So I've been lurking on GC forums for a few months as I was taking the GMATs and starting my applications for B-School. The wealth of information here is astounding. However, one area that I haven't been able to glean much knowledge about is scholarships, or as they appear to be called for MBA programs: Fellowships.
Obviously every school is different, but I'm looking to obtain a handle on how the determination is made on who to give scholarships to. Fellowships appear to be "merit based" which I take to mean that it is based on scholastic aptitude (i.e. test scores, GPA) rather than demonstrated need (a la FAFSA). This is rather straight forward in my mind, but what about applicants with a high GMAT and low GPA? What about vice versa? Do essays come in to play in the scholarship/Fellowship decisions? Who makes the decision? Is it the head of admissions at each school? And how is the exact dollar amount determined?
I'm kind of in the dark as to how the process works, and suspect that others may be as well. Hopefully someone out there has a little more insight into the process and wouldn't mind sharing with the rest of us. Perhaps this is too loaded of a question in the sense that every school has a different method for determining scholarships/Fellowships but I thought it would be worth asking. Thanks in advance for any help!