Opportunity Spotlight: The Consortium

financial aid, and offers a wide variety of fellowships to students. Some fellowships are offered to students upon admission. The first are merit fellowships, which are awarded to students based on the strength of their application. UCLA Anderson also awards donor fellowships to admitted students. These are generally given to students based on criteria such as professional development, intended career, community involvement, and/or financial need. UCLA Anderson also encourages students to apply for external funding opportunities and offers the GRAPES database for students to search for scholarships they can apply to outside of the university. One of the main sources of funding that is offered for admitted UCLA Anderson students however, and the focus of our post today, is The Consortium. What is The Consortium and what do they do, you might ask?

The Consortium’s Mission

The Consortium is a nonprofit alliance of select U.S. business schools that is committed to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in MBA programs and corporate leadership.  They pursue their mission by offering prospective students the opportunity to apply to member schools at discounted rates. Additionally, they offer merit-based scholarships to top MBA candidates who have a proven record of promoting inclusion in school, careers, or personal lives. The Consortium will soon add its 20th school, so chances are their membership includes one or more of your dream programs!

The Consortium’s Members

The Consortium is made of member schools which can vary slightly year by year. Currently the member schools include:

• University of California – Berkeley, Haas School of Business
• University of California – Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management
• Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business
• Cornell University, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
• Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business
• Emory University, Goizueta Business School
• Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business
• Indiana University – Bloomington, Kelley School of Business
• University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Michigan Ross School of Business
• New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business
• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School
• Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business
• University of Rochester, Simon Business School
• University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business
• The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business
• University of Virginia, Darden School of Business
• Washington University in St. Louis, Olin Business School
• University of Washington, Foster School of Business (effective July 1, 2018)
• University of Wisconsin – Madison, Wisconsin School of Business
• Yale University, Yale School of Management

You may apply to up to six of the member schools through The Consortium in one single streamlined application. Sounds great, right? But how do you get chosen for membership? Selection is based on both your academic records and evidence of your commitment to The Consortium’s mission of promoting the inclusion of African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans in business. This means that selection is based on your community activism, professional involvement, and life experiences which should be documented in both your application essay, as well as at least one letter of recommendation. Typically 60-70% of those admitted to The Consortium will receive funding. However, students who are admitted to The Consortium but do no receive funding still receive incredible benefits. Consortium fellows will join a community of 70+ corporate partners that send representatives to the Annual Orientation Program & Career Forum. The Annual Orientation Program & Career Forum is an intensive, hands-on opportunity for students to gain real career development advice from some of the best educational institutions and corporations in the country. Many students who attend leave with early internship opportunities, which can lead to employment offers after graduation. As we know you’ll agree, The Consortium is an exceptional opportunity to finance your MBA and expand your professional network.  We’d love to help you get there! If you’re planning on applying in the next 12-18 months, click here to book your Breakthrough Call with our team!