Any chance of getting a scholarship?

[forwardS]

Hello everyone.


I'm a 28-year-old guy from Greece and I have always wanted to go to a high ranked university, however my economic situation doesn't allow me to afford the expenses an MBA program abroad entails. So, about a month ago I decided to apply for the MBA International program of the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB). I was told that GMAT was a prerequisite so after searching on these forums I bought the Original guide and Kaplan's GMAT Premier Live Online and started studying. My exam was scheduled for today. AWA is not needed here, so I skipped the essays and managed to achieve a score as high as 730 (48Q, 41V) on my first attempt and only a month after I had started studying.

My bachelor's degree is in Marketing (from AUEB) and the past couple of years I have been working as sales inspector in a cigarette wholesaler.

Do I stand any chance of getting a scholarship in a high ranked university? If so I would really appreciate some guidance on this matter since I really don't know what my alternatives are at the moment.


Thank you.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear forwardS,

Scholarship awards at high-ranked universities are highly competitive--more so than admission. While it is not impossible to get a scholarship, most awards will not cover all expenses, only a percentage of tuition. So, depending on your financial situation, you will still need to cover a large part of your total expenses between tuition, fees, books, program costs, and living expenses. Additionally, scholarship awards, much like admission decisions, are based on more than a GMAT score. So whether or not you are competitive for any awards will depend on what your entire application looks like as a whole in relation to the rest of the applicant pool. In my opinion, I think it might be worth applying to some schools you identify as being a good match for you and your career goals--see what happens and what award you might receive.

Good luck,
Lisa