How to make a strong international scholarship application

THERE IS A GROWING PREFERENCE AMONGST UNIVERSITIES TO DIVVY UP SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS AND OFFER THEM IN SMALLER AMOUNTS

Studying at an overseas university has always been an expensive proposition for Indian students and their parents. In recent times, the weakening of the Indian rupee against most major currencies has also led to unforeseen costs. In addition to the cost of tuition fees, the cost of living also needs to be considered when estimating costs for overseas study. Therefore, scholarships offered by various universities will always be of value as it improves the affordability of international education.if you’re relying on a bank loan, it reduces your interest payments.

Most large universities offer a variety of scholarships, many of which are by funded by internal or external sources.

The external sources of funding include philanthropy from large corporates, private citizens and alumni. It is important to understand the source of the funds while making your scholarship application as externally funded scholarships can be targeted at certain groups or with a purpose which needs to be addressed in your application. Internally funded scholarship tends to be merit based and encourage high quality applicants to apply for degrees in certain disciplines.

Scholarships offered by universities are increasingly under pressure with more applicants seeking a limited number on offer. There is a growing preference amongst universities to divvy up scholarship funds and offer them in smaller amounts which are commonly referred to as grants, bursaries or partial scholarships. This allows more applicants/students to benefit from a limited pool of scholarship funds. The days when universities offered 50-100% scholarships towards tuitions fees for coursework programs may be over. For students relying on scholarships as their only source of funds to cover their tuition fee, this may be disappointing news. In the near future, it is likely that most large scholarships will be retained only for supporting research students.