Author - Axiom

Your odds of getting money to study, volunteer, or intern abroad might be far higher than you expect.

But first, would you have guessed there are some major study abroad providers who had only 15 applicants for 12 scholarships? Or that the providers are disappointed because year after year they have to select lower quality winners just because there are too few applicants? While many scholarships ARE very competitive, it turns out there are plenty of others that may be easier to win than you think. Your odds of getting money to study, volunteer, or intern abroad might be far higher than you expect: you just have to identify the opportunities. One of the biggest mistakes you can make in setting up a financial plan for going overseas is not even applying for study abroad scholarships. Here are 10 tips for study abroad scholarship applications that can help make your international dreams a reality.

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Be Prepared to Work Hard for Study Abroad Scholarships

Working on study abroad scholarships. Trying to get a scholarship, whether for full-time study or for study abroad, is hard work. You'll probably need to apply to half a dozen opportunities for everyone you hope to win. It'll take time, so set up a schedule where every Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday night you sit for 3 hours and work on applications (or something to that effect). If you need motivation, just look at your bank account and then at pictures of Tokyo or Brazil. Study abroad scholarships might be the only way.

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 Make a List of Everything You Qualify For

Start with your home university, then move on to external providers. Meet with folks at the career center or study abroad office. Find out what's available, who's eligible, what the requirements are, and when the deadline is. Make a spreadsheet in Google Drive. Then move on to the bowels of Google. Search "study abroad + undergraduate + scholarship + country/language/major" and add those to the list. You're going to wind up applying to as many as possible.

 Try some of these:

• General Scholarship Search Engines
• Institute of International Education Scholarships
• Go Overseas's study abroad scholarships
• UniPlaces scholarship for study abroad housing.
• 60+ more study abroad scholarship

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Understand the Organization's Goals and Values Before starting an application, you have to understand your audience. Look at what the organization actually does their mission statement or values page, and understand what seems important to them and how they talk about themselves. Then identify those keywords and values, and make sure you work those into your application.

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Understand How They Evaluate Candidates

Who are they really looking for? Look at past winners or the detailed FAQ that's probably on their website. Re-read the parts where they describe how candidates will be evaluated. Keep coming back to this and checking yourself and your application against each and every one of those criteria.

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Essay Tip: Avoid Generic Statements at all Costs

You have a unique story by virtue of being alive. So don't say things like, "I want to explore new cultures" or "I've always been interested in Japanese." Tell the story about the refugee family that moved down the block, or how you love Hindi cinema or befriended the Korean exchange student in middle school. Make your interests come alive through concise stories and personal experience.Talk to your professors or other possible references early, get the verbal okay that they'll support you. Re-read your essay when it's done. If anyone else in the whole world could stand up, read that essay, and claim it as their own, then you need to re-write it with elements that speak to who you and only you are.

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Include a Plan for Giving Back

Even if the scholarship doesn't require it, volunteer your ideas for how you'll bring your experience back home to help others. Will you make short videos about famous landmarks in Asia and share them with the primary school teachers? Will you have a blog? Do a photography exhibition? Make sure it's something you can follow through on, but an orientation to using your time overseas for the benefit of more than just yourself is always appreciated.

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Do This to Get Great Recommendations

Talk to your professors or other possible references early, get the verbal okay that they'll support you, and then hand-deliver them a package that includes one page of (SHORT!) bullet-pointed information about the scholarship, a second page of (SHORT!) bullet-pointed information about you and specific examples of why you qualify, and your resume. This makes it easy for references to write you a good letter of recommendation, should the scholarship require it.

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Double Check Eligibility and Application Requirements

Before submitting anything, double check that you meet all the eligibility and that you have all of the application requirements satisfactorily completed. Many students wind up being disqualified because they've simply forgotten something. Also, go back to the essays. If the prompt asked you to talk about your leadership experience and community involvement have you done all three?

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Print it Out and Read Everything Out Loud

It's hard to proofread things on a screen. Once you've finished your essays and have an updated resume, print it all out and read every word out loud -- even your resume. Read through your application line-by-line, and correct grammar and typos in red pen. Edit the digital version, and repeat the process until there are no errors. A few typos could stand between you and several thousand dollars, so don't be that guy.

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Apply Early

Even if there's no preference indicated for early applicants, remember that all applications are being reviewed by humans -- humans who most likely have other jobs and responsibilities besides selecting scholarship winners. Once the deadline is reached, those evaluators will be inundated with applications and may start skimming through applications. You have the best shot of winning when someone reads your story, relates to it, and finds it an appealing fit for their organization's money. If your application is in a stack of ten because you applied early, it is perhaps more likely to get a thorough read-through.

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It All Adds Up

Remember, every little bit helps. Even if a scholarship award is only $1,500, that's your round-trip international airfare right there! It all adds up. Not to mention, once you've completed one scholarship application, it's that much easier to re-purpose your essays and recommendations to apply for dozens of other opportunities. It's a numbers game, and if you have a strong profile and the determination, you can have a strong chance to win. It's also worthwhile to mention persistence. Maybe this year you don't receive any scholarships. That just means you need to continue to do well in school, find outlets for your international interests that will improve your eligibility, and re-apply next year. Explore more overseas scholarships and apply today.  

