UPDATE: This article was originally posted on May 14, 2018. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

Despite the fact that an MBA at a top business school like Stanford Graduate School of Business costs as much as a house in many countries, many people pay full price without thinking twice.

Getting into a top program is a huge accomplishment, but many applicants are so excited about getting in and not having to think anymore about their applications that they fail to consider important financial matters, leaving thousands of dollars on the table. 

Not discussing or negotiating better scholarship offers is a huge mistake. However, successfully doing so is a delicate art that must be approached with a clear strategy and winning technique. 

Since this can be a difficult and uncomfortable process for many applicants, we’ve compiled a list of our best tips and tricks that our clients have used to double their scholarship offers from elite MBA programs. 

 

When will the school tell me if I got a scholarship?

First of all, it is important to understand at what point in the process you will receive notice of your scholarship. 

Most schools will give you information about any scholarships you received when they email you your official acceptance letter. If they don’t mention any scholarships in the letter, however, this does not mean that you were not awarded any scholarship money.

INSEAD, for example, offers two types of scholarships, one directly from the school (if you receive this one, you’ll be notified when you’re offered admission) and one you must apply separately for (the winners of these scholarships are notified several weeks later). 

As such, make sure you research the school’s scholarship process. If they simply haven’t released scholarship awards yet, the best policy is to sit tight and wait for an update. 

 

What can I do if I’m not happy with my scholarship?

Though receiving a scholarship is always an honor, if you’re relying on scholarships to help make your dream of attending a top business school a possibility, a minimal scholarship can come as a disappointment. If you were hoping for a scholarship and didn’t receive one, it can even put a damper on the great news that you’ve landed a spot at your target MBA program. 

The good news is that everything is negotiable and you have nothing to lose!

To start off the process, we suggest sending a polite email to the school. The letter should reinforce your interest in the program, thank them for any scholarship offer they did make you, and ask if you can be reconsidered for any scholarships, given the fact that you are very interested in their program.

While you wait for your answer, consider any elements of your profile you think are particularly relevant in convincing them to increase your offer. One of the biggest factors is scholarship offers from other programs, which we’ve covered in depth below. 

Other factors include a higher GMAT score, a promotion or other improvement to your professional profile, or even value you think you can contribute to the community that wasn’t fully covered in your application. 

If you have updated or extenuating financial circumstances, this can also be very important to mention. For example, last year our client Marcus was accepted into his dream school with a generous scholarship. He planned to fund the majority of his MBA using a loan, but given currency fluctuations, was still $15,000 short after exhausting all potential funding sources. At this point, we returned to the school and asked if it would be possible to increase his scholarship and make it possible for him to attend the program, a request they granted!

NOTE: With the economic effects of COVID-19 causing many more people to apply for scholarships, funding may be more limited this year than in previous years. We always suggest trying every avenue possible but keep in mind that with increased demand, scholarship increases may be harder to obtain this year. 

 

Build your best argument

As with all types of negotiations, your final result is likely to be more favorable if you have leverage you can employ during the negotiation process. 

Leverage, however, must be relevant to the negotiation. In the case of MBA scholarships, one of the greatest forms of leverage is offers from other schools. 

For example, if School A originally gave you $10K, you can then go to School B and ask if they can match or improve upon the offer you received. 

That’s because, in the world of elite MBAs, schools want to attract and retain top talents who share their values. As such, though many schools do offer comprehensive financial aid options – Stanford made big waves this year in rolling out an impressively generous financial aid policy – scholarships are ultimately a great tool for programs to lure the candidates they want most to their programs. 

After all, if you could choose between attending your top choice school full price or your second choice school for free, it would be challenging to leave so much free money on the table. 

 

Best practices

When thinking about how to use offers from other programs as part of your strategy, it’s important to keep a few best practices in mind. 

First, you will be much more successful if you negotiate using a scholarship offer from a peer school. For example, if you were admitted at Harvard Business School (consistently ranked one of the best business schools in the world) without a scholarship and were admitted at a relatively low ranked school (perhaps ranked #20 or #30) with a full scholarship. In this case, Harvard is unlikely to match the offer, as the school you are leveraging is not a direct competitor. 

If the tables were turned, however, and Harvard offered you a scholarship while a lower-ranked school did not, you would likely have more success in increasing your scholarship amount at the lower-ranked institution.

For example, a few years ago, I worked with our client Rafael, whose main focus was to attend an MBA in the US for the best price possible. After being admitted to both USC Marshall and Vanderbilt Owen, he found he had received $80K from Marshall and just $65K from Vanderbilt. After several back-and-forth negotiations, we were able to increase his offer from Vanderbilt to nearly $100K, which sealed the deal for Rafael. 

