The significant cost of graduate education leads many applicants to pursue scholarships to help them fund their studies. After having identified the best-fit programs and written many detailed essays as part of their applications, applicants will often need to undergo one more round of research and storytelling in an effort to acquire that highly-coveted free money. This blog post will discuss different strategies for targeting and applying for need-based and merit-based graduate school scholarships.
Finding Scholarships
Most graduate programs have a designated fund available each year to offer scholarships to some of the admitted students. Many of these scholarships are merit-based, awarded at the time of admission, and most do not require any specific action for application or consideration. In addition to these program-awarded scholarships, many schools offer a list of other affiliated scholarships, such as IE Business School in Madrid, which promotes many of its own scholarships and those offered by partners of the university. Looking beyond what is offered by the school and its partners, there are several websites and databases dedicated to listing other private and public graduate school scholarships, such as GoGrad. When using these tools and embarking on one’s own scholarship search, it’s a good idea to seek out scholarships related to specific industries, social causes, and other niche aspects of the applicant’s profile, a list of which you can find on Scholarships.com.
Need-Based Scholarships
The purpose of a need-based scholarship is to support applicants who lack the financial resources to fund their education. Essays related to need-based scholarships are generally straightforward, asking the applicant to disclose their current financial situation, including personal savings and their plan to obtain the funds to finance their tuition and expenses. In most cases, the goal when writing a need-based scholarship essay or request is to be honest and realistic when portraying your financial situation and the potential for a financial award to make a significant impact on your studies, quality of life, future career choices, and other personal considerations, such as family financial support. Here’s an example of a need-based essay prompt from INSEAD:
In approximately 300 words provide a concise but accurate description of your financial circumstances as well as your budget for the programme. How do you expect to finance your studies if you do not obtain a scholarship from INSEAD? Why should INSEAD consider you for a scholarship? What amount do you consider appropriate?
In addition to sharing one’s financial breakdown, the question above invites the writer to make a case for their worthiness for a scholarship, to which the writer might respond by making a merit-based case (see below) and/or by making clear how a scholarship will provide relief to them and their family, offer peace of mind, and allow them to focus on their studies without the stress of financial burden.
Merit-Based Scholarships
Merit-based scholarships are awarded based on the applicant’s worthiness – their accomplishments, achievements, skills, and other attributes – and they come in many forms. Essays for merit-based scholarships can include questions about the applicant’s personal values, community or campus contributions, achievements, personal passions, how they hope to give back as an alumnus and more. The most straightforward questions will ask about recent achievements at work or other relevant personal or professional growth. But values-based questions invite the writer to compose a more complete picture of who they are and what they care about. Let’s look at a couple of examples.
Here’s a scholarship essay question from CMU Tepper, a school that cares a lot about social causes and student values:
At the Tepper School, we look for outspoken leaders who are willing to step up to inequality and strive to form an inclusive environment. What specific initiatives have you engaged in to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in your country, local community, place of work, or organization with which you are regularly involved?
To tackle this question, the applicant will want to bring forth their strongest example(s) of contributing to diversity, equity, and inclusion. It will be important to talk about how the specific actions you have taken illuminate your core values and any positive impacts that you have contributed to. Any story will be accentuated if you were in a leadership role. In response to this question, the writer will want to focus on their own story and how it demonstrates their commitment to diversity and inclusion. In the conclusion of this kind of essay, it is a good idea to make a statement about how they expect to carry this kind of work with them into their studies at CMU and beyond. This is best done by pointing to existing initiatives, clubs, or events at the university that the applicant intends to contribute to.
This essay from USC takes a different direction, focusing on the future by asking applicants about their intended contributions to their own communities following their graduate studies:
The University of Southern California has been known for its esteemed alumni, awarding degrees to individuals who embody Trojan ideals which include governors, university presidents, captains of industry, humanitarians, athletes, and even the first man on the moon. Our graduates not only reveal a rich tradition of leadership but also encompass a vision to inspire future innovation and change in their community. If you graduated from the MS GSCM program, what changes would you inspire in your community? (250 words)
This question will be best answered with an honest, realistic aspiration the writer has to make an impact in their community. To achieve this, identify a problem in a specific community, and talk about what tangible actions can be taken, whether through existing organizations and initiatives, or perhaps something new the writer hopes to start. The answer should be very personal and, in many cases, may reference some aspirations mentioned in the other application essays.
Requesting Additional Funding
In some cases, applicants will seek additional funding on top of a scholarship that has already been awarded, whether out of real financial need or because another school offered a bigger scholarship than their target school. When requesting additional funding because of financial need, the applicant can write an email to the admissions committee reiterating their situation and indicating that their ability to attend the program might be affected if they are not able to secure more scholarship funding. When requesting additional funding on the basis of merit, applicants will need to make the case for why their accomplishments and/or potential to contribute warrant a larger award. If the applicant would like to request a change to the school’s initial scholarship decision, they might indicate that they have received a more attractive scholarship offer from a different school, but that they prefer to attend their target school for various reasons. Applicants who find themselves in these situations should understand that schools occasionally increase scholarship offers, but that this is on a case-by-case basis and can be affected by timing, the availability of funds, and the number of applicants that round or year.
Conclusion
It was gratifying to see that our clients received over $900,000 in scholarship funding last year, knowing that obtaining a scholarship is a critical factor in making their graduate school dreams a reality. If you would like to learn how we guide clients to position themselves for scholarships at their ideal schools, feel free to reach out to us any time.