How to Negotiate a Scholarship

How do we navigate negotiation without a competing offer?

Posted from my mobile device

That’s a tough one. You can see my suggestions in the first post.

Competing offer is the best thing. Otherwise you are kind of fishing… and this late in the season it is hard time to be finishing for money. One option is to ask for TA or fellowships and explain why you need it as opposed to “I don’t want to pay”

It depends on how much you are looking for. Larger amount is going to be hard, and only luck.

Smaller amounts are possible, again they are outlined in the post (eg short a bit of money)

Thank you so much for these advises.
I am wondering if there are scholarships opportunities for the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA program? It seems to me that all the admitted applicants don’t have a scholarship.
Thank you 🙏🏾

Posted from my mobile device

Congratulations on the admit. I can’t really comment the whole lot about budgets since those vary from year to year and I can see schools sometimes increasing their budgets and sometimes decreasing them.

Scholarships are away for schools to basically retain a student they would not otherwise be able to attract. They’re not giving them away just because they’re nice. I mean they are nice but that’s not why they giving scholarships

Thank you so much. I understand your point. I applied for the SFMBA R2 and am still waiting for an interview. In the meanwhile, I am searching for scholarship opportunities, as the program is very expensive and targets experienced leaders. The possibilities seem narrow compared to a classic 2-year FT MBA.
I am wondering if they are MIT Sloan Fellows who secured a funding upon their admission.

Oh. Thank you for clarifying.
Scholarships for programs such as Sloan fellows as well as fully employed or executive programs are very rare.

There’s a little Budget because the assumption is that you are a seasoned professional as opposed to a recent graduate. The executive programs and fully employed programs, also assume you have a job so they don’t need to give you a scholarship since you have income.

I think your best bet a scholarship would be to get an admission to Stanford and try to leverage that but it won’t go very far 😢

Posted from my mobile device

Ok thanks a lot for your feedback.
I was not going to apply for the GSB MSx program as I think that the SFMBA perfectly aligns with my goals…Its curriculum also seems more adapted to a senior executive than the MSx’s…

­Hi,

With whom should I negotiate about scholarships and awards?
the admissions office? the person who interviewed me? others? 

​​​​​​​thanks

 
­Hi, miko2010

From what I know, at most schools, the Admissions Office awards merit scholarships to help recruit top talent, and the Financial Aid Office awards all need-based financial aid. So make sure to contact the appropriate office. If you get a merit scholarship but also have need-based aid, you can then loop both offices into the negotiation process.

In a special scenario, you can ask a member of the AdCom only If you have befriended that person to see if they can check for you instead of going directly to the Director of financial aid. This only works in very few cases, but it is definitely one of the most effective ways to secure a scholarship and increase your chances!

I hope this helps!  

Cheers!
Abhyank
Founder & CEO 
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Hi bb
Thank a lot for your advice.
I have got a scholarship from Sloan for the SFMBA. I know the possibilities are very limited for those programs so I feel lucky. But I would like to negotiate the amount.
Could an admission from Wharton EMBA help?

It’s much easier to negotiate when you have some thing can negotiate with so depending on your scholarship amount, bringing in an admissions from Wharton, may bump up the amount but if an average person would choose Sloan with a scholarship, the chances are not great. However, there’s no downside to asking so make sure you make the best and most powerful request. It’s kinda like a one shot deal.

PS. Let me know if you succeed or not. I always appreciate real stories and feedback 👍

 
­Email may be the better way to go about it considering that emails help keep everything documented for everyone involved and there are less chances of miscommunication. Especially, for crucial information, verbal communication cannot be depended on. 

How to Negotiate a Scholarship

1. Research:
   
   
   
   • Understand the scholarship’s terms.
   • Know your worth and prepare to highlight your achievements.
2. Contact:
   
   
   
   • Email or call the scholarship provider.
   • Politely request a discussion about the scholarship offer.
3. Communicate:
   
   
   
   • Be respectful and clear about your request.
   • Provide specific reasons or documentation for needing more support (e.g., higher offers elsewhere, financial needs).
4. Follow Up:
   
   
   
   • Send a thank-you note after your discussion.
   • Confirm your continued interest.

­A friend of mine also ended up in a similar situation. It's sad because he comes from a rather poor family.