GMAT Score in MBA Scholarship: How Important is it?

When deciding to pursue an MBA, the biggest roadblock that students face is cost. While getting a perfect GMAT score may be the aim for many students, pursuing an MBA is expensive, which is why an MBA scholarship seems like another route. Since it can be one of the most significant investments a person can make, making an informed financial decision becomes necessary. However, since MBA gives a considerable salary boost, many students go for the degree irrespective of the expenses.

Most MBA aspirants rely on multiple ways to finance their B-school education, such as student loans, support from parents, personal savings, and scholarships, among other sources. Several students, in many instances, overlook a scholarship opportunity for reasons including lack of awareness. But how do you qualify for a scholarship? And Does a good GMAT score matter in seeking an MBA scholarship? In this article, we will answer some common questions students have about scholarships.

1. Benefits of an MBA scholarship
2. Types of scholarships available
3. What is a good GMAT score to qualify for an MBA scholarship?
4. How to search for an MBA scholarship?
5. Tips for successfully applying for a scholarship

 So, let’s take them one by one –

1. Benefits of Scholarships for MBA Students

Scholarships do not just help pay the high costs of an MBA degree. Instead, students can benefit from it even after completing their MBA degree. Let’s see how –

• Worth mentioning on your resume
  Before awarding them with a scholarship, the school committees tend to evaluate several factors on the student’s profile. This is why scholarships serve as a huge distinguishing factor worth mentioning on the resume and can also positively impact future employers.
• Helps escape student loans in some cases
  Student loans often take years to pay. By removing the financial barrier from seeking higher education, scholarships can help you do without a student loan. So, you won’t have to spend 3-4 years  paying off your loans.
• Encourages you to perform better
  If you have competed against thousands of students to receive a scholarship, as it may happen in the case of merit-based scholarships, you will naturally feel confident about your abilities. Since you’ll worry less about finances, you’ll be able to focus more on developing your skills and enhancing your knowledge.
• Scholarships bring in diversity
  Scholarships open the doors for diversity in the class, especially those targeted to help candidates from underrepresented groups. A diverse MBA cohort helps students challenge their own views about how to successfully run a business, understand the various challenges involved, and creates a productive learning environment for them.

2. Types of Scholarships

There are two types of MBA scholarships available out there for students. One, the scholarships offered by individual B-schools to their prospective students, and two, those provided by external funding agencies. Let us take them one by one –

a. School-based MBA Scholarships

Most business schools offer MBA scholarships to their students. Usually, these scholarships are either –

• Need-based or
• Merit-based 

For need-based scholarships, a prospective student’s family income and other socio-economic factors determine the amount of financial aid. Please note that this doesn’t take a student’s merit and GMAT score into account. Whereas, for a merit-based scholarship, as the name suggests, the GPA and GMAT score is a significant factor and are thus highly competitive. In most cases, the student’s GMAT scores, overall academic performance, and other achievements help decide their eligibility and the amount of aid they would receive.

b. MBA Scholarships offered by External Organizations

Several external organizations offer MBA scholarships based on ranging from gender, race, work experience, MBA specialization, region, or religion to high-achieving students. However, if you are looking for specific organizations that consider the applicant’s GMAT scores as well, here’s a list generated by GMAC that qualify to receive GMAT scores of students –

3. What is a good GMAT score to qualify for an MBA scholarship?

Students often wonder if getting a high GMAT score will qualify them for getting a scholarship. While business schools and other scholarship programs do not announce a minimum GMAT score that could guarantee funding, they agree that a good GMAT score plays a role. A high-achieving student seeking out monetary aid has a better chance of qualifying for a scholarship, be it partial or full-funding, compared to another candidate with a lower to average GMAT score.

Mostly for top 20 business schools, a good rule of thumb is that you need at least 720+ to qualify for a merit-based scholarship. Talking about the top 50 schools, a score of 700 is the bare minimum required to be competitive for an MBA scholarship.

However, as mentioned, GMAT scores are not the only factor that plays a role. B-school scholarship committees and external organizations take into account the applicant’s Letter of recommendation, GPA, leadership attributes, work experience, writing samples, and his/her interests before granting them a scholarship.

4. How to search for an MBA scholarship?

There are many ways for you to search for a scholarship –

• Visit the financial-aid websites of your preferred schools. The most reliable information regarding scholarships offered by the school of your choice and the type of scholarship they offer can be found on their website. Most schools list their sources of external funding on their website as well.
• You can also contact the MBA administration of the school directly to inquire about the scholarship programs they offer.
• Some schools may automatically consider you for a scholarship upon receiving your application. While others may require you to produce additional information, such as your LoRs, writing samples, etc.
• Go over the internet – The simplest solution to look for a scholarship for MBA is to look it up on the internet. There are several websites that are dedicated solely to scholarship programs and can keep you updated and help you identify schools that offer a variety of scholarships, such as scholarships.com, scholarshipportal.com, and studentsscholarshipsearch.com, etc.

5. How to successfully apply for an MBA scholarship?

• Applying as early as possible will give you time to ready your documents and prepare your case accordingly.
• Scholarships can be industry-specific, gender-specific, or nationality specific. Be sure that you apply for the right one.

• Seek advice from alumni who received a scholarship from your chosen school or take help from an advisor before applying for a scholarship.
• Pay attention to your college essay. Focus on your USPs, your GMAT score, and the value and diversity you will bring to the school. Don’t shy away from mentioning your achievements.
• Always have someone proofread your essay, and double-check your application for errors.

Wrapping up

In conclusion, neither business schools nor external scholarship-funding organizations list a minimum GMAT score as a requirement for granting a scholarship. However, if you seek one, you must understand that they expect students to come with academic excellence and high GMAT scores. So, if you seek a scholarship, the bottom line is to aim for a 700+ score plus devote a considerable amount of time to building your application before applying for a scholarship. And remember, every bit helps!