Study Abroad: 10 Tips to Secure an International Scholarship

International scholarships assist students to complete their education without any financial burden. Generally, a study abroad scholarship would cover the tuition fees, living expenses, travel expenses, and miscellaneous expenses of the student.

However, securing an international scholarship is not an easy task. The process is highly competitive with many students applying for limited funding. Therefore, a scholarship applicant needs to stand out from the crowd to receive funding.  

10 Tips to Secure an International Scholarship 

Research about Scholarships

The First step to secure an international scholarship is to research them. Both need based and merit based scholarships are available to study abroad. Students can research about government provided and university based scholarships. Moreover, several NGOs and heritage organizations also award scholarships.

Understand the goals and values of the organization

The next step is to understand the organization’s goals and objectives. Go through the scholarship details, the mission statements, and the values of the scholarship provider. Identify the keywords and essential terms that can be useful while writing the application.

Meet the eligibility requirements 

Scholarships are provided only to eligible candidates. Hence, it is important to meet the eligibility criteria set by the organization. That is, the student must meet the academic qualifications, english language proficiency requirements, have reference letters, and more. 

Consider studying in a less popular country

Learning a new language and choosing to study in a less popular study abroad destination would increase the chances of getting a scholarship. That is, the chance of getting a scholarship in a popular destination might be 1:100. However, the chances can be 1: 15 in a less popular destination. The reason is, there are less applicants to compete with.

Contact the Scholarship Provider Directly

The best way to be clear about the details regarding the scholarship is to contact the scholarship provider directly. It will ensure that you would have correct and relevant information. Moreover, this step would showcase the student in the scholarship.

Highlight Resume Details 

To make the scholarship application stand out it is important to highlight the details in the resume. For example, leadership activities, NGO work, etc. Moreover, a resume is sent along with the cover letter. Hence, it is important to write clearly, concisely, and highlight the reasons why the student must be awarded the scholarship.

Include a plan for giving back

All scholarships do not require the beneficiary to give back to the community. However, it is always best to add that in the scholarship essay However, make sure that the plan is something that can be followed through. For example, volunteer ideas on how you will bring the experience back in the home country to help others.

Provide Stellar Recommendations 

Most scholarship applications require the student to submit a Letter of Recommendation. That is, an LOR from a person the student has worked with in a professional setting. For example, the student can reach out to his/her professor to ask for an LOR. 

Customize Scholarship Application

Applying for more than one scholarship can increase a student’s chances of getting more funding. However, it is always best to take time, and customize every application sent. Scholarship providers know when a student has copy pasted details from one application to another. Hence, do the research first and then send an application.

Mark Your Calendar and Apply Early

Lastly, it is important to mark your calendar and apply early. It can be easy to miss a deadline particularly when applying for several scholarships. As a result, it is important not to miss any deadline and apply as soon as possible.

Studying abroad can be quite expensive. Hence, it is always best to apply for scholarships. An international scholarship would cover most of the expenses incurred by a student in a foreign country. Be it to study in the US, UK, or Canada, international scholarships are available. 

To apply for International scholarships visit this site. To  discover more news updates like this one visit the study abroad experts at Leverage Edu.