Should a Business School Scholarship Impact Your MBA Choice?
A brief look at Clear Admit MBA DecisionWire appears to indicate that more and more leading MBA programs are offering scholarship money, either need-based or merit-based, to encourage admitted candidates to enroll. This may be the result of competing for a smaller pool of top applicants amidst declining application volume (particularly in the USA and Europe).
This scholarship money reduces the price of the MBA, and therefore alters the calculus in terms of the cost-benefit analysis of the program. If you do have admissions offers from multiple programs, some of which include scholarship money, you will need to weigh whether the reduced cost alters your order of preference for schools.
Cases where scholarship dollars can alter your order of preferences include:
- Career Goal Impact: When your career aspirations, both short-term and long-term, are not impacted by choosing the program that would be from a lower-tier. For example, you are not seeking a career in consulting at the elite consulting firms, which generally focus their recruiting at the very top schools. Nor are you seeking opportunities in private equity and venture capital – jobs in this field are scarce and very much limited to top schools with strong networks in the domain. Perhaps you know where you plan to be post-MBA regarding geography, and the school that is offering you scholarship has a significant alumni presence in that region which would facilitate achieving your goals.
- Scholarship Prestige: The scholarship award is prestigious at the school, and offers you opportunities at that program that are not available to the general student body. For example, you may have access to a special mentor program. A ‘named’ scholarship is also something you can place on your resume, helping you to stand out from other students at the school. These advantages might be enough to sway a decision in favor of a lower-tier program, but they are only really compelling if your recruiting goals are not geared towards the firms that concentrate their hiring at the very top programs, as noted above.
Fundamentally, it is important to weigh a scholarship offer from both a short- and long-term perspective. While it might be compelling in the short-term to graduate from your MBA program with $100,000 less in debt thanks to a scholarship, that $100,000 in savings, discounted over a 40 year post-MBA career, may be small compared to the better career opportunities afforded by a more prestigious MBA program. This is exponentially more important when your career goals are targeting the high-paying careers of consulting, banking and tech – not to mention that those jobs often come with significant signing bonuses which can instantly help with some of those tuition loans. However, if your career is targeted to social impact and non-profit, and other careers that generally don’t pay as high a salary, the value of the scholarship, and reduced debt upon graduation, is more appealing.
Finally, if you are an international student, you need to factor in your desire to remain in the country or region of your MBA program, and how important that is, based on your potential to earn the same salary in your home country. A number of international students are using the MBA to help them relocate, but given the current immigration environment, the potential for doing this may be more limited. A scholarship, lowering the cost of the MBA, reduces the risk to the student who has to return to their home country upon graduation. The counter argument is, the more prestigious the MBA program to which you gain admission, the greater your opportunity of getting an offer that allows you to remain in the country of the MBA.
Overall, it can be tempting to jump at a substantial scholarship – especially when the loans one takes for an MBA program seem truly daunting. But in the end, just as with investing in the stock market, a long view is needed when computing the true value of such scholarships.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.
What are the Fastest MBA Programs in Boston?
Some students want to complete their MBA coursework as quickly and efficiently as possible—time is money after all! Continue reading…
Your Essential Guide to Pre-MBA Diversity Conferences, Boot Camps, and Forums
Several organizations are focused on helping increase the pipeline of underrepresented demographics—such as women, LGBTQ students, and those from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds—to business school and the larger business world. As part of these efforts, many host MBA diversity conferences, boot camps, and forums providing recruiting and networking opportunities to admitted students headed off to business school in the fall. For eligible participants, these opportunities, designed to provide a head start for students in the MBA recruiting process before they even arrive on campus, are well worth pursuing.
Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference
The Forté Foundation, a non-profit consortium of leading companies and top business schools, works specifically to expand opportunities for women in business through a range of financial and educational opportunities. A centerpiece of these efforts is the annual Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference, which will take place this year in Atlanta on June 15 and 16. Registration is now open for both current business school students and those slated to start their MBA programs next fall.
