CBS Likelihood of getting a scholarship with ED vs RD

Hello Pici,

With a limited amount of money to go around, the earlier you can get your applications in, the better. Schools also want to be sure that their classes are filled with well-rounded students and are more likely to use scholarships to ensure this earlier in the process.

CBS is the only major school offering early decision and rolling admissions. If it is your first choice, I would go ahead and apply early. ED does not decrease your chances of getting scholarships at all. It makes sense to be nervous about this, but they award money based on how good you are and we have ED clients who get 100% full rides every year!

There are also ways to help maximize your chances for an MBA scholarship. Along with applying early, it is crucial that your application tells a solid story about how you will add unique value on campus.

CBS cares about demonstrated interest. There are many ways to reach out to and connect with the school remotely.

In the best-case scenario, you will build a rapport with an admissions representative and directly improve your chances of earning a scholarship. Even if this does not happen, attending online events and interacting with the school will give you valuable material to make your essays stand out (students are often the most valuable resources since admissions directors may not be as available to chat with you).

Happy to connect so we can help boost your candidacy and increase your chances of earning a scholarship: scott@personalmbacoach.com.

Best,
Personal MBA Coach

I can confirm that I know both RD and ED who got 100% merit based scholarship. Both very different profiles: one very unique, one more standard for B school. I guess both managed to make their stories compelling and put their true selves forward.
So I completely agree with Scott.

Posted from my mobile device

ED at Columbia isn't binding much as I have known for the last 2 years. The ED does require to pay some 6000 USD deposit though.
ED at Duke is rather Binding and requires you to join at any cost.

"My doubt is that showing this commitment could negatively impact my leverage for receiving a scholarship." - Without any BS- yes it does.
But in CBS you can still negotiate a higher amount through other offers, given it is binding in monetary sense (if it requires you to definitely go- then there is a need based fellowship- make sure you look at the criteria before applying)
"Main reasons I can think of:
1) they know they are my first choice, so they might think they would not need to give me further incentives (e.g. a scholarship)
2) I would not have the argument of other school offers (since I theoretically should withdraw all applications after admission) to use as a leverage for negotiating a scholarship."
Understandable and that is the reason why chances of you getting in are high to a certain degree. Tradeoff between finances and chances of getting in.

I have to strongly disagree that CBS scholarship is impacted by RD and ED. I know plenty of students with large scholarships who applied and were accepted in ED. Columbia knows that its ED is often used by students as an insurance policy, hence their much larger (6K vs 2K) deposit. They know they will lose students every year to other schools especially ED applicants, so why would they make the problem even worse by giving less scholarships.