My GMAT Score Helped Pay for my MBA: How to Unlock Your Scholarship

For ESMT Berlin MBA student Punit Thakkar, a top GMAT exam score didn’t just strengthen his application to business school—it directly helped him secure scholarships that made studying abroad financially feasible.

Scoring 745, which placed him in the 100th percentile, Punit exceeded the criteria for the ESMT Berlin Test Score Excellence Award. The award, which requires a test score in the 85th percentile or higher, granted him financial aid in recognition of his achievement.

Now 10 months into his studies at ESMT Berlin, Punit says his outstanding GMAT score was influential in helping him pursue his dream business school.

“It was a remarkable score for me and quite exciting to achieve it on its own. However, the scholarship took it to another level—it has significantly eased the financial burden of my tuition,” he says.

While there are a variety of MBA scholarships available across the globe, many merit-based awards—such as the one Punit received—are granted to students who take the GMAT. 

Your GMAT Score Unlocks Scholarship Opportunities

There are various types of scholarships available for business school students. Need-based scholarships are awarded to those who demonstrate financial need, while diversity-focused scholarships aim to support students from underrepresented groups. 

The Forté Foundation, for example, offers scholarships to exceptional MBA students who demonstrate a commitment to Forté’s mission of launching women into fulfilling, impactful careers through access to business education. However, even these types of scholarships often take into account GMAT scores when considering the overall strength of an MBA application holistically. 

“Even for targeted scholarships, such as the Forté Foundation Scholarship, admissions committees select recipients based on the quality of the MBA application itself,” explains Erin Wand from Personal MBA Coach.

Merit-based scholarships, awarded for outstanding academic performance, are often directly tied to your GMAT score. For instance, University College Dublin’s Smurfit Graduate Business School offers GMAT MBA Scholarships for candidates who score around the 97th percentile, providing financial aid worth up to the full cost of tuition.

As such, by taking the GMAT exam rather than the GRE, you ensure that all scholarship opportunities remain open to you—and you won’t risk missing out by submitting the wrong test as part of your application.

“The process to apply for it was pretty straightforward—it was part of the overall application process. I just needed my GMAT score,” says Punit.

Your GMAT Score Shapes Admissions and Scholarship Outcomes

While simply taking the exam can help you secure a scholarship, achieving a strong GMAT score can also strengthen your overall application by balancing other areas and giving you the confidence that schools can fully assess your potential.

“My score enhanced my application as a whole—it helped people understand that I make up for any weaknesses elsewhere,” says Punit, who received an Impact Scholarship worth €5,000 ($5,700) on top of the €3,000 ($3,500) he received for his Test Score Award. 

The test can also influence your school’s overall decision, including scholarship awards, as it’s designed to assess higher-order reasoning and data literacy skills—both critical for success in graduate business education.

“The GMAT, with its focus on quantitative, verbal, and data interpretation skills, is a strong indicator of your potential in management. Therefore, my high score really helped demonstrate my potential,” adds Punit.

At the same time, the GMAT helps admissions teams assess applicants fairly. With candidates coming from a wide range of academic, professional, and personal backgrounds, it provides an objective benchmark that ensures applications are evaluated on an equal footing.

“While not the sole criterion for admission or a scholarship award, the GMAT is an important part of the application process as it helps us to judge all applicants on an equal basis,” says Boban Sulic, deputy director of admissions at ESMT Berlin.

“Since our applicants come from different countries, cultures, academic backgrounds, and levels of work experience, the GMAT is one of the means to ensure a consistent, comparable measure,” he adds.

Your GMAT Score is in Your Hands

Applying for business school can be challenging—it can feel like there are a lot of moving parts that are out of your control. The good news is that your GMAT score is one of the few elements of your application that is entirely within your control.

You can’t go back and change your undergraduate GPA, and while you could gain additional work experience, that might mean delaying your application by several years. What you can control is how you prepare for the GMAT. 

“I had a full-time job where I was managing quite a large portfolio and team. The challenge was finding time to prepare effectively every day,” says Punit.

“However, with the support of my family, I learned how to set a schedule—and that’s what ultimately made my high score possible.”

Having a clear vision of why you want to attend business school and what you hope to achieve can also aid your preparation, serving as a key source of motivation. “Having a clear vision of what you want from your life outcome is essential—it acts as rocket fuel,” adds Punit.

With clear goals and a structured approach, you can take control of your GMAT preparation—boosting your performance, strengthening your application, and unlocking scholarship opportunities that make business school more attainable.

Your GMAT Score can Help Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

Studying an MBA can be one of biggest financial decisions people make in their professional lives, securing a scholarship is often therefore essential for many aspiring students.

A high GMAT score can open the door to GMAT-led scholarships, helping turn your ambitions into reality. For Punit, his scholarship did exactly that:

“I was especially attracted to Berlin because it’s such an exciting hub of entrepreneurship, and I knew I wanted to build something of my own one day. However, before my scholarship, it felt out of reach.”

Beyond the monetary support, a scholarship also provides the freedom to focus fully on your goals and make the most of your MBA experience, feels Punit. 

“The scholarship eased the financial burden and allowed me to focus on learning and creating in a way I wouldn’t have been able to do without it.”