TOP TIP: When negotiating with the schools, they may ask you to provide documentation that proves another program offered you a scholarship. Though you certainly don’t have to provide this documentation, showing that you did indeed receive an offer will greatly help your case!

 

Contact the school 

After you’ve developed your negotiation strategy, it’s time to get in touch with the school. By masterfully managing your communication (including deciding what to say, how to say it, and when to say it), you’ll greatly increase your chances of obtaining more scholarship money.

 

Make sure they understand why they should reconsider

When asking for something, a good place to start is to consider the question: “Why should they give me what I want?” 

Though you may feel you deserve a scholarship (or larger scholarship), the school did not initially agree with you. Changing their mind requires showing them why they should reconsider their decision. By giving them a reason to rethink their offer, you’re much more likely to reach your goal of increasing your scholarship amount. 

For example, last year we worked with our client Alexander to secure admissions into two top European business schools. He accepted his top-choice school’s offer, but was disappointed to learn that he had not received a scholarship. At this point, we developed a strategy to ask the school to reconsider. Though it had only been a few weeks since receiving his offer letter, he had already actively participated in the community and had increased his GMAT score by 30 points. As such, by demonstrating to the school how he had worked hard to both build his network at the school and improve his profile allowed him to obtain a $30K scholarship at his target program. 

As such, try to devise better reasons for wanting a scholarship (or bigger scholarship) than “MBAs are expensive.” By showing how you have improved your profile, have added value to the community, or have new financial issues that increase your need, you’re well on your way to developing a convincing argument!

 

Best practices for contact

When interacting with the schools, it’s important to employ the optimal communication style to ensure you reach your goal of increasing your MBA scholarship. These best practices may seem simple, but following them diligently is the key to success. 

1. Be sincere

Though you may think a highly-convoluted argument will push you one step closer to getting what you want, in reality, sincerity is the best approach for all communication with the school. Instead of bragging about your achievements, respectfully demonstrating what you feel you can contribute and politely asking the school to reconsider (while highlighting what an honor a scholarship would be for you) is much more likely to succeed. 

2. Don’t be rude or demanding

This should seem obvious, but remember, you are trying to get them to help you, so making threats or demands is not likely to work. At the end of the day, they do not have to offer you anything, so make sure you remain polite throughout the entire process. 

3. Keep it short and sweet

If you do end up negotiating with the school, keep your communication focused and concise. A 10-page essay on why you think you should receive additional scholarship money will likely get thrown out before your counterpart even reads the first word. By constructing a simple yet powerful argument, you’re much more likely to cut through the noise and connect with your counterpart. 

 

Make sure you approach the right person

The admissions department at any business school is often responsible only for admissions. This means they are not always involved in the scholarship process. 

When you work to negotiate a scholarship, it’s important to negotiate with the right people. These people are most often in the financial aid department. If you are not sure who this is, call or email the school and ask if they can put you in touch with the financial aid officer in charge of your application.

 

Follow up!

No one likes being called 1,000 times, however, it’s important to follow up on your request to have your MBA scholarship reconsidered. 

Though you don’t want to call hundreds of times or send daily emails, checking in with the school periodically (especially if you have a new development to your profile that influences your scholarship decision) ensures you’re able to get what you want. 

For example, our client Luis was admitted to Chicago Booth’s MBA/MPA dual-degree program with a $25k scholarship. Though he was grateful to receive this amount, the fact that he and his wife would both be doing an MBA and considering the fact that he would be paying for two degrees of his own meant his budget was stretched. 

After receiving the offer, we immediately got in touch with the school, highlighting updates to his profile and financial constraints we felt were relevant. Luckily, they awarded Luis another $10k. At this time, however, currency fluctuations caused the MBA to become even more expensive, so we continued the conversation. Though we initially received a final determination that they weren’t able to grant any additional funding, a well-timed call to Luis’ contact allowed us to secure an additional $10k in funding!

Remember, you’ll never know what your options are unless you ask. As long as you are polite and professional, you have nothing to lose, so follow up! 

 

Leverage our expertise

Here at Ellin Lolis Consulting, we pride ourselves on supporting our clients throughout the entire MBA application process. 

We dedicate all of our energy and expertise to give you the confidence that you are taking the right steps toward your future with the information you need to make the best decisions, including securing the best possible scholarships for your business school journey. 

That’s the approach we took with our client Luiza. In her words: 

“Ellin and her team made this MBA pursuing this journey something much smoother and light for me! They are very organized and give you this special personal service that makes all the difference. I felt they really understood who I am and were ready to make me confident every step of the way. 

They were available 24/7, which made me feel supported, secured and appreciated. All in all, it was an amazing self-knowledge and learning process, and I passed at my first choice school (INSEAD) with a €40,000 scholarship!”

If you’re ready to put the Ellin Lolis advantage to work for you in negotiating your MBA scholarship, get in touch with us!