Firm Sponsored Candidate - neg. affect Financial Aid?

[ab2012]

Hi There,
My company has a scholarship program where you can apply to become a sponsored MBA candidate (and they will cover up to $50K of tuition), but you can only apply to this program once you have already been accepted at the institution you want to attend and it is very selective and competitive.

My question is two part:1) I heard in the mba mission recording that its actually a good thing to emphasize Firm Sponsorship to Admission Committees because you guarantee to them that you will have a job at graduation at a good, name brand company at a salary above what you were making before - which is good for their stats. So the advice in the session was to actually tell them that you are (or plan to be) firm sponsored. If so, how does one weave this in? Also, since I can't apply for this program until AFTER I'm accepted by the school, it seems a bit presumptuous to assume that I will get the scholarship - after all my company is very large and I'm sure lots of people are applying across the globe. I am not sure I will get accepted.

2) My second question: If I do tell them that I plan to apply to this scholarship program within my Company, will that affect the financial aid package I will receive? As my company only covers about $50K and won't pay that to me until after I've put in my two years after returning, I still want to get as competitive a financial aid package as possible to assist during the 2 years of school and 2 years of work afterwards.

Thanks for your help in this matter!

[mbamission]

Hi ab2012,

Thanks for writing in and I'm glad to hear you found value in our webinars. As an overall part of the application, financial aid can be a bit tricky to crack because each school can approach it very differently. Also keep in mind that the admissions office and financial aid office are usually separate.

In regards to your questions,

1) I don't think the scholarship you are referring to applies to the traditional definition of "company-sponsored." Usually this means the candidate has gained pre-approval from the company that they will be subsidized if they are accepted. I agree that you cannot assume you will be accepted into this program, and thus it shouldn't really play a role in your application. In my mind, it's similar to applying for scholarships that many nonprofits/foundations offer later in the application process.

2) Your financial aid package should be accurate and truthful at the point you are filling it out. If your situation changes (ie you win the scholarship), you will likely have to update your aid request. Still, please keep in mind my first point that aid is something that varies by school -- it may be worthwhile to just call the Financial Aid office and ask these questions directly.

Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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