How to Negotiate an MBA Scholarship (with Examples!)

The MBA degree comes with a hefty price tag: $205,763 on average, according to BusinessBecause. This includes tuition, application and course fees, school materials, rent and living expenses, health insurance, and transportation for a 2-year MBA program. Note that this does not include the opportunity cost of missing out on 2 years of employment!

Unsurprisingly, many applicants take out loans to fund their MBA. Bloomberg estimates that the median MBA student debt is $58,415 across a sample of 77 MBA programs. For M7 programs, the average debt is $131,366.

Clearly this cost is a major factor for candidates who are self-funding their program (not sponsored by their employer), and particularly for candidates from low-income families and developing economies. With the job market seeing a significant downturn in hiring in 2025, it’s likely that you might be thinking twice about taking on debt to pursue an MBA. And unless you have a fat inheritance coming your way or a trust fund, you’ll need a plan to fund your education.

That’s where scholarships come in. MBA programs offer a range of scholarships, fellowships, and other funding options to sweeten the pot for candidates that the schools really want.

Who receives MBA scholarships?

Which candidates does AdCom consider for scholarships, and what factors do they use to evaluate them? The Scholarship Evaluation Committees at business schools typically consider several key elements when determining scholarship recipients:

Academic merit: Scholarship recipients often have grades well above the class average. At leading business schools, the average GPA is around 3.6 on a 4 point scale. Schools also want to see a high GMAT/GRE score, which tells them that you will be able to manage their challenging coursework. A more understated reason is that your GMAT/GRE score contributes to their annual MBA rankings, and students who raise the class average can help them move up in the list. 

Professional experience: Reviewers take into account the length of your career, your seniority in the company, management responsibilities, the measurable impact of your work, as well as the industries and business functions you've contributed to.

Extracurricular involvement: Beyond the workplace, how have you meaningfully and consistently engaged with the world? The scholarship evaluation, much like the MBA admission evaluation, is a holistic process – which means that volunteer work, high-impact projects, and community engagement can significantly boost your chances.

Career goals: Admissions teams look for candidates with clear, achievable goals. Demonstrating a strong sense of direction and showing how the MBA will help you meet both your short-term and long-term career objectives will strengthen your case for a scholarship.

Diversity and inclusion: To foster a diverse and inclusive learning environment, business schools often use scholarships to attract candidates from diverse backgrounds who can offer unique perspectives in the MBA class.

School fit: Scholarship committees, like admissions teams, value applicants who have made a genuine effort to engage with the school community—by actively attending events, speaking with students and alumni, and showing a genuine interest in the program.

Do Full-Ride Scholarships exist for MBA programs?

Yes! Full ride scholarships exist for MBA programs. Several of our clients have received full scholarships to top schools. What those applicants had in common: a strong GPA and GMAT score, meaningful extracurriculars, impactful work experience, unique demographics, and clear post-MBA goals.

In 2023-24, our clients received 5 full-ride scholarships for their MBAs. Overall, 31% of admitted clients received scholarship offers, sharing $2,398,000 of scholarships between them (averaging $43,600 each).

See our full performance report here.

Case Studies: 

Jasmin and Sejal both secured full-ride scholarships to NYU Stern. Here’s how they did it:

What if I received an MBA scholarship, but not from my top choice school?

If you have secured multiple offers of admission, you are in a strong position to negotiate scholarships. A common situation that we’ve seen with our clients is that applicants receive an offer of admission from their top choice of school (without scholarship) and an offer from a less-preferred school (without scholarship).

In this case, your negotiation strategy should be to inform the top choice school of the competing offer, and politely request if they would be willing to match it/ offer you a scholarship. There is no guarantee that your top choice school will reply positively, but it’s worth a try.

Case Study:

Many of our clients have had incredible success with negotiating scholarships. Like Nikita, who received admits from NYU Stern and Chicago Booth. She had a full-ride scholarship at NYU Stern, while Booth didn’t offer her any money. 