The two-day conference provides an opportunity for women pursuing their MBA to connect with hundreds of other like-minded students. Billed as a chance to “learn from highly successful business leaders how to develop stand-out skills and project an authentic leadership style,” it also presents valuable networking opportunities. Highlights of this year’s conference include a meet and greet with Fortune 100 recruiters, more than 150 speakers and presentations from a variety of industries and career paths, and a keynote lecture by USA Today Editor-In-Chief Joanne Lipman. Conference attendees can also take part in the Forté Power Pitch Competition, pitching their ventures to a panel of judges for a chance at cash prizes.
Reaching Out MBA Conference
LGBTQ+ students and their allies should familiarize themselves, if they are not already, with Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA). This organization focuses on educating current and prospective MBA students on LGBTQ-specific issues and connecting current LGBTQ students with each other and with alumni communities.
“The conference connects more than 1,600 members of the LGBTQ MBA student and alumni community with more than 90 companies looking specifically or LGBTQ talent,” ROMBA Executive Director Matt Kidd explains. Registration is now open for this year’s conference, which will take place in Minneapolis on October 4th through 6th.
ROMBA also helps prepare students in advance of the conference. “We want to ensure they are well positioned for their conversations with our corporate partners at the conference and beyond,” Kidd adds. ROMBA also offers pre-admission mentoring, a summer consulting project, and webinars designed to help students gain a full understanding of the industries represented at the conference.
MBA JumpStart
Unlike Forté and ROMBA, which focus on specific student demographic groups, other organizations offer pre-MBA opportunities for students from a range of diverse backgrounds. One such organization, JumpStart Advisory Group (JSAG), provides an array of resources and tools through its ongoing Diversity Forums.
JumpStart will host its Brand Management and Marketing Diversity Forum in Philadelphia on May 20th and 21st and its Financial Services and Consulting Diversity Forum in Chicago from July 10th through 13th. In Chicago, finance will be the focus on Tuesday and Wednesday and consulting on Thursday and Friday, although enrolled students interested in learning about both industries can choose to attend the entire event.
“Selected students from top-tier MBA programs attend industry-specific workshops, are introduced to case studies, and are provided with endless opportunities for networking with corporate partner representatives and other incoming MBA students prior to matriculation,” according to the JumpStart website. Students interested in attending should apply here by May 13.
“Diversity for MBA JumpStart is defined as individuals that are under-represented in business including women, Black, African-American, or of African descent, Hispanic, Latin-American, or of Latin descent, Native American or American Indian, Asian and Pacific Islander,” the website notes.
School-Year Fellowship Opportunities
In addition to pre-MBA conferences and workshops, students from diverse backgrounds can also apply for a range of fellowship opportunities once they have been admitted to a leading MBA program.
The Toigo Foundation, which is focused on the finance industry, aims to prepare under-represented MBA students for leadership roles and help foster environments where diverse students can thrive during and after their MBA. Recipients of the Toigo Fellowship participate in two weekends of intense training during each year of their MBA program. These training sessions include leadership development and mentoring, networking opportunities, and the chance to make lasting connections across a range of financial industries. Applications are due by April 30, and financial awards vary depending on achievement and financial need. “The selection of each year’s class of Toigo Fellows is a fluid process and not limited to a specific number,” notes the Tioga website. “Recently, we have selected as many as 80 students (from our applicant pool of nearly 400) to become Toigo Fellows.”
In addition to the nonprofit organizations listed above, many well-known corporations also offer fellowship programs of their own that include financial assistance, conferences, and bootcamp-style experiences for students of color, LGBTQ students, and students with disabilities.
For example, Bank of America Merrill Lynch offers a $40,000 fellowship toward first-year tuition as well as a paid summer internship and opportunities for additional funding in the second year of business school. Goldman Sachs features a similar MBA fellowship program that provides funding to cover first-year tuition, a guaranteed summer associate salary, and a signing bonus that carries an additional $40,000 award upon acceptance of a post-MBA full-time offer. To learn about even more corporate MBA fellowship opportunities, click here.
Now, we understand completely that the thought of another application process on the heels of applying to business school may seem groan-worthy to many. But for students from diverse backgrounds, exploring the opportunities presented as part of these pre-MBA diversity conferences, boot camps, forums, and fellowship programs can certainly make the additional effort pay off.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.
