Paying for B-school

Question

So I have....a friend....., we will call him Raadend. Raadend can probably afford B-school without taking loans or getting aid. However, my "friend" would prefer to get some sort of financial aid instead of taking such a huge financial hit. Are scholarships and such granted to people who do not really need them?

dabots · Answer

most scholarships ive seen are merit based, not need based

Raabend · Answer

Do you know how to get them? Is it part of the application or do they just surprise people? I really have not researched this much so far, I figured this was a great place to start asking.

dabots · Answer

for chicago gsb, you are automatically considered for a bunch of different scholarships... although many are specialized (e.g. women going into finance, former military going into consulting, etc.), such that i only qualified for the catch all scholarship

jbguy · Answer

I pretty sure all of my applications included a sentence or two indicating that all applicants are considered for merit-based scholarships.

Cornell had an additional essay for their Park Fellowship. There may be other schools that ask applicants to complete an additional application or essay to be considered for similar awards. However, these are well-advertised, so you'll become aware of them as your research programs.

jallenmorris · Answer

A friend of mine that went to Harvard's KSG (granted not b-school) was awarded a 1/2 scholarship based on merit + need. Not sure how much the need was a factor, but it certainly made paying for it easier.

terry12 · Answer

The process is pretty school-dependent. A lot of schools will automatically consider all students for merit scholarships after (or sometimes upon) admission. Some like MIT Sloan ask you to check off boxes on the admissions application, indicating which scholarships you qualify for. Others like Wharton have a completely separate fellowship/scholarship application. Finally, Harvard and Stanford don't give out merit-based money.

riverripper · Answer

Kellogg gives lots of need/merit based scholarships out from what I have heard. That said need seems to basically mean your EFC on the FAFSA is less than what the cost for a year of school will be.

Bdevil25 · Answer

As far as I know, Duke only offers need-based aid in the form of Perkins loans (5% interest, instead of 6.8-8.5%). I actually received this offer, but it was only for $3,000. Hence, the annual maximum for Perkins loans is so small that it doesn't mean a whole lot compared to the ridiculous amount of debt.

kryzak · Answer

take a look at each school's merit-scholarship webpage. Most merit scholarships are given without a separate application. But some do require a few more essays, so keep that in mind when you get accepted into said school.

The Knowledge Vault should have some more good threads from the past that can help.

The Knowledge Vault should have some more good threads from the past that can help.

Paying for B-school

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