MBA is one of the most popular courses globally. Thousands of students try to get themselves enrolled in business schools with the dream of having a lucrative career. Studying for an MBA does sound attractive, but it is indeed an expensive affair. If funding your MBA is a challenging task, a GMAT scholarship can come as your savior.
Many business schools offer partial or complete scholarships to students who have a good GMAT score. To get a good score, you will have to prepare hard and give several mock GMAT online tests. If you want to know about the score that would help you get an MBA scholarship, keep reading this article.
High GMAT score and scholarship
If you have a high GMAT score, you have a good chance of getting an MBA scholarship. No business school or external organization would give you a cut-off score for getting a scholarship, but high-achieving students are often offered partial or full funds.
Now “high-achieving” includes a lot of factors apart from a good GMAT score. It depends on the organization offering the scholarship; they would look into factors such as a letter of recommendation, writing samples, etc. The better all the components are, the higher is the chance for the student to acquire a scholarship.
How much do I have to score?
As mentioned earlier, scholarship providing bodies do not lay a cut-off for offering a scholarship, so we cannot give you a number that would promise funds. However, the scholarship committee prefers students who stand out in the crowd and score better than the school average. You can check the list of average scores of the students who have applied to your school to get a brief idea about the situation.
To be on the safe side, for top business schools, try to score above 720. It is a good GMAT score that showcases the concerned students is of competitive merit. If you opt for mid-range schools, then scoring above 700 can keep you on a competitive edge and boost your chances of securing funding.
However, if you have scored lower than 700, do not worry. You should still apply for the scholarship. As mentioned earlier, apart from the GMAT score, several other factors might influence the funding decision, and it might work in your favor. But the odds of getting a scholarship increases if you have that great a score.
If you are looking for full funding and have a GMA score above 720, then opting for a mid-range school can be a good decision. They would be highly interested in funding students with such a GMAT score, and the whole affair would get more comfortable for you.
Types of GMAT scholarships
There are two types of GMAT scholarships, one offered by the business schools and the other provided by an external funding organization.
Scholarships offered by business schools
Many business schools offer need-based scholarships. They look at the student’s family income and social-economic conditions here and do not consider the GMAT score. The GMAT score is a significant factor when the scholarship offered is merit-based. These are competitive, and students have to fulfill many criteria to get it. The academic position of the students, along with their other achievements, play a significant role here.
None of the colleges list a minimum eligibility score for getting scholarships. But you can check out the financial aid section on your school’s website to get a brief idea. You can also talk to the administration to get an understanding of the scholarship opportunities.
Scholarship offered by an external organization
Many external organizations are ready to provide funds to high-achieving students. They do take the GMAT score seriously while deciding the students they are going to fund. They, too, do not list out the minimum GMAT score to select eligible students.
Final words
Depending on the business school you are going to, there are different types of scholarships available. For example, some MBA colleges offer scholarships based on the student’s contribution to society. You should check out the scholarship criteria and types for your school to get a better idea.
For a merit-based scholarship, 720 is a great score, and hence you should work hard for that. Also, make sure that you have a higher ground on the other factors to maximize your funding chances. You might get partial or full funding depending on your score and at the discretion of your school’s MBA admission committee.