The Stanford MBA Job Journey, and More – San Francisco News
Want to stay on top of the latest business school news out of Silicon Valley? We’ve got your San Francisco news covered!
Exploration Helped Her Find the Right Hands-On Job — Stanford GSB School News
Celina Johnson, Stanford GSB MBA ‘08, is currently the COO of Man Crates, a San Mateo-based company that sells gifts for men. But these aren’t just any typical gifts—they are special presents enclosed in wooden crates that recipients have to open with a crowbar. Meanwhile, gift cards come in concrete bricks that must be smashed; certainly not your average Pollyanna affair.
In a recent interview with her alma mater, she discusses not only her current role at Man Crates, but also also how her experience at Stanford helped get her there.
“In my first meeting with the Stanford GSB Career Management Center, they asked me what my goal was, and I said I wanted to work ‘at a company.’ I knew that I wanted to move out of investing. I loved the strategic part of it, but I felt that something was missing. I wanted to roll up my sleeves and execute,” Johnson says.
Johnson graduated right before the peak of the Great Recession, which, thankfully for her sake, didn’t seem to hamper her career outcome. Her first role after earning her degree was with Sears-owned Orchard Supply Hardware, which had a headquarters in nearby San Jose. She left after five years, saying “If investing was a lot of strategy and not enough execution, Orchard was a lot of execution and not enough strategy.”
Stanford ’08 MBA alum Celina Johnson, COO of Man Crates / Photo via Emily Billings
Rather than working from the ground up, Johnson felt her particularly skills were best utilized in a “company that already had product-market fit where my skills could be applied to improving the business.” Months after her Orchard Supply Hardware departure, she connected Stanford ’09 MBA alum Jonathan Beekman, who had already begun growing his Man Crates team.
You can read more about Johnson’s journey here.
Delphine Sherman Named as Haas Chief Financial Officer — Haas School News
Delphine Sherman, who graduated from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business with an MBA in 2006, has been named as the school’s new chief financial officer. An expert in the areas of education and financial management, Sherman told her alma mater that she is excited to take on the challenges of her new job.
“It’s a very exciting time to see how far the school has come during this really challenging financial time at the university,” she said. “I’d love to capitalize on that and bring in some strategy around what we want our long-range plan to look like—diving into the long-term and where we go from here.”
Learn more about Sherman and her credentials here.
SCU’s McChesney to Lead Jesuit MBA Network — Leavey School News
Toby McChesney was recently named the chair of the Jesuit MBA Network (JEBNET) — a worldwide network made up of 27 AACSB-accredited Catholic, Jesuit institutions and three Catholic institutions, works towards helping people earn their MBA. McChesney led the graduate programs at the Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business over the past 18 months as the school’s senior assistant dean for graduate business programs. As chair, McChesney will lead these meetings and become the face of JEBNET.
“I am honored to be selected as the chair of JEBNET where I can use my expertise to ensure that the group continues to thrive in graduate management education,” said McChesney, who will serve a three year term. “I look forward to working closely with other Jesuit business school leaders in ways that will benefit the entire network over the next three years.”
Learn more about McChesney and JEBNET here.
Admissions Tip: How to Reapply to Business School
Consulting expert Alex Brown from Clear Admit recently offered up four incredibly valuable tips for potential students who want to reapply for a business degree, which you can read below.
With many MBA programs getting close to being ready to release their final round decisions, the application season will soon be coming to a close. While we would like to hope that today’s topic isn’t apropos for too many of our readers, we wanted to offer some advice to applicants who’ve been rejected from their preferred programs and are planning on reapplying next season. While it’s important to take some time to deal with the disappointment, it’s never too early to begin thinking about the next season, and there are a number of steps you can take to improve your candidacy and move toward a stronger application.
Reevaluate.
While it’s certainly difficult when things don’t go as planned, this is actually a great chance to take stock of your career and goals and to make sure that an MBA is still a logical and necessary step at this point. It’s this sort of reflection that can lead to refined career goals and a clearer sense of the reasons you need a business education.
Revisit your applications.
