Bank of America Merrill Lynch MBA Diversity Fellowship Program

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch MBA Diversity Fellowship Program will award merit-based fellowships to women, Blacks/African Americans, LGBT, Hispanics/Latinos, Alaskan Native/American Indian, military veterans, and students with disabilities entering business school in Fall 2013.

PROGRAM DETAILS:

• The Fellowship will cover $40,000 of total tuition and fees for the first year of the recipient's MBA program
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch will provide a paid summer internship (between the first and second year of the MBA program) within the Global Banking and Markets (GBAM) groups: Investment Banking, Research, Public Finance
• Upon successful completion of the GBAM Summer Associate Program and acceptance of a full-time offer for 2014, the Fellowship will cover $40,000 of total tuition and fees for the second year of the recipient's MBA program.
• Please note: Fellowship amount may be adjusted for students receiving funding from alternate sources.

APPLICATION CHECKLIST:

• Complete Online Applicant Summary Form
• Create a candidate profile and apply
• Resume
• An essay of 500 words or less describing your career goals and their relation to the BofA ML MBA Diversity Fellowship
• Copy of one essay submitted with your business school application
• Two letters of recommendation - Letters of recommendation can either be submitted as an attachment to your Taleo candidate profile or sent to mbafellowship@bankofamerica.com

Please Note: All supporting documents can be uploaded via the Taleo link above when creating your profile. You will have the option to upload up to five files on the My Documents screen (4th screen after Licensing & Registration). If your file size is over the limit, feel free to send your documents to mbafellowship@bankofamerica.com.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
To be eligible, students must be admitted to an AACSB accredited business school for the 2013 - 2014 academic year.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:
Monday, April 15th - FINAL Applicant Deadline

Apply now for this opportunity.

Forté Conference: Starting my MBA Journey

by Jessica Weaver, Forté Fellow
MBA 2014, University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign

Ocean breezes, palm trees, gorgeous weather, and inspiring women.  What do these things have in common?  This is what welcomed me to my MBA journey, which began at the 2012 Forté Conference in Los Angeles.  Reflecting back on the experience, the top five ways attending the conference prepared me for starting my MBA program were: 

•  It built my network:  I met women from other MBA programs and companies.  It was a delight to run into them later in the school year at other career fairs and conferences.  Plus, I got to know women in my program better. 
•  I learned about career options:  Prior to earning an MBA, I worked in the public sector.  I honestly did not know what a career in finance could look like.  The conference gave me a safe place to learn about career paths and meet women on these paths. 
•  The career fair prepared me for fall recruiting:  Similarly, I did not know what the internship and job search would look like.  At the Forte Conference’s career fair, I got a picture of what the career fairs I would attend would be like, which helped me be more prepared for the internship search. 
•  I met companies I liked:  Similarly, I began building relationships with companies I wanted to work at before I even got to campus.  This helped me find recruiting events to attend, internships to apply for, and more. 
•  Inspiring women gave me confidence:  The best takeaway from the conference was meeting truly inspiring women who encouraged me to get as much value as I can from my MBA experience.  I came away with excitement, enthusiasm and confidence about the opportunities ahead.

Now a year into my MBA, I would encourage both first and second year MBA women to attend this summer’s conference in New York City.  It’s an invaluable learning experience and a great chance to meet like-minded women.  I’ll be in New York this summer interning in consulting at Accenture, and I will be at the conference, so I hope to see you there!