She negotiated with Booth using the NYU scholarship, and was initially offered $80,000. But that wasn’t enough. In a rare move, she went back to the bargaining table, after which Booth revised their offer to $120,000 – which sweetened the pot enough for her to say yes to becoming a Boothie. 

Can a school withdraw my offer if I ask for a scholarship?

After making you an offer, the school is technically within their rights to withdraw this until you’ve paid your deposit and passed the background checks. 

However, a school will not withdraw an offer from a candidate for requesting a scholarship reconsideration. In fact, if handled politely and professionally, your scholarship negotiation can show the school that you’re a top candidate for business school. The only risk is if you handle the negotiation poorly, such as by sounding rude or entitled.

So, as long as you are polite and professional in your scholarship negotiation, there is no downside to negotiating a scholarship.

What if a school says they do not negotiate scholarships?

Some schools have made attempts to discourage admitted candidates from negotiating scholarships. For example, recent offer letters to Wharton and Columbia admits included statements along the lines of “we do not reconsider scholarships”.

However, in our experience, that’s not entirely true. While certainly more challenging, we have successfully negotiated scholarships for clients in the past from these schools, despite this stance. It seems schools would prefer to negotiate with a top candidate they want than lose them!

What if I received an MBA scholarship, but not from my top choice school?

To be in a strong position to negotiate scholarships, you need to have secured multiple offers of admission, and preferably some with scholarship money.

These competing offers should be from schools that your top choice school feels are “peer” schools.

For example: An M7 school will be more inclined to increase your scholarship if you have a scholarship from another M7. 

Alternatively, if you received a large scholarship from another lower-ranked school (eg. T15), your target school (M7) may still be open to negotiations. In this case the M7 may not match the sum from the T15, but is likely to offer some funding to narrow the difference.

How do I negotiate an MBA scholarship?

Some business schools offer merit-based scholarships that applicants are automatically eligible for upon submitting their MBA applications. For other schools, you may have to write an extra scholarship essay to apply. There are also additional scholarships that could be need-based, merit-based, or offered by external organizations. 

For more information about which scholarships to apply for, how to write a strong scholarship essay, and what kind of questions you can expect in different scholarship applications, check out our blog: How to Write an MBA Scholarship Essay.

Case Study:

Raveena received scholarships worth $160,000 for Wharton by meticulously applying for every scholarship and grant she was eligible for.

Steps to negotiate an MBA scholarship

These are the steps we recommend to negotiate a scholarship offer at your target school:

1. Begin by expressing your sincere gratitude for being offered admission.

2. Emphasize why this specific program aligns so closely with your long-term ambitions. Go beyond general statements. Show genuine enthusiasm and clearly explain how the school’s unique resources, values, or curriculum match your goals.

3. Explain that a recent development—whether it’s a competing scholarship offer or a change in your personal financial situation—has made it more challenging for you to enroll, despite your strong desire to attend.

4. Politely ask whether there might be any room for additional financial support or scholarship assistance.

5. Close by again thanking the admissions team for the opportunity, and express your hope that circumstances will allow you to join the program and fully pursue the aspirations you’ve outlined.

Scholarship negotiation letter example:

Here’s an example of a scholarship negotiation letter that an admitted candidate could send to a top MBA program:

Dear (name of admissions officer), 

I want to express my sincere gratitude to be extended an offer to attend the [School Name] full-time MBA program as part of the class of 2026.

After thorough research and engaging with current students and alumni, I remain convinced that [School Name] is the ideal fit for me. The program’s strengths in [mention a few specific areas, e.g., leadership development, entrepreneurship, or global business] and its collaborative culture align exactly with my career goals of [insert career goals].

I am writing to inquire whether there may be flexibility to reconsider my current scholarship offer. I have recently received a scholarship from [Other School Name] in the amount of [$XX,000], and was wondering if [School Name] would be able to match it to reduce my financial liability and make it more feasible for me to attend the MBA program. I’m happy to share a copy of the award letter for your reference, if you would like.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration. 

Yours sincerely,

(Applicant name)

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Do you need help maximizing your chances of getting a scholarship, or negotiating existing scholarship offers? Book a chat with us now.