Scholarships for Postgraduate, MBA, and PhD Studies in the USA

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MBAs are a very big investment. An MBA from a big school can easily cost $100,000 in fees and living expenses, even without the opportunity cost of no salary for 2 years.

There are a number of ways you can pay for the MBA, the main ones being grants and scholarships, loans and employer sponsorship.

There are a number of grants and scholarships available in the US, and a good source of information on these is the admission departments of the business schools themselves. Most scholarships have a lengthy application process so be sure to start looking at your funding options well in advance of being accepted. This is especially true if you are looking at studying outside of your home country.

The main loans available for MBA students are the Federal Stafford Loan, William D Ford Federal Direct loans and Federal Perkins loans.

Though few and far between, there are some universities in the US that provide financial aid and student scholarships to international students. However, you should keep the following points in mind:

•   The grant is limited and the pool of candidates is enormous,
•   It is often more readily available to Graduate rather than Undergraduate students,
•   Competition for international student scholarships and aid is fierce,
•   Schools are very choosy about picking the right candidates,
•   Good grades are extremely crucial in securing an international scholarship.

Note: To avoid disappointment, you may like to consider schools that have scholarships and the course of your choice.

Scholarships Available

Following are the organizations that provide international student scholarships and financial aid:

•   The Fulbright Grant:
Fulbright grants are available for international students in graduate school. The flagship international educational program sponsored by the United States Government, the Fulbright Program (
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) provides grants for Graduate Students, Scholars, Professionals, Teachers and Administrators.

•   Rotary International:
This organization provides limited international student scholarships.

•   AAUW:
This organization provides fellowships for international women graduate students.

•   American Councils for International Education:
The councils provide international student grants and fellowships to international students from the former Soviet republics.

•   Presidential Award:
This is for non-resident and International graduate students who have met graduate school requirements.

•   International Presidential Scholarship and International University Scholarship:
This award covers tuition reimbursement to qualified undergraduate domestic and international students.

Sources & Related Links:

•   International Education Financial Aid (iefa.org): This site provides a searchable database that contains various sources of aid available to international students. It is a free service.
•   International Student Loans (Internationalstudentloan.com): This site offers loans to international students, so long as the international student loan is co-signed by an American citizen.
•   Cornell University Graduate School Fellowship Notebook: This University contains a list of funding and international student scholarships available to graduate international students.
•   Scholarships in India (Scholarshipsinindia.com): This site provides information on scholarships for Indian students.

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