MBA Scholarships and Financial Aid

Financial support for top MBA programs comes in two forms: scholarships and loans. Most students fund their studies using a combination of personal or familial savings, income, loans and scholarships.

Generally, most schools – especially the bigger, more prestigious institutes – offer generous scholarships and convenient, affordable loans. In leading programs, the number of students receiving financial aid from the school itself often exceeds 50%. It is important to note that scholarships are not especially prevalent, and one is more likely to be granted one at a business school that is ranked between 20-50 in the U.S. and Europe.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Most programs offer student scholarships. These fall under three categories: need-based scholarships, merit-based scholarships, and fellowships.

Need-based scholarships are dependent on the financial situation of the applicant. These are usually only granted to citizens of the state. These scholarships are relatively rare, but are still a viable option for students who struggle to finance their studies. The criteria for need-based scholarships differ at each institute, but they all take into account income, savings, assets, and sometimes, familial status and its implications.

In addition, ARINGO consultants have live access to the documents that all other consultants are working on. For example, when an ARINGO consultant works on a certain client essay, he or she can view how other consultants approached this essay – a fairly unique tool among admission consulting firms.

Merit-based scholarships are granted based on skills and past excellence. These talents and experience are expected to contribute to the program as a whole. These scholarships are generally only announced after an applicant is accepted into the program. From a school’s perspective, merit-based scholarships ensure that a promising applicant chooses their program over other options.

These scholarships are granted after a committee reviews several key factors, including work experience, GMAT scores, and grades during B.A. studies. However, most schools work to promote a diverse student body, and will generally choose skilled women or applicants with unique ethnic backgrounds for these scholarships.

It is important to note that as a school is ranked higher, their process for merit-based scholarships becomes more selective and more challenging.

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ARINGO clients are offered merit-based scholarships with a combined value of over half a million dollars each year. These have a very wide range, including:

Harvard: $55,000, $150,000, $80,000, $100,000, $90,000, $62,000, $100,000, $64,000, $81,000, $36,000, $40,000

Wharton: $100,000, $165,000, $165,000, $150,000, $150,000, $150,000, $150,000, $150,000, $150,000, $100,000, $130,000, $145,000, $145,000, $70,000, $5000, $50,000, $30,000, $60,000, $40,000, $26,000, $26,000, $18,000, $44,000, $18,000, $80,000, $40,000, $50,000, $30,000, $50,000, $25,000, $30,000, $20,000, $20,000, $20,000, $20,000, $10,000, $10,000

Chicago Booth: $80,000, $35,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $120,000, $120,000, $50,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $90,000, $40,000, $40,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $204,000, $10,000, $60,000, $170,000, $170,000, $170,000, $170,000, $120,000, $169,000, $169,000, $200,000, $200,000, $200,000, $160,000, $80,000, $40,000, $160,000, $80,000, $60,000, $40,000, $145,000, $140,000, $130,000, $130,000, $130,000, $120,000, $110,000

Stanford: $113,000, $133,000, $160,000, $60,000, $67,000, $20,000, $20,000, $30,000

Columbia: $80,000, $40,000, $77,000, $80,000, $100,000, $63,000, $30,000, $15,000

INSEAD: €20,000, €20,000, €15,000, €20,000, €10,000, €15,000, €15,000, €12,000, €10,000, €20,000, €14,000, €18,000, €13,000, €70,000, €60,000, €7,000

Kellogg: $100,000, $150,000, $40,000, $90,000,  $40,000, $20,000, $120,000, $150,000, $20,000, $40,000, $120,000, $70,000, $20,000, $70,000, $80,000, $25,000, $70,000, $100,000, $110,000, $100,000, $70,000, $8,000, $22,000, $70,000, $60,000

MIT Sloan: $25,000, $110,000, $20,000, $25,000, $25,000, $20,000, $20,000, $85,000, $20,000, $20,000, $20,000, $40,000, $160,000, $70,000, $169,000, $100,000, $20,000, $5,000

NYU Stern: $50,000, $30,000, $20,000, $20,000, $190,000, $140,000, $140,000, $40,000, $150,000, $24,000, $158,000, $40,000, $28,000, $28,000, $28,000, $28,000, $127,000, $71,000, $10,000, $50,000, $25,000, $45,000, $10,000

Berkeley: $60,000, $50,000, $100,000, $123,000, $123,000, $15,000, $40,000, $40,000, $80,000, $30,000, $45,000

Duke: $100,000, $80,000, $30,000, $30,000, $70,000, $63,000, $100,000, $50,000, $140,000, $50,000, $40,000, $30,000, $40,000, $35,000, $20,000, $20,000, $10,000, $32,000, $20,000, $29,000, $36,000, $16,000, $35,000, $18,000, $5,000, $21,000

Michigan: $80,000, $130,000, $40,000, $150,000, $12,000, $40,000, $80,000, $20,000, $20,000, $20,000, $10,000, $128,000, $128,000, $20,000, $20,000, $67,000, $40,000, $20,000, $30,000, $30,000, $20,000, $60,000, $10,000, $40,000, $40,000, $12,000, $41,000

Cornell: $15,000, $30,000, $60,000, $60,000, $40,000, $40,000, $50,000, $50,000, $40,000, $40,000, $60,000, $30,000, $75,000, $75,000, $30,000, $20,000, $20,000, $40,000, $14,000, $32,000, $60,000, $50,000, $40,000, $30,000, $12,000, $45,000, $31,000, $30,000, $25,000, $20,000, $10,000, $40,000, $20,000, $35,000

