GMAT scholarships help in studying at dream business school without any financial hurdle. While you are preparing for MBA from abroad, scholarships or business fellowships are the best options. Financing an MBA can be tough, and most of the candidates either spend their savings or take scholarships or loans to pursue it. Many B-schools, organizations, and universities consider GMAT scores for a full scholarship for meritorious students. Apart from GMAT scholarships, academic qualifications, work experience, leadership abilities are required to apply for MBA abroad. GMAT scholarships or business fellowships help the aspirants to pursue MBA in the top business schools in the world.

Types of GMAT Scholarships 

Following are the types of scholarships through GMAT, and financial aids available for both Indian and International candidates.

1. Scholarships based on Merit: These are the most common type of scholarship that is offered by the most renowned B-schools of the world. The scholarship eligibility is highly based on a highGMAT score. Scholarship through GMAT offered by Top-B schools include names like:

• Kellogg Scholarship byKellogg School of Management
• Tahir Fellowship (UC Berkeley Haas School of Management)
• George J. Stigler Fellowship (Chicago Booth School of Business)
• B.K. Birla MBA Scholarship (London Business School)

2. Scholarships based on Requirement: Students coming from financially weak families can avail this scholarship. At Harvard Business School, the calculation of the need is done based on the income obtained in the last three years, and also the possession of assets.Top B-schools in USA, like Harvard and Stanford, offer this GMAT scholarship to the ones who have received the admit. Stanford offers these two need-based scholarships: Charles P. Bonini Partnership for Diversity Fellowship (approximately $40,000), and Stanford Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship
3. Scholarships based on Diversification and Gender: This is the scholarship that focuses on gender inequality and underrepresented groups. GMAT scholarships in UK, US, and other nations are very focused on raising awareness about gender equality. Some of the GMAT scholarships are: Forté MBA Fellowships for Women, Reaching Out LGBTQ MBA Fellowship, and Consortium for Graduate Study in Management
4. Scholarships based on Foreign factors: Apart from financial aid like GMAT scholarship, there are organizations that offer support to MBA aspirants. Apart from the financial assistance, these scholarships also help by giving access to special programming, networking, recruiting assistance, and more. These are organizations that generally don’t list a minimum GMAT score but the scholarship based on GMAT score is high. Some of the GMAT scholarships is listed below:

• Canadian Bureau for International Education
• Consortium for Graduate Study in Management
• East-West Center
• Hariri Foundation
• Harvey Fellows Program
• Institute of International Education
• Tibet Fund

Scholarships offered by Business Schools 

Here is a list of different types of scholarships that are offered by B-schools over the world. Candidates can get an idea about the GMAT scholarship India from the list of eligibilities and funding resources stated below:

Apart from GMAT scholarship, there are also other kinds of financial aids offered to MBA aspirants, they are research/teaching assistantships, and loans. Research/teaching assistantship enables students to work in their university for a minimum of 20 hours per week. They will receive a stipend($20-35/hr) for an assistantship. Whereas for a loan, a cosigner is necessary who will be responsible for paying the loan if the student (in any case) fails to repay it.

How to Search for Scholarships? 

If a candidate is searching for a kind of MBA scholarship, then proper research can land you with thousands of options. Few things to keep in mind for searching options are as follows:

• MBA scholarship search engines like scholarshipportal.com, scholarships.com, studentscholarshipsearch.com are quite helpful.
• Google alerts for any kind of business fellowships, business school scholarships
• Subscribe for notifications to the official page of preferred B school
• Seek help from someone who already has availed of scholarship

Common Mistakes Made by the MBA Applicants 

Mistakes that should be avoided when applying for a GMAT scholarship:

• Generic Statement of Purpose
• Not following the given guidelines of the application.
• Inconsistency
• Personally unknown recommenders
• Unclear future expectations

Candidates who are planning to pursue MBA from abroad generally apply for scholarships, or take loans. Since the pay packages are high and competitive abroad, it gets feasible for them to repay the loans within a lesser time. Depending on the place of study, candidates need to consider the GMAT score for scholarship in Canada, or UK, or US and accordingly decide the cost of studying.