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How to get a scholarship to study abroad?

Posted on: 17/Feb/2018 10:39:42 AM
Did you know that there are thousands of scholarships and grants that make studying abroad more affordable? Heres a guide to help you.

First and foremost, dont be afraid to reach out to the people around you for help. Contact your universitys study abroad office, your professors, the financial aid office, and your academic advisors to ask them about scholarships or grants that they may know of. Go in person to these offices to ask for advice on how to get a scholarship to study abroad, rather than just emailing or calling. Not only will this make it easier for your professors or study abroad office to help you, but theyll be impressed with your clear determination and initiative in arriving to discuss financial aid in person.

The more scholarships you can apply for, the more financial aid you will get. There are a number of other resources, such as NAFSA, that compile lists of scholarships for study abroad students, but this list is not exhaustive.

There are many different types of scholarships to study abroad that you should also explore, including location-Specific Grants/Scholarships to Study Abroad. These scholarships or grants are created to encourage students to study in specific countries, or even certain cities, such as scholarships specifically for students looking to study in Japan.

Program-Specific Study Abroad Scholarships/Grants are often offered to students who decide to study abroad through a particular program. This could be the independent study abroad provider or through a particular program crafted by your university, and only students who plan to study through that program qualify to apply. 

Subject-Specific Grants/Scholarships for Studying Abroad are awarded to students who plan to pursue a certain field of study or major while abroad, such as Foreign Language Scholarships. This financial aid can be incredibly specific, zeroing in on not just the subject, but also a certain subject to be studied in a particular country. 

Student-Specific Scholarships/Grants are awarded based on the students themselves, due to factors such as gender, race, religion, disabilities, or sexual orientation. For instance, there are specific study abroad scholarships for high school students.

University-Provided Study Abroad Scholarships/Grants provide scholarships or grants on a merit-basis to be generally applied to any students looking to study abroad. However, dont just research financial aid provided by your home university! Study abroad grants for undergraduates can be available from different institutions depending on your affiliations. 

The best way to know all the nitty-gritty details of the scholarships you will be applying for, as well as up-to-date application requirements, is to contact the funder directly they practically wrote the book on how to get a scholarship to study abroad! Not only will this ensure that you have all the correct information, you will also be showing the scholarship or grant funder/provider that you are not afraid to take the initiative and actively pursue the scholarship you are applying for.

Once youve compiled your list of study abroad scholarships that you plan on applying for, you now have to work on actually being awarded the scholarships. A huge p part of this is your resume! Be sure to highlight any international experience youve had, update all of your recent campus activities and try not to go over one page. Writing concisely is important. If you are applying for a scholarships to study abroad provided by an international university, be sure to research how that country typically organizes their resumes or cover letters and, if youre confident enough in your language skills, you could try writing them in the language of the country you will be studying in!

Most study abroad scholarship essays and applications require personal references; that is, someone youve worked with either in a professional or academic setting. For most students, this means reaching out to professors and asking for their assistance. When asking a professor to be a reference, or to write you a recommendation letter, always ask them far in advance so that they may prepare. Reach out to authority figures who you know not only would be happy to recommend you for a scholarship for studying abroad, but are also pertinent to the scholarship itself. For example, if you are applying for a leadership scholarship abroad, reach out to the academic advisor of the campus club you are a part of.

If you are applying for a number of different scholarships or grants, as well as applying for the study abroad program itself, it can be difficult to keep track of all the different deadlines and application requirements. This may seem obvious, but make a calendar specific to your study abroad scholarship applications, with each deadline clearly marked.

It may seem tiring, but apply for study abroad scholarships as quickly and thoroughly as you can. Even smaller awards all add up and ultimately will allow you to have a much more affordable and less stressful summer, semester, or year abroad.

Scholarship providers know when youve done your research on the values of their foundation or the focus of a specific scholarship. Customizing each application will give you a much better chance of becoming a pro at figuring out how to study abroad with scholarship.

Read and follow the directions for scholarships to study abroad, and leave yourself enough time to complete all of your applications without feeling like youre under a heavy-hammer deadline. Youll turn out better-quality work if you do not feel rushed, and better-quality work means a better chance for more financial aid.

This may seem rudimentary, but in order to get the scholarship for studying abroad, you often have to have good grades. Not all scholarships or grants require stellar grades or grade point averages, but many of them do. This is simply because the providers want to know that the student receiving their scholarship is serious about their study abroad experience. Its important to put in the work and get good grades before your time abroad to show scholarship providers that you plan to take your study abroad experience seriously as not just a chance to travel, but also an opportunity to expand your academic horizons.

At the end of the day, the most important thing to remember is to put in the time and effort when applying to study abroad scholarships, just as much as you would for any other academic scholarship, and you are sure to see the results. Even if you do not receive as many s scholarships for your study abroad experience as you would have hoped, there are other options to fund your time abroad with crowdfunding websites.