Cornell Tech: $15,000, $5000, $25,000, $55,000, $35,000, $35,000, $20,000, $60,000, $60,000, $55,000, $50,000, $75,000, $65,000, $15,000, $15,000

Tuck: $80,000, $20,000, $60,000, $20,000, $50,000, $40,000, $60,000, $60,000, $60,000, $60,000, $20,000, $20,000, $15,000, $30,000, $20,000, $40,000, $20,000, $10,000

Washington: $175,000, $12,000, $63,000

Babson: $130,000, $20,000, $15,000, $19,000, $10,000, $40,000, $65,000

Carnegie Mellon: $15,000, $50,000, $50,000, $16,000, $70,000, $80,000, $50,000, $25,000, $120,000, $30,000, $20,000, $20,000, $50,000, $30,000, $52,000, $44,000, $80,000, $16,000, $10,000

Darden: $80,000, $140,000, $63,000, $3000, $126,000, $3000, $10,000, $120,000, $63,000, $34,000, $50,000

London Business School: £69,000, £20,000, £30,000, £30,000, £25,000, £25,000, £20,000, £40,000, £25,000, £20,000, £20,000, £20,000, £20,000, £20,000, £20,000, £20,000, £25,000, £20,000, $18,000, $16,000, $40,000, $19,000

UCLA Anderson: $120,000, $140,000, $120,000, $120,000, $80,000, $100,000, $70,000, $50,000, $100,000, $100,000, $50,000, $100,000, $30,000, $40,000, $40,000, $40,000, $30,000, $60,000, $50,000, $40,000, $40,000, $120,000, $50,000, $140,000, $40,000, $70,000, $40,000, $15,000, $60,000, $100,000, $112,000

UNC: $120,000, $80,000, $20,000, $100,000, $40,000, $30,000, $100,000, $120,000, $100,000, $50,000, $110,000

USC: $80,000, $140,000, $10,000, $80,000, $80,000, $60,000, $120,000, $117,000

Yale: $140,000, $145,000, $40,000, $30,000, $30,000, $20,000, $24,000, $30,000, $50,000, $30,000, $40,000, $20,000, $40,000, $60,000, $20,000, $80,000, $20,000, $20,000, $123,000, $80,000

Texas: $70,000, $40,000, $20,000

Georgetown: $20,000, $30,000, $130,000, $29,000, $60,000, $80,000

Emory: $70,000, $50,000, $32,000, $18,000, $48,000, $32,000, $40,000

Indiana: $120,000, $100,000, $90,000, $44,000, $20,000, $90,000, $40,000, $10,000, $7,500

Boston College: $50,000

Northeastern University: $70,000

GWU: $93,000

IE: €22,000, €30,000, €15,000, €28,000, €15,000, €13,600, €21,300, €14,200, €20,400, €10,000, €6,800, €17,400, €10,000, €7,000

IESE: €20,000, €20,000, €10,000; €25,000, €30,000, €20,000, €15,000, €40,000, €30,000, €30,000, €30,000, €30,000, €30,000, €30,000, €20,000, €20,000, €20,000, €15,000, €10,000, €15,000, €15,000

ESADE: €30,000, €12,000, €22,000, €22,000, €13,000, €20,000

HEC Paris: €5000, €20,000, €15,000, €26,000, €20,000, €10,000, €26,000, €16,000, €15,000, €33,000, €14,000, €24,000, €12,000, €12,000

Cambridge: £30,000, £15,000, £15,000, £25,000, £10,000, £10,000, £7,000, £5,000, £5,000

Oxford: £30,000, £20,000, £20,000, £20,000, £12,000, £20,000, £75,000, £30,000, £20,000, £15,000, £100,000, £50,000, £14,000

Rotman: $20,000, $25,000, $20,000, $25,000, $10,000, $30,000, $10,000, $10,000

Imperial College: $15,000, $15,000

Illinois: $40,000

HKUST: $16,000, $25,000

Rice: $40,000, $100,000, $100,000, $58,000, $29,000

BU: $60,000, $50,000, $30,000, $30,000

Foster: $50,000, $30,000, $100,000, $20,000, $15,000, $60,000

Simon: $60,000, $34,000, $100,000

Carlson: $30,000

Notre Dame: $60,000, $111,000, $30,000

McGill: $10,000

Ivey: $60,000

Olin: $210,000, $191,000, $100,000, $190,000, $50,000

Georgia Tech: $15,000

Fordham: $90,000, $147,000, $100,000

Michigan State: $109,000

Owen: $50,000, $130,000, $160,000

Bayes: £30,000

Manchester: £16,000, £16,000

City: $14,000

RSM: €14,000

HULT: $20,000, $25,000

Employer Sponsorship

A less-known option for financing an MBA is partial employer sponsorship. This option is usually associated with Executive MBAs, where a business executive continues his or her career while enhancing their knowledge through a business program simultaneously. Company involvement or financial aid generally limits one’s options to schools that offer part time schedules and accommodate full-time employees.

Scholarships for Women

There are a number of scholarships designated to women applicants, with the goal of increasing gender equality and diversity in leading MBA programs around the world. These scholarships are offered by both the institutes themselves, as well as external organizations such as:

http://www.fortefoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=mba_fellows#.VfEbf_mqqkq