There are different ways of categorizing scholarships for MBA students. For example, scholarship committees assess applicants on the basis of pre-determined criteria. This means a scholarship award decision may be predominantly based on the applicant’s merit (e.g. undergraduate transcripts) or financial need. Alternatively, some may be available for minorities, military veterans or their family members and so on.
Another way to categorize MBA scholarships is by the source that offers them. Below, you can explore the four most common sources of graduate school scholarships for MBA students. It may be worth it to apply to all four types, and in fact, the more scholarships you apply to, the better.
1. University-Offered Scholarships
It’s common for universities to offer their own scholarships to applicants to entice them to attend those schools. Any student who is thinking of attending that university — MBA student or otherwise—may apply.
2. Business School Scholarships
There is even less competition for b-school scholarships, which are only available to aspiring MBA students, rather than to the entire student body throughout the university. A b-school-offered scholarship may provide partial funding for your MBA program.
3. B-School-Affiliated National Scholarship MBA Opportunities
This category of scholarship MBA opportunities refers to national scholarships and fellowships that oblige students to attend specific business schools. The scholarships are typically affiliated with those schools which are collaborations between the schools and the nonprofit organizations offering the funding.
One example is the Forté Foundation, which offers the Forté Fellowship.4 This program is affiliated with several business schools. Applicants must first apply to one of the affiliated schools in order to be eligible to pursue the fellowship. Military MBA is much the same, offering scholarships to MBA students who have served in the military and are planning to attend one of the Military MBA member schools.5
4. Non-Affiliated Private Scholarship Opportunities for MBA Students
Other national scholarship and fellowship opportunities are available for MBA students to pursue regardless of which business school they want to attend. These include both small scholarships worth a few thousand dollars or even less, all the way up to full-tuition scholarships.
Many aspiring MBA students decide to apply only to the scholarships worth the most money. Bear in mind that those will also have a higher level of competition. Yes, you should definitely apply to all those you are eligible for, but don’t overlook small awards worth a few thousand or even a few hundred dollars.
There is often far less competition for the smaller scholarships than for the larger ones. You may have a better opportunity to stand out as a competitive candidate. Plus, if you can obtain multiple small scholarship awards, they can add up to an impactful amount.
