How To Get Scholarships To Study Abroad In 5 Steps

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Many foreign students looking at studying abroad are often discouraged by the costs involved. It’s not as if they don’t want to make the sacrifices, but then for many of them, the costs are just plain unaffordable for them.

Especially for foreign students who come from countries where their exchange rates to big currencies like Dollars, Pounds etc., is very large. And many times, the countries that international students aspire to study in, are countries that use these powerful currencies like the United States, Canada, UK etc.

So, in response to this problem, many scholarships have risen up in an attempt to help foreign students get to their study dreams easily. All you need to do is Apply! To think that it is absolutely free to apply for many of these grants and scholarships.

You just need to know how to look for them and get picked. And that is exactly what we will try to teach you in this article.

get scholarship to study abroad

We will be giving you a detailed guideline to follow when looking and applying for scholarships. Let’s get started, shall we?

Step 1. Ask for Help from People That Can Help.

If the university you wish to apply to has a office in your country for foreign students, visit them directly and tell them you need their advice on how to grab financial aids such as scholarships in order to study at their university.

Many times, they will be so impressed with the fact that you did not send an email. Rather, you came to their office to ask directly. If you know any professors personally or officially, contact them politely and ask for help in finding scholarships for foreign students.

You should not only call or email, you should get up and meet up with these people that are trying to help you. Many times, the hard part of getting a scholarship award is actually finding the scholarship opportunities.

2. Do your Homework i.e, Research.

There are so many (thousands) scholarships available worldwide. The only way to find them is to keep researching. There are also online scholarship directories to look into. For example, directories like, NAFSA at www.nafsa.org, GoAbroad at www.goabroad.com, etc. You can start your search and application from these directories for starters.

After that, you can also narrow your search to the specific location depending on where in the world you want to study. Or you could narrow it down to the type of scholarship program you wish to study whether undergraduate, Masters or PhD.

There are also many government funded scholarships like the Chevening Scholarships and Fellowships funded by the UK government and so on. If you don’t do your research, you can not know these things.

3. Go on to contact the Scholarship organisation directly.

This tells them that you are genuinely serious about receiving the scholarship award and it puts you on their radar. Now when you get in touch with them directly, they can give you accurate and up-to-date information about their scholarship including deadlines, application requirements and more.

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So, find the website of the scholarship organisation you are applying to and search for their contact information on their webpage. It will be there, look very well. Then contact them. I’m pretty sure it won’t cost you anything to do that but can result in something.

4. Make your Scholarship Resume Perfect if you can.

After you have made a good list of all the scholarships you want to apply for, you need to make sure that your application process is worth it and that you get awarded for these scholarships you are applying for. One thing to work on is your Resume.

Your Resume will contain Your International Experience, Your campus activities, and whatever details you are asked to provide. You will also need to submit a cover letter to accompany it. Because cover letters and Resumes go hand in hand.

Basically, you are supposed to make a strong argument with these two documents as to how you are worthy of the scholarships. Research very well how Resumes and Cover Letters are written for the country you are planning to study in. There are different formats for writing Resumes and Cover Letters. Just do a quick search on the web to see the one unique to the country you are applying to.

5. Just Keep Applying.

Yes, apply, apply and apply! Put considerable time into applying for as many scholarships as you can. And make sure that you tailor each application to suit the needs of the scholarship provider you are applying to.

Take your time while applying and do not joke with your application. Follow the instructions outlined by the scholarship provider for applicants/applications and follow it diligently. Write the application essays (which you will most likely be asked to write) with passion. Make them know that if they decide to put their money on you, you will fully appreciate and make use of the opportunity.

Put in the required time and strength into each one of the applications. And sit back and watch them approve you.

Really, it’s all about the passion and diligence you put into applying for these study abroad scholarships. Even small scholarships count, so don’t write any one off. There are other options to fund your stay while you are abroad like offering babysitting services or any other services you can render.

We hope this article helped you to know what steps to take next in your scholarship hunting journey.

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