This is post is shorter than most of my email responses, but I thought it was worth posting because there are likely several folks out there with a similar question.
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LC wrote:
Hello Marquis,
I had a quick question for you if you don’t mind. I’m looking to apply to the Consortium for my applications to Haas, Anderson, and Marshall. Of course the GSB is not a member school and I wanted to reach out to you to get your perspective on similar fellowships that I could apply for in hopes of attending Stanford (my first choice).
LC
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My response:
Hi LC,
Unfortunately, a lot of the fellowships to help pay for MBA studies have dried up over the years. There were quite a few in the early 2000s, but now they’re pretty much few and far between.
It’s especially tough when it comes to a school like the GSB because, while they’re good with financial aid, the GSB is one of those places where folks are usually fine with taking out loans to attend. So, there aren’t a lot of fellowships through the school.
Here are a few options that might be worth looking into though:
- Stanford GSB Bonini Diversity fellowship: This is a full-tuition fellowship that requires you to either defer admission for a year to work for a sponsor company in exchange for 2 years of tuition or spend your MBA summer working for a sponsor company in exchange for 1 year of tuition followed by a second year of tuition if you accept a full-time job offer from the company. You’d apply for this through the GSB when you apply to the school. It is SUPER-competitive, so it’s tough play to win. But, if you can get it, you’ll find that it will provide an awesome work experience and will alleviate a significant debt burden for you. Go to http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/finaid/types/p4d.html for more information.
- Investment bank fellowships: if you have an interest in Banking, several of the big investment banks offer fellowships that you can apply for before you matriculate. These fellowships would pay for your first year, come with an internship, and also cover your second year if you accept a full-time offer. Off the top of my head, CSFB, Goldman, and a few others offered these back in the day, but I’m not sure which firms still have them.
- National Black MBA Association scholarship: You may already know about this one, but the NBMBAA offers a few scholarships in the $3000-$6000 range. I’m not really sure what their selection criteria is, but I know of a lot of folks who were going to top schools and had high GMAT scores (myself included) who were dinged for this one. When I look at the winners each year, I’m often surprised at how many of them aren’t from top-tier MBA programs. When it comes to figuring out how they choose recipients, I really can’t call it.
Outside of those, I can’t think of any major ones that are still active. Hope this list is helpful. I’ll keep my eye out for other ones too.
One more thing, if you’re interested in Consulting or I-banking, some of the firms will pay for the second year of B-school if you do your summer internship with them and accept an offer to go back after graduation. You might want to look into that as an option, as well.
Marquis
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