country, as well as the reasons why this was so important to her. In the end, Sloan gave her a full scholarship, matching Yale's, enabling her to attend her dream university at no cost.
All in all, the majority of MBA scholarships are merit-based, so improving your GMAT score, submitting a strong application, and negotiating your offers after receiving them are the best ways to get a fantastic offer from a business school.