Many schools and organizations award scholarships to distinguished students. And GRE plays a significant role in determining which students should receive it.

So, you probably think all you need to do is score a high enough GRE, and you are good to go? Well, it’s not that simple.

The good news is that a high GRE score will undoubtedly help you acquire a scholarship, but it’s not the only consideration. 

Generally speaking, the two most common types of grad school scholarships are: 

School-based scholarship

School-based scholarships, as the name suggests, are given out by schools. This means that the criteria for such scholarships vary from one school to another. If a particular school offers you a scholarship, they will be responsible for your tuition fees or a percentage depending on the scholarship policy. In some instances, a school may not even ask for GRE scores but instead use other aspects of your application such as CGPA, research, or work experience.

For example, the San Francisco State University Alumni Scholarship Association grants scholarships of $1,000 each to full-time graduate applicants with at least a 3.25 CGPA.

Not all schools explicitly state the GRE requirements for their scholarship programs. Some schools are forthright about the needs and deadlines, whereas others use a holistic approach to your application.  

For example, the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts weighs each student’s application as a whole. It then awards scholarships to those who best match their standards. 

Hence, a high GRE score, although not a guarantee, can put you in the race for a scholarship without you even knowing about the specifics.

Organization-based scholarships 

Independent organizations award the second most common type of scholarship. These organizations are not necessarily academic but have programs set up to promote education in specific fields by supporting underrepresented society segments. Some organizations award scholarships based on merit without any regard for an applicant’s ethnic or religious affiliations.  

Moreover, organization-based scholarships, in most cases, allow recipients to use their funds to study at any school of their choice. However, there are exceptions where an organization only works with a specific institution. Hence, you must be willing to study in that institution if you want to avail of the scholarship.

Note: Eligibility criteria can vary drastically from one organization to another; thus, you should always first research the eligibility criteria beforehand and meet all the requirements.  

How to find scholarships?

It would be outright impossible to list every school-based scholarship because of the sheer number of schools and their different policies. Moreover, scholarships offered by schools don’t follow a fixed routine. Depending on the amount of funding, a school may or may not provide a scholarship every year. 

However, you can use a few methods to track down scholarships when applying to grad schools. 

Method 1- Search online for school-based scholarships

Your first step should always be to search up the school you are interested in and look if they offer scholarships for the programs you want to apply to.

For example, if you are applying to Michigan State University, you will first search for their official website on google. Open the website and look in the departmental pages, program pages, or scholarship pages for scholarships. Universities often state their scholarship offering on these pages.

You can also use the search bar on the website to narrow down the available information.

When you find the respective information, see if it mentions GRE scores. If the website explicitly says a minimum GRE score to be considered for the scholarship, then that is your score to beat.

Keep in mind that many schools aren’t forthright about their scholarship requirements. If a minimum GRE score is not mentioned, you will need to search the average GRE scores for that specific school and score higher than the average. The higher your score, the better your chances are given that the rest of your application is also good.

You can also use online forums such as The Grade Café and Reddit to see what scores past scholarship holders had when submitting their applications.

Method 2 – Contact the schools directly

If your search on the internet doesn’t turn up any useful information, then the next best thing to do is contact the school’s admissions office directly.

You can easily find all the school contact information under the “contact us” tab on their website. I would suggest calling them if the contact number is available; if not, you can email them instead.

Be sure to include all the relevant questions in your email, such as, Is GRE required for a scholarship? What should be your GRE score to secure a scholarship? How much is the scholarship worth? Would the scholarship only cover your tuition fee or accommodation as well? What are the other requirements? Etc.

List of organization-based GRE scholarships

If you don’t find any school-based scholarships, then the good news is that you can look up various organizations that give out scholarships more consistently.

The best way to find these organizations is to consult ETS’s official website. ETS puts up a list almost every year to list all the organizations that offer grad school funds and fellowships.

Do note that ETS updates their sponsor affiliations yearly based on various factors. So, it is best to visit ETS routinely and keep an eye out for any such lists.

Each year, ETS offers various fellowship and internship programs. 

The following are 10 organization-based scholarships you should look out for.

• Beinecke Scholarship ProgramFlorida Education Fund (McKnight Doctoral Fellowships)
• Forté Fellows Program
• HHMI Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study
• HHMI Medical Research Fellows Program
• IIE Scholarships
• La Caixa Graduate Fellowship Program
• Nurses Educational Funds (NEF) Scholarships
• Teresan Scholarship Fund
• Walter S. Barr Fellowship

To find what GRE score, you need to apply to these scholarships, visit their websites, and go through their various program requirements.

Bottom Line

GRE scores can play an essential role if you are a scholarship aspirant. However, a good GRE score alone is not a guarantee. Ideally, it would help if you aim to have a holistic application because many schools take a collective approach to your application to award scholarships.

Search for specific schools and their scholarship policies. The best resource to use is the school’s official website and the contact info.

As for organization-based scholarships, go through the list provided above and see if you are eligible for any of their programs.