SCHOLARSHIP OFFERS OFTEN COMPLICATE APPLICANT DECISIONS

Chimni says that one of his clients with multiple $140,000+ scholarships had a $50,000 offer from Yale’s School of Management. “She told Yale that she is interested and Yale upped their offer to $150,000,” he says. Adds White of Menlo Coaching: “I saw UNC Kenan-Flagler make a $96,000 offer to someone who had already declined admission. Emory then matched the offer instantly. This year, I have seen Cornell sending invites to applicants pushing them to apply for the Park Fellowship even after they’ve submitted an application indicating no interest in it.”

Throwing scholarship money into the equation often makes an applicant’s decision that much more complicated. “We had a client, let’s call him Mark, who was accepted to UCLA Anderson with a material scholarship,” adds Abraham. “He was also rejected after an interview at Wharton, which was his first choice. He was very disappointed. Initially, he thought about rejecting Anderson’s offer and re-applying to Wharton and UCLA. However, his consultant persuaded him to think again.

“After his MBA Mark planned to settle in the Los Angeles area, which is where he is from. Accepting UCLA’s offer meant that he would graduate with significantly less debt, start his post-MBA career (and salary) a year earlier, and easily make connections and network in Los Angeles while in business school. He knew that Anderson’s network and brand in Southern California are outstanding. He also realized there is no guarantee that he would be accepted as a reapplicant to Wharton or that UCLA would extend the same offer to him next year. The scholarship cinched the deal for him. In the end, he enrolled very happily at UCLA.”

THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THE SCHOLARSHIP GAME

Another Accepted.com client was accepted to Emory with a sizable scholarship and to Darden, which had been the client’s strong first choice, with no funding. “The difference in dollars made her look into Emory more closely,” adds Abraham. “She realized that she can accomplish her goals at Emory at a materially lower cost. She is currently leaning toward accepting Emory’s offer.”

Scholarships can also have unintended consequences. “We have a client who was accepted to Booth with a large scholarship and to Wharton with a smaller scholarship,” says Abraham. “She hasn’t yet decided where she’s going to attend because she decided to submit a round two application to HBS. The acceptances with scholarship money gave her the confidence to try for Harvard.”

And grants can have influence over candidates who might have been sponsored by their employers for an MBA. “Scholarships impact decisions around specific schools but also whether or not to accept funding from pre-MBA employers,” believes Aitken of MBA Prep School. “Increasingly I’ve seen applicants view scholarships as offering freedom to ‘escape’ the safety of pre-MBA employers and enable talented applicants to more boldly pursue their career goals and dreams.”

‘FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF MBA STUDENTS, AFFORDABILITY IS ON THEIR MIND’

That’s also a positive benefit to the scholarship game, but it really comes down to something more simple: affordability. Darden Dean Beardsley discounts the thought that applicants should choose an MBA program solely on the basis of how much money a school will give them. “It is not and should not be a bidding war,” he says. “Fit, quality of education and career outcomes matter too. Some applicants have no financial need and simply want to attend the highest-ranked school they can get into. But for the vast majority, affordability is on their mind. Scholarships are a signal that you are willing to invest in someone’s future.”