QS Community Scholarship Winner: Stuti Mathur

We’re delighted to announce that Stuti Mathur is one of this year’s recipients of the QS Community Scholarship. The QS Community Scholarship is awarded to five recipients, MBA applicants who demonstrate exceptional levels of socially responsible leadership and an ability to motivate others. The scholarship is worth US$2,000.

Stuti will be pursuing her MBA at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. She was attracted to Rotman’s strong academic reputation and innovative programs, as well as their culture, alumni network and caliber of current students at the university. Stuti says her decision to go back into education and undertake an MBA “came from life and work experiences that contributed to a better understanding of myself and how I wanted to grow in the next ten years.

“I’m looking forward to going back to school and learning new skills that I can apply in my future roles and explore different job functions and industries.”

Prior to her MBA, Stuti has been working for international charity and education partner WE Charity for the past six years, as part of the ME to WE social enterprise team. ME to WE create socially conscious products and experiences to help support the charity as a whole. Through her finance and operations role, Stuti says she has been able to find out “where my new interests lie.” After her MBA, Stuti is looking forward to exploring different career paths and finding a job that suits her career and life goals.

Stuti attended a QS event, which allowed her to network with school representatives and ask questions to the school she was targeting in a comfortable environment. She says of the experience:

“These events are an opportunity for you to stand out, but most importantly, can be used as a first introduction that prompts further meetings with the schools you're interested in. Therefore, do your homework and ask good questions.”

Stuti is grateful for the peace of mind that the QS Community Scholarship will offer her in helping to pay for her tuition, observing that the costs of an MBA such as living expenses and not getting an income for one to two years can stack up quickly. However, she’s very positive about the often challenging and time-consuming process of applying for scholarships:

“I found some of the essay questions required self-exploration, that is important through the MBA application process and ultimately helped me articulate my goals better. When I was writing my application for the QS Community Scholarship I was able to take a step back and look at all that I had accomplished with pride.”

Advice for other applicants

“My advice would be to apply to all the scholarships you're qualified for – even those you aren’t completely sure about. You'll also quickly notice there are some scholarships that completely fit your experience and profile and when you're applying to those, don’t miss the opportunity for self-exploration that may help define some personal and career goals.”