A Guide to International Student Scholarships

Securing a spot at the desired university in the study-abroad destination of your choice is a great achievement. However, in most of the cases, studying overseas is a money-intensive venture. The university fee and living costs in a land whose currency is of a higher value, results in a significant financial burden on the parents. However, there are scholarship options available which help in taking care of the financial burden. Students and parents may not be aware of Popular Scholarships to Study Overseas. It is advisable to explore these scholarships first to know whether the student is eligible and if so, application must be done at the earliest. 

Scholarships offered by foreign universities/governments/organizations

Governments of certain countries like Australia spend millions on scholarship schemes for International students. There are various scholarships applicable to all accredited universities in Australia like; Endeavour postgraduate Scholarships and Australia Awards Scholarships.

Country specific scholarship options are also present which apply to all accredited universities in that country, for e.g. the Foreign Fulbright Student Program, AAUW International Fellowships for women and Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship Program are targeted towards universities in the US.

Many universities have their own scholarship schemes. Students are automatically shortlisted based on their previous academic performance and test scores. Fee waivers are granted, depending on the student performance.

Private Scholarships for Indian students 

Scholarships like the Fulbright Nehru Fellowship, TATA Scholarship and Stanford Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship are merit based scholarships which are offered only to students getting a admit from specific partner universities. The benefits covered under these scholarship programs range from tuition fee waivers to complete coverage of living expenses in addition to travel insurance, flight tickets etc.

Indian Government scholarships 

Indian Government also provides scholarships to overseas-education aspirants, so as to facilitate their study tenure abroad.

There are various criteria and specifications on the basis of which these scholarships are granted. 

For example, the Scheme of National Overseas Scholarship for ST Students considers ST and NT candidates, landless agricultural laborers and traditional artisans. Also, the student must have secured admission into an institute which features in top 300 QS world rankings. Under the scheme, 100 scholarships are granted to deserving candidates and cover full financial assistance which includes tuition fee and living expenses.

The National Overseas Scholarship Scheme for SC category is on the same lines and is granted to students from SC or NT categories.

Government also provides Interest subsidies for education loans under Padho Pradesh Scheme and Dr. Ambedkar central scheme. While the Padho Pradesh scheme is for students from minorities, Dr. Ambedkar central scheme benefits OBC and EBC students.

State Governments Scholarships for Studying Abroad include scholarship programs like the Maharashtra Government Scholarship for Open Category which offers 20 awards to meritorious students from open category, OBC, VJNT, and SBC categories. It has various shortlisting criteria like family’s minimum income, world ranking of the university where admission is to be taken etc.  

There are various consultants that a student may approach, which provide details of scholarships for which a student may apply. They also help students in securing an Education Loan for Higher Studies Abroad, based on country and university requirements.