With Pride Month, the Wharton announced the creation of The Prism Fellowship, offering a full-tuition scholarship to one outstanding LGBTQIA+ student admitted to the Wharton MBA Program. The program was established by Jeffrey Schoenfeld, WG’84, a partner at Brown Brothers Harriman.

As noted in the press release: “We recognize the power of bringing a range of experiences and perspectives together to foster an inclusive MBA community focused on making a positive impact on the world,” said Wharton MBA Admissions Director Blair Mannix. “[The inaugural holder]’s strong leadership, collaboration and analytical skills exemplify what the fellowship represents, and we are thrilled to welcome him into our vibrant, supportive and dynamic community this fall.”

“As one of very few ‘out’ MBA students entering Wharton in 1982, I truly marvel today at how far LGBTQ recognition and integration have become embraced by the broader business community,” said Schoenfeld. “I am also mighty proud that Wharton has emerged as a leader in building the most diverse class among leading U.S. business schools, and feel privileged to support LGBTQ student leaders through their MBA journey.”

How do MBA scholarships work?

Most MBA programs have a wealth of affinity or merit-based fellowships. Most are virtually unknown to students and applicants alike.

Some programs are stand-alone entities with separate applications for applicants to submit, usually before they are even admitted to the MBA program. These programs are generally University-wide — such as the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program at Stanford GSB — and come with a lot of networking and programming on top of the financial aid. Others do not have applications (or not public ones) and also have lots of interesting programming on top of the MBA — such as Booth’s Distinguished Fellows Program.

The vast majority of the MBA “fellowships” are strictly for financial aid (with a possible meet and greet with the donor as well). Scholarships are available for every reason from the student’s country of origin to whether you participated in the Junior Achievement club in High School. In most cases, the admissions committee will automatically consider every applicant for programs to which they qualify and will award the fellowships to the one student that they believe poses the best fit (or may yield to another school absent such a financial inducement).

How can I earn this fellowship?

Wharton’s press release makes clear that its program falls into this last category: “Prism Fellows are selected by the Wharton Fellowship Committee based on their leadership qualities, community impact and personal essays submitted with their MBA program application.” In essence, your application essay is serving double duty — it needs to get you admitted, but it also needs to help you stand out in a way that the admissions committee can show to fellowship donors and make them feel great about their investment in student aid.

The key is to use the science of public narrative. Humans are naturally wired to empathize with one another, and by using a small story about an emotional personal experience, an applicant can make a big statement about society and the way they want to improve it. That’s why fundraising appeals for child hunger on TV often tell the story of one individual girl. People naturally want to assist leaders who can show how they are called to perform some specific service in the world and can articulate how their whole life and career has been driving towards that change in a single narrative arc. That’s what every wannabe congressman and Shark Tank entrepreneur already knows before they make their pitch to their audience. If you want any chance of earning one of these scholarships for yourself, you need to do that same analysis on yourself as well.

What are my odds?