Looking out for an international scholarship? Here's how to maximise your chances

For talented students in India, there are several scholarship packages available from foreign universities for undergraduate, postgraduate and master’s programmes. This allows students to access incredible education opportunities. However, the competition for these scholarships is fierce and one needs to start the process at least one year in advance to get the benefits.

The scholarships could be 100 percent or even 20-25 percent of the tuition fees. It varies with the university, profile of the student, the programme she is planning to pursue and several other factors.

It is better to consider scholarship as a bonus rather than the primary source of your financing. After getting the scholarship, the rest of the expenses that studying abroad entails need to be covered by an education loan and self-funding.

Let’s look at key important parameters to get a scholarship while planning to study abroad.

Build yourself a strong profile

If you ever wish to apply for a scholarship, work towards it. And start early, preferably in your school days.

Building a strong profile also depends on the field you aspire to study in, what your chosen universities look for in their students, and so on. “For instance, research-based scholarships require research skills demonstrated by way of publications or research assistantship experience and teaching-based stipends,” says Tarun Aggarwal, chief business officer and head of the Study Abroad business arm of CollegeDekho, a firm that assists students with counselling and admission services to study overseas.

Likewise, tuition waivers require excellent communication skills and high marks in the spoken section of Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Both are English language proficiency tests for non-native English language speakers. Merit-based scholarships require excellence in academics. Scholarships for management-based programmes require demonstrated leadership in sports, school or college events or at work before joining the programme, startup success, initiatives in bringing change in the community, and so on.

Academic performance is one of the most important aspects to evaluate for scholarship candidature with test scores of GMAT, GRE or SAT coming into play. GMAT is for admissions in graduate management programmes of business schools, GRE for admissions to master’s and doctoral degree programmes in various universities and SAT is for admissions to undergraduate programmes.

“Besides academic performance, the university also evaluates how students have fared in their extracurricular activities, which includes debates, paper presentations, technical seminars and more,” says Ashwini Kumar, general manager and vice-president of MPOWER Financing (India).

It helps if students are all-rounders. Sports or other activities in a student’s profile that demonstrates her discipline, dedication, accountability and a positive attitude help get better scores in evaluations.

“My recommendation for students who are still in 12th grade and thinking of higher education, they really need to build a strong profile from now itself. Overnight, you can’t create an impact or achieve excellence,” says Kumar.

Where to go looking for scholarships?

Most foreign universities offer scholarships. Go through their websites to understand their eligibility criteria, once you’ve made a shortlist of colleges you’d like to study at.

“Most students restrict themselves to the school’s website alone,” says Kumar. For instance, if a student is applying for the MBA programme, she is only looking at the MBA school website. The overall university itself adds a host of other scholarships which the student misses out to apply for. “

“Students should reach out to previous batch students on social media to understand the different scholarships available,” says Ankit Mehra, co-founder and CEO of GyanDhan, a firm that offers education loans.

The student should also engage with the admissions committee. Kumar says that you’ve got to make a strong case for the university you wish to apply to and the reasons why you deserve a scholarship.

Ankur Dhawan, president, upGrad Abroad, the international study arm of the online education platform, points out that some governments too offer scholarships to international students, though they are hard to land as there are many applicants.

A student can also apply for multiple funding sources. “However, there are conditions and usually a student who bags multiple scholarships should only accept the highest value scholarship and forgo the rest for a more equitable distribution of funding resources amongst the student community,” says Aggarwal. He adds that in certain exceptional situations, brilliant students do bag multiple funding from the university and the government if there is no condition of mutual exclusivity among those scholarships.

Also read: How education inflation can hurt your child’s future

Apply early for scholarships

Both governmental and university scholarships come with an early cycle and deadline. Many universities have three or four rounds of applications. Usually, there’s a fund allocated for scholarships. But it is better that you apply for a scholarship in the first or second round itself.

“If you’re applying in the third or fourth round, the likelihood of getting a scholarship starts dropping because the university might have exhausted their scholarship funds,” says Kumar. If you are planning to apply for the fall 2023 intake, for instance, you should start working with the university by July this year and apply for a scholarship. Anyone seriously looking for scholarships must begin their search early with thorough research.

Also read: Planning to apply for foreign education loan? Know the do’s and don’ts while applying for a loan

Alternatives to scholarships

“In research-oriented programmes, the professor will have some funds available to provide for a scholarship,” says Mehra of GyanDhan. A student applying to an MBA course who already has experience in a particular domain, say, accounting, can probably reach out to one of the accounting professors and inquire if they have other avenues for her to channel scholarships, either via the university or other sources within the accounting fraternity that the university professors are aware of.

There are several loan scholarships being offered by prestigious trusts to students planning to study abroad, including by the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation and the JN Tata Endowment trust. For instance, in the JN Tata Endowment programme, the scholarship amount offered is up to Rs 10 lakh. It is a one-time loan scholarship that is given to students pursuing postgraduate or PhD or postdoctoral studies. They offer these scholarships at a simple interest of 2 percent per annum.

However, trustees may waive the interest if candidates repay the loan by the end of the seventh year. The repayment schedule is in five equal instalments of 20 percent between the third and seventh year. The selection process involves a multi-stage process, including screening of applications, online tests and interviews.

“This is not a quantitative application where only your academics will be evaluated by these trusts. It’s more about how well you can describe your purpose of going abroad for higher education and why you are the most suitable student compared to anyone else who’s applying to get that scholarship,” says Dhawan.

There is a special kind of scholarship for Indian students traveling to the UK. University Living, a firm that assists students in finding accommodation near universities, has announced scholarships up to 5,000 pounds from this year for students, which will also cover part of their accommodation expenses. “This scholarship will reward students globally for being socially conscious and creating an impact on society,” says Mayank Maheshwari, co-founder and COO, University Living. He adds that a social impact can be working with a non-governmental organisation, teaching the underprivileged, helping out at an orphanage and more. They offer the scholarship on the tuition/accommodation fee of the partnered universities where an applicant takes the admission and does the booking for accommodation through University Living.

Also read: How to save and invest for your child’s foreign education goal

Portray your true identity while applying

Dhawan of upGrad Abroad warns students to be realistic and truthful when applying for scholarships. Scholarship panels consist of experts who can weed out a hyped or fake profile in a matter of minutes.

“Moreover, interviews are an integral part of the scholarship awarding process and during this round, the student’s intrinsic strengths and qualities are tested closely and critically,” says Aggarwal. The scholarship application gets summarily rejected if they catch you faking your profile.