Forum: School selection (4 Comments)
Need help to know about the scholarships
Posted by - mch7 - on 28 April 2012 - 11:43pm
Hi,
I am from India. I want to go for MiM in Europe. However i m a bit wary about taking the decision for some reasons.
One of them being the finances. I would go for MiM only if i get the scholarship. I came to know about Bocconi offering 100% scholarship to students having GMAT score of 700 or more. I have been searching long but couldn't find any other college offering scholarship based on GMAT score. I am aware that past academics based scholarships are also offered. But am not sure whether my academic record is good enough for the scholarships.
Do the marks of 10th and 12th grade come into play for the consideration of scholarship.
I am an engineering 2011 graduate. I am not from any top colleges of India. Do the branding of Indian colleges matters to the European colleges' admission committees while reviewing the CV?
I have 76% (or CGPA 8.0 on a scale of 10) in my graduation. Is it good or bad for scholarship? I want to apply to top colleges like HEC, ESCP, LBS but I am afraid whether I stand any chance there considering my graduation marks and also because I have seen the students from the top colleges of India like IITs applying there.
Moreover, I don't have any international experience. I am willing to work hard doubly and try my best to score 700+ in GMAT. I want to know what are the colleges which can hopefully give me scholarship if I get a good score say 710 or 720 in GMAT. Whether I'll be able to get any scholarship from ESCP or HEC or LBS.
One more thing I want to know that do we have to show the proof through certificates of our extra-curriculars that we mention in our CV? I don't have any state or national level certificates but I have done a lot of volunteering work in my college, social awareness campaigns and some NGO work for which it is difficult to show the certificates.
Posted by - joydeepdebnath - on 10 October 2012 - 3:23pm
want to comment on that certification for any type of work..
During employment other than working for a NGO/ institution how can one get a Certification... ??
so in that case how can one show any proof of working in a particular company for 4-6 months..!!!!Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 10 October 2012 - 5:56pm
Hi there,
I qm not sure if I understand your question to be honest. I you work for an organization - no matter if within an internship or as an employee - you ask the respective organization for a certificate that includes a description of your responsibilities.
best wishes
Thomas
Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 29 April 2012 - 12:34pm
Hi,
Thank you for your message. I understand that you only want to do a Master in Management (MIM) with a 100% scholarship. Respecting your decision of course…
… I would recommend you though to open yourself to more options. On the one side, schools also offer partly scholarships (e.g. 50%, 70% or 80% scholarships) and sometimes have agreements with local banks that provide you with low interest rate loan programs. On the other side, you will do an MIM with a career perspective which eventually should lead to a job and a certain income by which you could pay back the loan program.
I understand that you have doubts because you don’t know which job you get after the graduation. Therefore you will need to invest some weeks of time in contacting schools and their career services, screening the statistics of the programs of your interest, and interviewing potential future employees to assess better the career options of a specific program.
Most importantly, I recommend you – if possible somehow - to develop (and show to the schools that you are willing to develop) a business plan – a plan how to finance your studies – instead of just saying: “I will only study with a 100% scholarship”. Without knowing your personal situation of course this plan could, for instance, consist of savings, a partly scholarship, and a loan program from banks in the city where the business school is.
Furthermore, as to my best knowledge the GMAT often plays a pivotal role when it comes to granting merit-based scholarships. It does not mean that the GMAT is the only criterion but it definitely plays an important role. Personally I know that the HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management for example requires a GMAT minimum score of 650 to become eligible for a scholarship. Considering that you may not impress the schools with your academic records (as far as I understand your message) a good GMAT score may help you to prove your capacity to the schools.
But keep in mind that some schools also offer scholarships based on your writing and intellectual reflection capabilities. For instance, have a look at the Hult International Business School scholarships that are all based on Essays (topics published on the website).
As for your other questions:
- International experience usually is not necessary for a Master in Management (and I also don’t think that it is necessary for a scholarship). This type of program is for graduates and most important are your academic records.
- Everything that you put in your CV – e.g. voluntary work for NGO’s – should be certified. How shall someone believe you if not certified and why should your ex-boss not write you a brief certification about what and when you worked for them? If you don’t get a certification, however, I would still put in into your CV (but be prepared to provide a good answer why you do not have a certification of someone asks you for this…).
- University Branding matters for the program application of course. I worked for a German company that offered scholarships to German students and we always had a look to where the applicants studied and what a respective grade meant in THAT college. However, I don’t know how familiar the respective admissions officer is with Indian colleges. Given that you cannot change that point anyway you will need to give it a try and simply hope that at least one of your favorite programs will accept you. As for the scholarships, my intuition is that your college reputation will be less important than your records, a GMAT or essays.
- Your academic records in the final year or in the final exam of course matter. Professionals who apply for an MBA program can show professional experience – but MIM applicants only have their academic experience (besides internships, studies abroad, or extra-curricular work) to show how good they are.
Summing up…
To assess your eligibility for a program and for a scholarship you need to screen the schools’ websites and contact personally people from the admissions office. Don’t mention that your college in India does not have a top reputation. Just ask the criteria on which the scholarships are based on. Also inform yourself about loan programs. And be sure that you screen the website BEFORE you contact the schools. Admissions people appreciate it always when someone has done “his homeworks” first and read what is publicly available already.- In our section School Contacts you can contact school representatives directly.
To assess your future career chances screen the websites of the schools (statistics of the graduates), contact the career service department of the schools (ask them about their experience with placing Indians after graduation), and interview some firms in India where you want to work later on about if they know the respective MIM program and school and if they would hire you.
Based on both assessments (financing your program and career options) you should develop a business plan for your studies and be able to present this business plan to the program that you apply for. If you mention in your application, for instance, that you developed a plan of 25% savings and 75% financing through a loan and/or scholarship then the admissions people immediately see that they get you only if they help you to finance 75% of the program. If you in addition give you a motivation to take you – for instance with a very good GMAT – then you increase your options to get accepted and be able to finance it.
I hope I could have been helpful to you.
Best wshes
Thomas