Once you’ve gained some distance from the emotional and time-consuming application process, it’s wise to review the materials you submitted to the schools with a critical eye. Having learned much about the process simply by applying, it’s likely that you’ll be able to identify a number of things that you could have done better. Whether you suspect your downfall was something like a strategic misstep in an essay or interview or a more glaring weakness like a low GMAT or lack of extracurricular involvement, there is plenty of time to address your shortcomings before submitting an application next year.
Consider your data points.
Your results this year may reflect some valuable information about your competitiveness at a top program. It’s important that you only apply to schools that you would be happy attending, but if you were unsuccessful at all of the programs to which you applied, it might be time to think about how realistic your list of target schools was and to add a few more to the mix. This is especially true for applicants who only applied to one or two programs this time around; there is an element of randomness and luck in the admissions process, and no matter how qualified the applicant, we recommend that a candidate target four to six programs to have a strong chance of success.
Schedule a feedback session, if applicable.
While it’s possible that you’ve identified your weaknesses in retrospect or even were aware of them when you went into the process, if you’ve been denied by a school that offers feedback to applicants and are planning on reapplying, you should absolutely take advantage of this opportunity to learn of the adcom’s perspective and demonstrate your commitment to the program. In fact, reapplying without seeking feedback when offered can raise questions for the adcom about how seriously an applicant is taking the process and the school. Of course, some schools do not offer feedback to anyone and others, such as Tuck, selectively offer feedback only to particularly promising candidates. There is naturally high demand for this service at programs that provide slots on a first-come, first-served basis, so it’s important that you make a point of requesting a feedback session at the earliest possible time.
McDonough FinTech Partnership Announced, and More – Washington DC News
What’s new in Washington DC’s business school scene lately? Let’s take a look in this week’s edition of our DC news roundup.
McDonough Announces Partnership for Global Fintech Innovation and Education — McDonough News
The McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University has partnered with the Fintech Consortium (FinCon) and announced a collaborative effort on a number of initiatives related to innovation and education in the rapidly growing field.
“Everything from technological advances like fintech or the impacts of globalization is changing the way business operates. Jobs are going to look different than they have in the past,” said Paul Almeida, dean of the McDonough School of Business. “This is why it is important for schools like Georgetown McDonough to ensure our students and alumni gain the right skills, mindsets, and relationships to be successful. This is why our faculty need to be at the forefront of producing thought leadership about these changes. And, this is why we must be innovative in our approaches to changing how and what we teach.”
According to the school, upcoming projects include the development of fintech certificate and degree programs, joint innovation labs, joint research and publication, and the exchange of fintech ecosystem data. FinCon will also invite McDonough faculty and students to take advantage of its global hubs in Singapore and Bahrain for the purposes of research and academic residencies.
You can learn more about this exciting fintech news here.
Anuj Mehrotra Named Dean of GWSB — GW News & Events
Anuj Mehrotra, a longtime administrator, researcher and faculty member at the University of Miami, will join the George Washington University School of Business this summer as the school’s new dean.
“‘I look forward to working with the school’s world-class faculty, professional staff, alumni, board members and other supporters as we continue to strengthen the school’s programs by anticipating and adapting to the shifting needs of students and the business community,’ Mehrotra said.”
Mehrotra has a track record of innovating MBA programs. At Miami, he led the development and launch of more than 10 new programs, including an online MBA and the Miami Executive MBA for the Americas, among others. He also taught various MBA and EMBA classes at Miami and Carnegie Mellon University.
Anuj Mehrotra
Read more about Mehrotra and his plans for GWSB here.
Alumnus and Podcaster Oscar Zeballos Talks Leveraging Unfair Advantages on Bootstrapping — News at Smith
The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business produces its own podcast, Bootstrapped. Hosted by Elana Fine, Executive Director of the Dingman Center, and Joe Bailey, associate research professor at UMD Smith, each episode features interviews with founders, investors, and serial entrepreneurs.
The newest episode of the podcast gets a little meta, as UMD alumnus Oscar Zeballos EMBA 16, co-founder of Podcast Village and executive producer of Bootstrapped, joins the show to discuss the business model behind his podcast company and the future of podcasting.
To listen to the podcast, subscribe to Dingman Bootstrapped on iTunes or download the episodes on the Dingman Center website.
