Some MBA applicants have the opportunity to attend business school without paying a cent for their education.
That’s what happens when applicants receive subsidies for their MBA studies — either through scholarships, fellowships, need-based financial aid, company sponsorships or a combination of sources — that they have enough to completely cover the cost of tuition and fees.
Experts say this is a rare situation, but MBA applicants can improve their odds of receiving a debt-free degree by doing thorough research on the funding options they are eligible to receive and preparing polished scholarship and fellowship applications.
One way to significantly boost your chances of receiving full funding for an MBA is to apply to business schools that give scholarships to a high proportion of students, experts say. Some schools have a history of being generous with scholarship dollars and are great options for scholarship hopefuls, experts advise.
[Use these 10 strategies to find money to pay for an MBA.]
In 2015, Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business began offering the Forward Focus MBA Scholarship, covering full tuition, to all full-time, on-campus MBA students.
Pam Delany, Carey’s director of recruiting and admissions, says the Forward Focus Scholarship aims to attract a wide array of MBA applicants, including those with modest salaries who might otherwise be intimidated by the business school’s sticker price.
[Learn how to become a good candidate for MBA scholarships.]
Here are four strategies experts recommend for business school applicants hoping for a subsidized education.
1. Apply for school funding: Eli David, co-founder of the Ivy MBA Consulting company, says he encourages applicants who need help financing their education to investigate the scholarships and fellowships that business schools offer.
David says business schools provide the majority of MBA scholarships and fellowships, so although there are alternative funding sources, schools are the first places that MBA applicants should look to get financial help.
Officials at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business say MBA applicants should thoroughly check the financial aid webpages associated with each target business school, because institutions often offer distinctive scholarship and fellowship programs.
For instance, the Stanford USA MBA Fellowship supports students with demonstrated financial need and strong personal ties to the Midwest who commit to working in that region after they graduate. The fellowship covers two years of tuition and fees.
2. Focus on test prep: Experts say one of the biggest factors in whether an MBA applicant receives significant scholarship or fellowship offers is how high his or her test scores are, so doing your best on the GRE or GMAT is essential.
Aspiring MBAs who are still in college should take their business school entrance exams before graduating to maximize their scores, says Peter Aranda, executive director and CEO of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, a nonprofit organization that grants full-tuition MBA fellowships.
Aranda says it is ideal to take the business school entrance exam during or shortly after college, because that is when your math skills will typically be sharpest, while the information from math courses is still fresh in your mind.
[Use these 10 strategies to find money to pay for an MBA.]
3. Inquire about MBA funding programs for specific interest groups: Experts note that many MBA scholarships and fellowships are reserved for women and minorities or for those who work in a specific industry.
Some of these financial awards are designed for business school applicants who excel both as students in the classroom and in other ways. For example, the fellowships that the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management awards are given to MBA applicants with both strong academic credentials and “a proven record of promoting inclusion in school, in their jobs or in their personal lives,” according to the Consortium’s website.
The latter fellowship requirement ties in with the consortium’s mission to boost the representation of African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Native Americans in both U.S. business schools and U.S. corporate leadership roles.
4. Polish your essays: Aranda, a Native American who received a full-tuition MBA fellowship in the 1980s through the Consortium fellowship program, says crafting thoughtful personal essays is one way applicants can boost their odds of winning a full scholarship.
He says the essay prompts in MBA scholarship applications often appear easy to answer, but those who write rushed responses to these questions may produce sloppy essays.
Stephanie Witlin, assistant director of MBA admissions outreach at Stanford, says evaluating essays is a key component of the school’s fellow selection process.
Witlin says the ideal fellows are individuals who display both sincerity and motivation in their essays. She says, “It’s important that they are authentic and that they convey their real reasons for wanting to contribute in the various ways that they can.”
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