4 Proven Methods to Guarantee the Right Funding Options for You As a student who is pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, one of your main responsibilities is figuring out how you’re going to pay for it. Robbing a bank is not an option, and selling a kidney is more trouble than it’s worth. So instead, you’ll have to come up with more savory methods of paying for your university education. Scholarships are difficult to procure, but they are the best ways of getting financial assistance when you’re planning to go to university. Especially if you’re an international student who does not have access to government loans or stipends, scholarships are much more secure and stable means of funding your education. Searching for scholarships is also quite difficult; knowing where to look, what to look for, and what to avoid are important things to know before you venture out into the vast sea of scholarly awards. So below we will provide concrete advice for finding and applying for scholarships all over the world.

 Managing the scholarship search

Searching for a scholarship is all about starting at the right place. With the right search queries and categories, you have a much easier chance of narrowing down the wide variety of scholarship options that exist around the world. So, if you start with customizing your search, based on your location, discipline, or university, you will have a higher chance of finding options that fit your needs. Begin with your location, and see whether there are funding opportunities for international students in your position. Scholarships are highly competitive and coveted opportunities for you to receive secure financial support. So, our advice is to work diligently on your applications, taking plenty of time and care to make sure your materials are in order. But, most importantly, take a chance and apply to as many scholarships as you can!

  Search for scholarships made especially for your location

One way to catch the most scholarships or to get the widest selection would be to search the overall scholarships (private or government-backed) scholarships that are offered in the region where you are studying. For example, if you’re going to study in Germany, you may find that there are several scholarship opportunities available for international students who are studying at a German university. At the early stage of looking for a scholarship, it’s best to start with a wider selection, that way you can have a larger number of scholarships to apply for, and more chance of receiving funding. Several scholarships are available to students around the entire country, province, or city you are planning to study in. You will find that many are useful for students no matter which institution they attend or discipline they study. Local companies, non-profit or corporations will often sponsor their own scholarships. These are separate from the institutions and the government awards and are designed to support students within their own industry. Be aware that some federal or national scholarships require students to be citizens before applying. While some countries do offer federal scholarships made specifically for foreign students, you will still want to be sure to check your eligibility in each scholarship.

Do not feel that you should limit yourself in your applications. More than likely, your applications are free of cost; so you are encouraged to apply to as many scholarships as you can. With a wide search query, you are sure to come across many scholarships that you will be eligible for; apply to any of the ones that you qualify for!

  Search for scholarships unique to your degree programme

Another way to begin finding the right scholarships for you would be to seek out scholarships that are meant for your specific degree programme or subject. Many companies and organizations are eager to support and finance subjects that will benefit their own industry. Students often find that they can easily find scholarship options for engineering, computer science, or business; and, indeed, many other disciplines in the social sciences, humanities, and fine arts also offer great funding options and awards for students. So, if you’re looking for scholarships that will assist with the unique needs of your study programme or discipline, try searching for scholarships specific to that subject (e.g. “Scholarships for __ students”). If you search for scholarships by discipline, you’re often welcome to use that at any university of your choosing. However, sometimes, as a condition of the scholarship, you are required to only use the scholarship at a specific institution. Be sure to check whether you can use the scholarship you’re applying for at the University of your choice. These scholarships can be particularly useful for disciplines that require lots of external expenses. For example, if you’re studying chemistry, scholarships will be especially useful for lab fees and equipment. Scholarship sponsors are aware of these expenses, and they are ready to help support students who have those specific needs. Many of these scholarships will want you to show proof of your work or want you to have a high GPA. Think of it as if they are betting on your success as a student; if they spend money to send you to university, they will want proof that you are a good student worthy of such an award. So, if you’re going into a specific discipline, these sponsors similarly want to know that they are investing in the best engineers, the best scientists, or the best teachers.

  Search for scholarships at your university

Well, you’ve applied to and enrolled in the University of your Dreams. That university is lucky to have someone as smart and ambitious as you! To show their appreciation, shouldn’t they help you out with some extra money to pay for college? It’s the least they could do! Although universities don’t really think this way, many universities all over the world offer scholarships for their Bachelor’s and Master’s students. Through the various donors, endowments, and government support that universities and institutions receive, they will often give out some of this funding to their students. These scholarships are then made specifically for the students at that university, and so the number of students you are competing against for the scholarship is much smaller. On your university’s site, they should have a section for ‘tuition fees and funding’. Through this page, you should be able to access their large list and database of scholarships. You may also wish to contact your university advisor, bursar, or registrar for more information. Many of these scholarships are both need-based and merit-based. Needs-based scholarships are designed specifically for students who have profound financial hardship or burden, and who absolutely need the scholarship to fund their studies. Often, therefore, they will ask you to provide proof of your family’s income or taxes before applying. Merit-based scholarships are given to students based on, well…merit. This means, based (high grades, successful projects, or teacher recommendations) you will have the merit to receive a scholarship; you’ve shown to be a high-quality student who is now worthy of a scholarship award. Merit-based scholarships are much more common, yet highly competitive. You’ll want to know which one you are applying for and what kind of qualities they are seeking in a student before applying.