2011 QS Community Scholarship Winner: Interview

TopMBA.com caught up with German national Matthias Wölm, winner of the QS Community Scholarship 2011.

A recent addition to the QS scholarship fund is €3,000 for a German MBA candidate who can demonstrate socially responsible leadership and an ability to motivate others. Keen on gaining international exposure during his future MBA program, Matthias Wölm chose to apply to three business schools in Europe: Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, ESADE Business School in Spain, and Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge.

On receiving offers from all three schools, Wölm found himself in the envious position of being able to select his preferred MBA program at Cambridge’s Judge Business School.

Applying to business school

“I chose which schools to apply to for three main reasons,” explains Wölm. “Firstly, I currently only have an undergraduate degree, and while I know my own field of business, I am keen to develop a deeper understanding of topics, particularly entrepreneurship.

“Secondly, I wanted to study abroad and ensure that I would be surrounded by international students, in a European business school.

“My third reason was that I only wanted to apply to schools with high quality MBA programs that focus on moral and social development. While I don’t think I have any flaws in this area, I do believe that this is something that everyone can benefit from improving upon.”

While researching the many differing MBA degrees available, Wölm found both the QS World MBA Tour and the Connect 1-2-1 events in Frankfurt particularly useful.

“As a German, or anyone else for that matter, having a single event where you can meet international business schools from all over the world was extremely convenient,” Wölm explains. “I was able to meet around 10 different business schools, all in one day.

“Prior to the Frankfurt MBA fair, I attended the Connect 1-2-1 event on the same day. I found this really useful as it allows you to meet with representatives from high quality business schools on a one-to-one basis, away from the usual fair atmosphere.”

MBA finance

Having secured the QS Community Scholarship, Wölm plans to use a mixture of his own savings, loans from his family, MBA scholarships and bank loans to fund his time at business school.

With enough savings to cover around 30% of his tuition fees, Wölm tells TopMBA.com that after he has managed to gather funding from private sources, he plans to apply for a loan in the UK. “Judge has agreements with UK based banks so that international students are able to borrow enough money to fund their courses,” he says.

Having successfully navigated his way through the MBA admissions journey, Wölm explains that aspiring MBA applicants that visit an MBA fair need to ensure that they are fully prepared, otherwise they may not gain as much as they possibly could.

“Many attendees at a fair tend to simply collect prospectuses and ask simple questions that they could easily find out elsewhere.

“Like me, those that are close to applying to business schools when they attend an MBA fair need to plan which schools they want to speak to. Then you can research the different programs that each school offers.

“Know what your interests are, and work out which questions you want to ask the representatives. This way, you are sure to get more out of such an important event.”