There are basically two types of MBA scholarships: exemption and financial aid. With the exemption type of scholarship, the tuition itself to be paid to the business school is partially exempted, while with financial aid, the student initially pays the full tuition to the business school, who later pays back part of it as a financial aid. The amount to be covered by the student is essentially the same with either scholarship, but in European and North American business schools, the financial aid type is more common. Scholarship eligibility is based on the students’ score on the entrance exam or GMAT or current grades (GPA), and it is granted to the top performers by rank. Moreover, many business schools offer an early completion system for students with outstanding grades to acquire the MBA degree in one year instead of two. That case can be considered an exemption type of scholarship in which the tuition is reduced by half.

Therefore, having good grades is a criterion for being awarded a scholarship, which prevents favoritism among applicants. Meanwhile, scholarships from public organizations, which can be applied for regardless of grades, can also be used to enter an MBA program. Many of those scholarships have income-related restrictions. There are also many options of loan-based tuition support (tied to financial institutions) through which the student can start repayment after the acquisition of the MBA degree.